Rahul Dravid Is My Personal Cricket Hero, Says Jeffrey Archer
Readers and writers, pack your bags. Jaipur Literature Festival opened its gates on Thursday, 24 January.
Readers and writers, the third day of the biggest and the most-awaited Jaipur Literature Festival kicked off in the Pink City, with a promising lineup.
The historic Diggi Palace is hosting the five-day festival, with over 350 writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians and more at the annual literary extravaganza.
In the session, ‘Process: The Writer at Work,’ five authors from around the world, Álvaro Enrigue, Ahdaf Soueif, Colson Whitehead, Hari Kunzru and Yann Martel discussed their search for inspiration.
Musician and writer Vidya Shah mesmerized the audience with a stellar performance at the festival, which is an amalgamation of literature, art and music.
- Neelesh Mishra spoke of the many lives he inhabits as a writer, journalist, editor, oral storyteller and more
- Five authors from around the world discuss the process of producing a great novel in ‘Process: The Writer at Work’
- Andre Aciman, author of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ and Yann Martel, author of ‘Life of Pi’, are the star authors to watch out for
Jeffrey Archer and His Love Affair With Indian Cricket
Jeffrey Archer, who fielded questions on the Indian cricket team for a change, said, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are really good cricketers and congratulated the team for defeating the Australians.
“My personal hero remains Rahul Dravid. I just think his style is wonderful. It was a privilege to watch him. Of course there is Sachin Tendulkar as well,” he added.
Vidya Shah Brings Classical Notes to Life
Bringing classical notes to life at the Jaipur Literature Festival, musician and writer Vidya Shah mesmerizes the audience with a stellar performance on the Front Lawn.
Where Does a Great Novel Come From?
How do novelists come up with their words? What is the actual process of producing a great and memorable novel? Five authors from around the world, Álvaro Enrigue, Ahdaf Soueif, Colson Whitehead, Hari Kunzru and Yann Martel discussed their search for inspiration with Chandrahas Choudhury.
Neelesh Mishra Speaks of the Many Lives He Inhabits
In the session ‘The Storywallah: Writing Across Borders,’ Neelesh Mishra speaks of the many lives he inhabits as a writer, journalist, editor, oral storyteller, rural raconteur, scriptwriter and lyricist. The session also throws light on content and commitment, community journalism and the authentic voices of rural India.
Women Must Speak Up, Even If Law Fails Survivors: Meghna Pant
In the wake of rise in crimes against women and the me too fallout, author Meghna Pant stressed on the importance of speaking up against injustice. “The state and the legal system are not always friends of women in India. We must raise our voices and nothing can silence us, not even injustice,”she said.
While legal course might not yield the desired results, it is important to raise one’s voice to give courage to other women, she said.
For The Love of Cricket
A Rhodes scholar, a journalist, a politician and a novelist discussed India’s oldest love affair, cricket. Boria Majumdar, Rajdeep Sardesai, Shashi Tharoor and Prayag Akbar contemplated on BCCI, the form of the Indian team and offered a nuanced understanding of the gentleman’s game at the literary festival.
Venki Ramakrishnan Talks About the Human Side of Science
Nobel laurete Sir Venki Ramakrishnan speaks about his work and the human side of science, including blunders, dead ends, changing careers, egos and competition at the Diggi Palace.
A Tribute to India's Electoral Process and Spirit of the Voter
25 January marks the National Voters’ Day and 70 years of the Election Commission of India. In the session 'India Decides: The Great March of Democracy', author of How India Became Democratic: Citizenship and the Making of Universal Franchise Ornit Shani, French Political Scientist Christophe Jaffrelot and former Chief Election Commissioner of India SY Quraishi payed tribute to the spirit of the Indian voter.
The panelists looked at the process behind India’s electoral democracy and the staggering challenges of conducting free and fair elections.
How Critical Is the 'Right to Know' in a Democracy?
Information empowers and plays a critical role in a democracy. Is the ‘Right to Know’ necessary to challenge the convenient ambiguity of those in power? Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander discuss with Urvashi Butalia at the festival.
Where Does Fiction Come From?
Where does fiction come from? What is the process of its creation? Andrew Sean Greer, Ben Okri, Tania James and Vikram Chandra share their insights on the art of the novel at the festival
Every Song Has a Story and There Is a Story Behind Every Song: Gulzar
"Gaano mein kahaaniyan hoti hain aur gaano ke peeche bhi kahaaniyan hoti hain" (Every song has a story and there is a story behind every song), says Gulzar in conversation with Sanjoy K Roy and Nasreen Munni Kabir, as they discuss the backstory of music and songs.
Abhishek Singh Stirs the Literary Pot Through Live Drawing!
The festival presented stimulating discussions. Graphic Novelist Abhishek Singh brought the crowd alive as he reflected the story of Yama and Nachiketa through live drawing.
Sanjeev Sanyal Provides Insights Into the History of Indian Civilisation
Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal provided unexpected perspectives and astonishing insights into the geography and history of civilisation of the Indian subcontinent at JLF.
Colson Whitehead Makes His First Appearance in South Asia
‘The Underground Railroad’ won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Colson Whitehead, in his first appearance in South Asia, discussed what went into writing this book with fellow novelist Kanishk Tharoor.
Usha Uthup's Power-packed Recountal of Her Musical Odyssey
The versatile Usha Uthup gave a fascinating sing-along recountal of her musical odyssey, as a Part of the Women Uninterrupted Series at the Diggi Palace.
Andrew Sean Greer and Anita Nair on 'Writing About Writing'
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Andrew Sean Greer and renowned author Anita Nair talk about the comedies and tragedies of the writing life, of the doubts and epiphanies in the constant struggle for experience and self expression, and what it means to be ‘writing about writing’.
A Word Can Be Used to Make a Political Point: Shashi Tharoor
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor who has an affinity for using difficult words and an unerring sense of humour, lightened the mood by speaking about his ability to use the English language. Referring to the incident when the word 'farrago' went viral, he said, people's interest in unusual words can be used to make a political point.
Tharoor who bumped into Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot at the festival, congratulated him on his conversation with Sreenivasan Jain on democracy.
Priyamvada Natarajan Takes a Tour of the Cosmological Discoveries
Professor Priyamvada Natarajan is a cosmologist making complex scientific theory easy to understand for all at JLF. Speaking on her book, ‘Mapping the Heavens’, she took a tour of the ‘greatest hits’ of cosmological discoveries of the past century.
Multilingual Writing Lessons From Upamanyu Chatterjee
Author and civil servant Upamanyu Chatterjee spoke about methods of multilingual writing, and his book, 'The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian' at the festival.
Talking about his tryst with multiple languages, he said, language is a sensitive thing, considering how politically intertwined it is in the current Indian narrative.
Bibek Debroy Discusses His Translation of the Bhagavata Purana
Economist Bibek Debroy discussed his translation of the Bhagavata Purana, one of Hinduism’s oldest religious texts covering a wide range of philosophical thought at the literature festival.
Frankfurt Book Fair CEO Juergen Boos Discusses the Future of Books
The CEO and Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair Juergen Boos discussed the changing patterns of the publishing and the reading industry, with publisher Urvashi Butalia.
Talking about the increase in the number of books being published today, he said, new publishers are making their way in, without posing any threat to the old ones and self publishing is a flourishing industry as well.
Four Injured as Tree Branch Falls at JLF
Four people were injured on the first day of the Jaipur Literature Festival when part of a tree fell on them in a restricted delegate area of the Diggi Palace, according to a statement issued by JLF organisers.
"A part of a tree fell which resulted in injuries to four people. First aid has been administered to them and precautionary measures have been taken," the statement said.
Need to Rethink Discourse Around Rape: Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer, author of the bestseller 'The Female Eunuch', spoke about her latest book 'On Rape.' She argued that we need to rethink the discourse around rape.
Author Maja Lunde Examines a World Without Bees
Norwegian author and screenwriter Maja Lunde spoke about her novel ‘The History of Bees’ at the event, examining what a world without bees would look like, in a future where the relationship between nature and humanity has broken down.
Gulzar Discusses His Daughter's Book 'Because We Are: A Portrait of My Father'
Director Meghna Gulzar talks to Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri about the life and career of her father Gulzar. Gulzar discusses her book 'Because We Are: A Portrait of My Father', which captures her childhood memories.
Sachin Pilot Talks About Democracy and the Political Process
The Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot, who recently travelled over 500,000 km across the state, spoke to journalist Sreenivasan Jain about democracy and the political process, their impact on hopes, aspirations and freedom of Indian citizens.
Nobel Laureate Sir Venki Ramakrishnan Gives the Keynote Address
The inaugural session 'Imagining our Worlds' included a reading by poet Ruth Padel titled 'The First Cell on Earth' and a keynote address by Nobel laureate Sir Venki Ramakrishnan on the role of science in today’s world.
"Today, science is more important than ever. We live in a world in which science and technology are ubiquitous. Decisions are constantly being made by governments, corporations, educators that affect us in profound ways," Ramakrishnan said.
He said, knowledge was key to not just a country's economic prosperity but also the well-being of its citizens.
JLF 2019 Commences!
The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2019 kicked off in the pink city, with opening addresses from Festival co-director, Namita Gokhale and CEO of ZEE Entertainment, Mr Punit Misra and MD of Teamwork Arts, Sanjoy K Roy.
JLF: Bookers' Paradise Set to Open Gates Today
It is that time of the year again when all roads lead to Jaipur, which is gearing up to host over 350 writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians and more at the annual literary extravaganza that is the Jaipur Literature Fest.
Scheduled to begin on Thursday 24 January 2019, the five-day festival, attended by tens of thousands of visitors, will once again be held at the historic Diggi Palace, which with all the decorations seems nothing less than a wedding venue.
Jaipur BookMark, a Parallel Literary festival, Kicks off
Jaipur BookMark, the South Asian publishing conclave that runs parallel to Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), kicked off on Wednesday, 23 January.
The Who's Who of the publishing business, including top editors and CEOs of leading publishing houses are at the sixth edition of the event.
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