Humans of Jaipur Literature Festival: Programmers Bring Together Books & Authors

Meet the programmers working behind the scenes at Jaipur Literature Festival to keep it running smoothly.

In Photos: Programmers at the Jaipur Literature fest

(Photo: Garima Sadhwani/The Quint)

For Kritika (36), who hails from Delhi, Jaipur Literature Festival is like a second home. She started out as a volunteer 12-13 years ago and has been with them since in multiple capacities. Now, she is the Head of Literature Festival's programming team, having worked in the programming team over the years.

She tells The Quint, "We have a great list of diverse sessions and authors, talking about fiction, history, geopolitics, climate, AI, and every other subject under the sun."

Neha Dasgupta (32), a former newsperson who now heads the programming team with Kritika, agrees with her. For her, Jaipur Literature Festival is like a jigsaw puzzle where you slowly see pieces coming together after months and months of hard work. "There's chaos, but also complete sense in the chaos," she grins as she says.

It was Kritika's love for literature that brought her to the festival in the first place. She says, "There's so much learning every single year that happens at the festival. We learn from Namita (Gokhale) and William (Dalrymple), and also from each author that we interact with."

In Dasgupta's case, it was research that brought her here. For her, it's the rush of seeing which authors could work together, which moderator would be suitable, and which books should be centred, among the many other things.

"But the absolute best part every year is the diversity of the sessions. This year, we have poetry, fiction, climate change, law, justice, politics, and more. My favourite is the nostalgic session on pets we're doing this year," Dasgupta tells The Quint.

The logistics do get tiring, though. Managing the schedules of hundreds of authors to bring them under one roof for five days every year is not easy, says Kritika. But she adds, "It's our love for literature that keeps us going. Who wouldn't want to work here?"

Dasgupta couldn't agree more. There are always last-minute changes happening, so their jobs never end even as the festival goes on. "Flight delays, sudden cancellations, and more are hectic to handle, but we always have a team to turn to," she says.

In their case, the programming team has two junior members too - Vaishali and Keertana S - handling all the registrations and authors.

Is there a downside to all this? Yes, you don't get to attend the sessions because you're working, echoes the team. But it doesn't cut the fact the joy of working at Jaipur Literature Festival even then, they add.

Love for literature and books brings together people from all walks of life at the Jaipur Literature Festival every year. At the festival's 2024 edition, The Quint speaks to the programming team to bring forth their stories and the tales of working behind the scenes for months, culminating into a five-day event.