In Photos: Like Every Year, JLF Is a Flavourful Feast of Ideas and Thoughts

The 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is currently underway!

"Amia Srinivasan, author of 'The Right to Sex', was here – and she  talked about feminism which we can to relate to as young women in this country, as well as the intersectionality that comes with it. I am glad that we are here because the conversations around books that take place in the Jaipur Literature Festival are like no other," say Uma and Anshika from Delhi.

(Photo: Verda Subzwari/The Quint)

The 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is currently hosting over 250 speakers, writers, thinkers, politicians, journalists, and popular cultural icons representing 21 Indian and international languages as well as major awards such as the Nobel, the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and the Sahitya Akademi Award. The Quint brings you a glimpse into the much-hyped festival. "I was looking forward to attending the sessions of  Rajasthani authors like Sobhagya Singh Shekhawat. I got a chance to do so at JLF, but I do see an overall lack of representation of the Hindi and Rajasthani languages," Shalani Soni from Rajasthan told The Quint.

"We have taken ourselves back to the old days when chai used to be sold on thelas, to bring back the nostalgia people associate with chai. We also take our thela set up at various events like weddings," said Khush from Jaipur.

"I absolutely adore books and that's what brings me to JLF. As a foreigner in India, I love exploring the local scenery of what people are reading, what's being published, and what's not making the cut. I don't think books will ever get old even with technology," said Natasha who's originally from Greece.

Lavanya from Mumbai said, "We work with traditional Indian crafts from all over India which are on the verge of extinction. This is my first time at JLF but the response has been great."

Al from Taiwan loves the electrifying energy of the festival.

"Books are very tempting to me. I am in my school's debating society for the past four years – and reading books is my passion. Apart from that, Amish Tripathi is one of my favorite authors and I am looking forward to getting his autograph," said Govind who was here with his schoolmates from Sunbeam English School, Bhagwanpur in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

"I come to the literary fest because I am addicted to it. This is my seventh time and this is where I get my yearly supply of books and I get to know about all the new books that are being launched and the new authors. That's very exciting, especially finding out about the young authors," said Neeta from Jaipur.

"I am here for the love of books because books to me are my comfort place and what I get from them is more than just text. Literature serves a larger purpose than what it's published for," Mahek told The Quint.

"I have dragged my friends into coming to JLF to show them the culture and make them listen to well-known authors speak because I feel it is very important for our generation to keep holding onto books," said Tushi from Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Rakesh Mathur from Jaipur believes that learning has no age. And so, he and his son are at the festival because there's something new to learn for the both of them.

"It's a dynamic place to meet new people and learn about literature and culture," said Anees Ur Rehman who hails from Calgary, Canada.

"We have recently started a literary club in our college in which we will write blogs. I wanted our first blog to be about JLF. We are here from Chandigarh for two days only for the fest, to explore literature as much as we can," said Atul Tiwari.

Fazal, from Kashmir, who has come to JLF for the first time, said, "Interacting with several kinds of people is helpful for our products because we want to make people aware of its authenticity, which is the pashmina shawl, and the JLF is an ideal place for connecting with people from around the globe."

The Jaipur Literature Festival, or JLF, is an annual literary festival which was founded in 2006 – and is the world's largest free literary festival.