A file photo of audience at the Jaipur Lit fest.
Numbers say a lot, and at the Jaipur Literature Festival — which kicks off on January 25 — they speak volumes. Try 3.5 lakh footfalls in the last edition, over 380 speakers representing 15 Indian and 20 international languages in 2018, and three international outposts — in Boulder, New York and London — for size. But what gives JLF its iconic status is not just its staggering size, but also its depth, feels co-curator Namita Gokhale. “When we do the programming, we put an enormous amount of work into the research and background. In my mind, JLF has become a place where India hears itself think and listens to itself argue,” she says.
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The five-day festival promises some pleasant surprises. “We have three big writers who are returning — British playwright Tom Stoppard, Canadian poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje, and Pico Iyer, who brings an oasis of quiet and sanity wherever he goes,” says Gokhale. She is also looking forward to the sessions by Helen Fielding and Amy Tan. “This is Fielding’s first time in India, and she will be one of the stars. Her Bridget Jones series have become a mirror of how women perceive themselves in their self anxiety, and we are all very excited,” she adds.
Feminine voices are being highlighted in the 11th edition, with an important session around Angela Saini’s new book, Inferior. “She is somebody I am looking forward to. Her book is about how women scientists have been ignored or marginalised,” she says. The poetry element has also built up hugely, and Gokhale promises some excellent sessions for young readers, along with literature from India’s northeast. “I have edited a new book, The Himalayan Arc - East of South East, which will be released during JLF. It is about the area from Nepal to Myanmar and the cultural continuities there.”
Nahargarh Fort’s one-of-a-kind Sculpture Park
The music and art experiences are always a highlight, and she asks us to prepare for a rousing show. After all, Zakhir Hussain, Kailash Kher, Shilpa Rao, and the Skavengers will be present, along with Afro Celt Sound System, Trippy Sama & Barmer Boys and others.
Where the crowds are headed :
| January 25 |
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| Topic | When | Where |
| Indian Women Mystics: From The Rishikas to The Bhakti Poets | 11.15 am - 12.15 pm | Durbar Hall |
| Writer and poet Arundhathi Subramaniam and Sanskrit scholar and teacher Atmaprajnananda Saraswati in conversation with professor of Hindi and modern studies at the University of Iowa, Philip A. Lutgendorf |
| Undercover in North Korea: Facts and Fictions | 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Writer and journalist Suki Kimin conversation with journalist and consultant Michael Breen |
| A Life in Music | 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Zakir Hussain and Nasreen Munni Kabirin conversation with Sanjoy K Roy |
| The Real Thing | 3.45 pm - 4.45pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard in conversation with actor Sanjna Kapoor |
| Mira Nair: The Personal and the Political | 3.45 pm - 4.45pm | AU Bank Samvad |
| Mira Nair in conversation with Vir Sanghvi |
| Banned in India | 5.15 pm – 6.15 pm | Rajen Kilachand Mughal Tent |
| Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Mridula Gargand Paro Anandin conversation with Salil Tripathi |
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| January 26 |
| Topic | When | Where |
| The Empire Writes Back | 11.15 am - 12.15 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Charmaine Craig, Jeet Thayil and Linda Spalding in conversation with Pico Iyer |
| Visible Work, Invisible Women | 11.15 am - 12.15 pm | Rajen Kilachand Mughal Tent |
| Journalist Kota Neelimaand writer-translator Namita Waikar in conversation with journalist Namita Bhandare |
| The Frontline Club | 12.20 pm - 1.30 pm | Cox & Kings Charbagh |
| Writer, journalist and filmmaker Adrian Levy, writers Carlo Pizzatiand Peter Bergen and journalists Jeffrey GettlemanandSuki Kim in conversation with journalist Suhasini Haidar |
| The Great Survivor | 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Hamid Karzai in conversation with William Dalrymple |
| | |
| January 27 |
| Topic | When | Where |
| The Joy Luck Club | 10 am - 11 am | Cox & Kings Charbagh |
| Authors Amy Tan and Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi in conversation |
| Bridget Jones' Diaries | 11.15 am - 12.15 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Author Helen Fielding in conversation with publisher Meru Gokhale |
| Readings from Six Continents | 1.40 pm - 2.20 pm | Amity University Baithak |
| Adriana Lisboa, Han Yujoo, John Freeman, Josefine Klougart, Léonora Mianoand Tara June Winch, moderated by Radha Chakravarty |
| Adaptations | 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Writers Amy Tan, Nicholas Shakespeare and Michael Ondaatje, film-maker Mira Nair, playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard in conversation with publisher Chiki Sarkar. Introduced by businessperson Aparna Bhosle |
| Digital Narratives (Round Table) | 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm | Jaipur Bookmark Haveli |
| Akshay Rathi, Anish Chandy, Anu Singh Choudhary, Anurag Kahsyap, Arpita Das, Gaurav Solanki, Karan Anshuman, Kathy Reichs, Pankaj Dubey, Samir Nairand Shailesh Bharatwasi in conversation with Vani Tripathi Tikoo |
| Fish at War and A Cup of Brew: The Politics and Poetics of Women's Work in India | 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm | Rajen Kilachand Mughal Tent |
| Writer and poet Mamang Dai, visual artist Minam Apang and poet Mona Zotein conversation with graphic novelist Parismita Singh |
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| January 28 |
| Topic | When | Where |
| The Perils of Celebrity | 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm | AU Bank Samvad |
| Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore in conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy |
| The Vanishing: Tigers, Forests and Nature | 3.45 pm - 4.45 pm | AU Bank Samvad |
| Hema Maira and Prerna Singh Bindra in conversation with Nupur Paiva |
| Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong | 5.15 pm - 6.15 pm | Rajen Kilachand Mughal Tent |
| Journalist and broadcaster Angela Saini, writer and entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shawand physicist Lisa Randall in conversation with journalist Namita Bhandare |
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| January 29 |
| Topic | When | Where |
| Breaking Free: The Novel and Gender Writers | 11.15 am - 12.15 pm | Durbar Hall |
| Anosh Iraniand Sandip Roy in conversation with writer Bee Rowlatt |
| The Reformation: Europe's House Divided | 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm | Durbar Hall |
| Writer, historian and broadcaster Diarmaid MacCulloch introduced by writer, historian and festival director William Dalrymple |
| #MeToo: Do Men Still Have It Too Easy? | 5.15 pm - 6.15 pm | Bank of Baroda Front Lawn |
| Writers Bee Rowlattand Sandeep Roy, editor John Freeman, advocate Pinky Anand, academic and activist Ruchira Guptaand journalist Vinod Dua, moderated by journalist Namita Bhandare |
From January 25-29. Details: jaipurliteraturefestival.org
