The second edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) was held in Houston from September 13 to 14, enthralling bibliophiles and art lovers alike.
Hailed as one of the greatest literary shows globally, the JLF after Houston, will be held in New York from September 17-18 and in Colorado from September 21-22.
Musicians Shruthi Vishwanath and Vivek Virani kick-started the proceedings on Saturday at the Asia Society here, followed by panel discussions on literature, environment, healing, art and history.
"By sharing each other's stories, we can all learn, especially today when America needs to understand the value of what immigrants contribute to society," Sanjoy K Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts and festival producer said.
In conversation with Roy, Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala shared the highs and lows of her career, relationships, and her battle with ovarian cancer.
Koirala spoke on the pressures of a film career, the life choices she was compelled to make, and how she redefined her priorities and regained a sense of balance and well-being.
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Earlier, she discussed her deeply personal journey of fighting cancer at a private dinner with a group of doctors and survivors of ovarian cancers -- OVARCOMING -- that raises global awareness, funds research and provides financial aid to ovarian cancer patients.
In another stimulating session, award-winning author and poet Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni spoke on the inspiration for her to write 'The Forest of Enchantments', which is a retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana from Sita's point of view.
Pulitzer prize-winner Lawrence Wright talked about Texas being seen as one of the most controversial states in the US, which is the theme of his 2018 book God Save Texas.
Other participating writers included Bapsi Sidhwa, Chandrahas Choudhury, Daniela Arnold, Deborah Mouton, Edward Carey, Makarand R Paranjape, Mat Johnson, Mike Magee, Mira Jacob, Monique Truong, Namita Gokhale, Priyamvada Natarajan, Purushottam Agrawal, Sohaila Abdulali, Sunanda Vashisht, Susan Abulhawa, Usha Akella, Vivek Virani and William Dalrymple, among others.
In the session "what we talk about when we talk about rape,", an activist, author and rape survivor spoke on the about global conversation around rape and about breaking the silence around the issue of sexual violence.
She talked about the stigma and myths around rape, and what people don't talk about when they talk about rape. "Words are the enemy of impunity," she said.
Author Lacy M Johnson spoke about her personal experience of sexual violence, and shared her thoughts on retribution and justice.
Poet Tarfia Faizullah's explored the experiences of the thousands of Bangladeshi women who were raped by Pakistani soldiers during the Liberation War in 1971.
At the festival's reception on Friday, Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla spoke about his long association with the festival.
Later, Shringla spoke about the forthcoming "Howdy Modi!" event, where US President Donald Trump and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Indian -American diaspora here.
The JLF Houston was held in association with Asia Society Texas Center, an educational organisation promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the West, and Inprint, a literary arts nonprofit organisation.
"JLF Houston stretches attendees' viewpoints and perspectives and gives us all so much to consider about how we interact with the world and with our fellow human beings," says Bonna Kol, president of Asia Society Texas Center.
"Houston is a richly diverse city, which makes this region the ideal place to showcase a stimulating range of topics and a talented pool of authors, " Kol said.
The JLF Houston is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and is supported by the Consulate General of India in Houston.
The JLF Houston was a part of the larger umbrella of international JLF festivals in the USA, which also includes JLF New York on September 17-18 and ZEE JLF Colorado on September 21-22.