Jaipur's date with literati

EVENTS The festival kicks off on January 20

Jaipur's forts will have competition in the last week of January. Instead of making a beeline for the pink city's famous stops, visitors will be head for the city's picturesque Diggi Palace Hotel.

Teeming with authors, poets and publishers, the hotel will be the venue for the 'Literature Week' that starts from the 20th till the 27th of this month. The week will be flagged off by the 'Translating Bharat' conclave, followed by the DS Constructions Jaipur Literature Festival from the 23rd of January.

While the festival will bring in international stalwarts and rising stars, 'Translating Bharat'(January, 20th-22nd) will focus on authors and translators of the regional languages, in India.

These two back to backevents are geared to prove to an Indian audience that literature festivals are more than just academics or book fairs. Readings, dialogues, performances, debates and the most enticing of them all "" small-talk""with some of the most renowned writers promise an interaction few have witnessed.

Nita Kapur, involved in the festival's programming and the CEO of Siyahi, the literary consultants organising 'Translating Bharat' is certain about its nature, "We will make it completely interactive and discussion-based. Even our participants have heaved a sigh of relief at the respite from academic papers".

In 'Translating Bharat', expect stimulating sessions on writings in the north-eastern languages, oral literary traditions, tribal literature, IPR issues, publishing, the art of translating""spanning entire cultures, across disciplines""and even the hybridisation of language.

Even as the regional language writers such as Udaya Narayan Singh, Temsula Ao, Desmond L Kharmawphlang, Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih and Cherrie Chhangte perform their works, translations of the same will be handed out while another session may start with Mahmood Farooqui enacting a short dastaangoi to illustrate the oral tradition.

The 'Translating Bharat' forum should also facilitate publishing deals and allow writers and translators to network with publishers from all over the world. India's wealth of regional language writers which didn't have a platform similar to international literary meets will finally get lucky this January.

The Jaipur Literature Festival will begin on the fourth day of the week. William Dalrymple, celebrated author and festival co-director, notes: "The festival will have books by day and music by night. Through our line-up of brilliant writers and talented artists we will entertain, educate and stimulate the audience."

An extravaganza with free entry, all that one needs is an interest in books to meet one's favourite authors. According to Dalrymple, one could even come armed with just curiosity for the non-literary gigs such as performances by Anoushka Shankar, Paban Das Baul and the likely presence of Aamir Khan and Keira Knightly may just make them stay on for the day events.

The festival, like the preceding seminar, will attempt to make the writers accessible, where visitors can "hang -out" with the writers. So if Salman Rushdie blended with the crowd last year, advising an aspiring novelist on her first novel or signing books on the sprawling lush lawns at the hotel-palace, authors such as Gore Vidal and Ian McEwan and the renowned playwright Christopher Hampton will recreate a similar atmosphere in 2008.

The animated discussions will be peppered with performances, as Dalrymple asks, "With Gore Vidal, known for his ironic wit, what else can you expect?" Upcoming stars such as the poet Tishani Doshi and first-time novelist, Namita Devidayal will bring in a fresh nuance, while the Outlook Unplugged tent will have informal readings by authors such as Siddharth Dhanvant Sanghvi and Indra Sinha.

Sponsored by DS Constructions, a multinational engineering conglomerate, the festival is an initiative of Jaipur Virasat Foundation which promotes Rajasthan's craftspeople and musicians. Clocking a yearly rise in attendance "" with 25,000 visitors last year"" it is not to be missed. Just hop on to a train or a bus to Jaipur for the week-long treat.