Over the telephone, Namita Gokhale, festival director of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), scoffs at the idea of "something new" at this year's edition. "It's the same beautiful blend of high and low art, of various voices and a glorious juxtaposition of local, regional and global perspectives," she explains. Into its 10th edition this year, the festival, Asia's largest of its kind, sees participation from across the world. Not only that, the audience often comprises a mix of people from all walks of life.
Every year, JLF hosts a "show-stopper" of sorts, usually an author of global repute. In 2012, Salman Rushdie's name in the JLF schedule made newspaper headlines. This year, V S Naipaul's is the name that stands out in the star-studded programme. Naipaul will be part of a session on January 21 titled "The World and The Writer" along with Farrukh Dhondy, Indian-born British playwright. Gokhale also explains how poetry will be a common strand running through the festival. "The festival will dwell on the poetic imagination, film lyrics and folk traditions across various sessions and performances," she adds. Prominent Hindi poets like AK Mehrotra and Kedarnath Singh will lead some sessions around this theme. A session on poetry in Rajasthan's folk traditions, titled "Dingal Pingal Ko Jodo", is something, Gokhale adds, that she herself is looking forward to.
Another theme is the Seven Deadly Sins that will host dialogues around the evolving meaning of morality and how gluttony and sloth take on different meanings in literature. Myths and religion form a significant part of Indian literature and eminent writers like Devdutt Pattanaik, Bibek Debroy and Amish Tripathi will be speaking on this subject. Bestselling author Tripathi will also unveil the subject of his next book on January 23 during one of the sessions he will be a part of. "I will have the honour of sharing the stage with Debroy, a writer I have been a big fan of, for a session titled 'The Conflict of Dharma in the Mahabharata', besides the the opportunity to interact with many readers, which is always a learning experience," says Tripathi. Other bestselling authors in the JLF marquee include Chetan Bhagat, Paul Theroux and Ashwin Sanghi.
Given the recent murders at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and protests in South India against writer Perumal Murugan's works, JLF will host some sessions on censorship and pay a tribute to the art of cartooning. "The only way to challenge the fringe that is trying to suppress voices is to successfully preserve a platform that celebrates multiple perspectives," says Sanjoy K Roy, producer of the festival and managing director at Teamwork Arts. Last year's general election in the country saw an emergence of conversations on economic growth and progress at various levels. The festival in Jaipur will host a series of economic sessions, with prominent names like N R Narayana Murthy, Arvind Panagariya and Arvind Subramanian on the panel. This year's JLF also has a significant amount of representation from women, especially with writers like Sarah Waters, Jung Chang and Anchee Min scheduled to speak at the festival.
The winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature will also be announced during the festival and some nominees from the region like Pakistani writer Bilal Tanweer and Romesh Gunesekera from Sri Lanka will participate in discussions about the various challenges that South Asian countries are riddled with. "South Asian literature is in a good place with lots of writers and interested publishers and, very importantly, a growing serious readership," says Gunesekera. During his session titled "Sri Lanka: Through the Looking Glass", the writer will speak about the recent, unexpected political changes in Sri Lanka.
Though a literature festival, it has speakers from academia, business and the film industry as well. Music has emerged as one of the strongest elements of JLF, enough to merit its own venue. "Music preserves oral literature and at JLF, we strive hard to archive it well," explains Gokhale. Roy suggests that music has always been a part of literature, especially with elements like performative poetry. "With our music events, we try to present a different way of celebrating the arts. It doesn't necessarily have to be the written word," says Roy.
The morning music sessions will be held at the festival's main venue, the Diggi Palace Hotel, and will feature performances that, according to Roy, are "spiritual and meditative, blended into classical traditions". The music stage at Clarks Hotel in Jaipur, will host international acts, and a rich dose of Rajasthani folk music. "Electronic Dance Music, or EDM, has gained popularity and this year, international and Indian musicians will pay a tribute to it," adds Roy. The music stage will also feature music from Meghalaya, besides regulars like Pakistani folk singer Sain Zahoor, Midival Punditz and Sonam Kalra and The Sufi Gospel Project.
JLF will be held at Diggi Palace Hotel, Jaipur, between January 21 and 25. Entry is free, but registration is mandatory. Complete schedule is available on jaipurliteraturefestival.org
Tickets for the music events at Clarks Hotel, Jaipur are available on www.kyazoonga.com
