JLF's Maldives outing: From Jaipur to London, the lit fest is going places

At most foreign editions, JLF makes some attempt to encourage discussions on issues directly concerning the host city

Outside a storm was raging as giant waves rocked the angry sea. But inside the Out of the Blue restaurant at Soneva Fushi, the Maldives island resort that is regularly listed as one of the world’s best hotels, the author and Oxford professor Peter Frankopan was explaining what could be done about global warming. And then, after a gourmet dinner, the action shifted to the island’s Turtle Beach where the singer Sonam Kalra and her musicians played Sufi music.

It was a slightly surreal experience but it was just the latest iteration of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). Ever since the