Touted as the ‘Kumbh Mela of literature’ fests, Jaipur Literature Festival is once again set to host the biggest names in the world of literature and publishing. The 11th edition of the festival will take place from 25 to 29 January 2018 at the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur. Here’s a list of sessions to look forward to during the five-day fest.
1. Padmini: The Spirited Queen of Chittor by Mridula Behari in conversation with Swati Chopra
The launch will be by Rima Hooja. For a year now, the Rajput queen famed for her beauty has captured public imagination and popular discourse. From was she real, the issue has moved to will Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s reel saga even become real – especially without causing public disharmony. Given the mood in the country over Padmini, this session is a must attend.
When: January 25, 4.45 pm
2. In the same spirit, Itihaas: Transalating Historical Fiction – Abhijit Kothari, Rita Kothari and Vikrant Pande
In conversation with Tridip Suhrud, this session promises to be interesting.
When: January 27, 12.30 pm
3. Bridget Jones’ Diaries – Helen Fielding in conversation with Meru Gokhale
The novel gave us the term singleton and a protagonist, struggling to manage a career, relationship, weight issues and smoke addiction – we have all been where Bridget is at some point.
{{/usCountry}}The novel gave us the term singleton and a protagonist, struggling to manage a career, relationship, weight issues and smoke addiction – we have all been where Bridget is at some point.
{{/usCountry}}When: January 27, 11.15 am
4. Lok Bhasha: The Oxford Dictionaries’ Hindi Word of the Year – Ashok Vajpeyi, Chitra Mudgal, Pankaj Dubey, Saurabh Dwivedi and Vinod Dua in conversation with Anu Singh Choudhary, introduced by Namita Gokhale
Because it’s Hindi and we love our language.
When: January 27, 2.30 pm
5. The Rosogolla Wars – Ajoy Bose, Arunava Sinha, Sanjoy K. Roy, Sudeep Chakravarti and Swapan Dasgupta in conversation with Sampurna Chattarji
Bengal may have won the Rosogolla tug-of-war with Odisha, with the Geographical Identifications (GI) authorities ruling in favour of Bengal, but the sweet belongs to every Indian with a sweet tooth.
When: January 26, 3.45 pm
6. Afreen Afreen – Nasera Sharma and Rakshanda Jalil in conversation with Sukrita Paul Kumar
Just the title, reminiscent of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s hit 1990s song, is a draw. But if the session is really about Urdu, as the title and the panel suggests it might be, then it sure promises to be interesting.
When: January 28, 11.15 am
7. The Perils of Celebrity – Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore in conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy
With everyone in the family a celebrity, who better than this mother-daughter duo to give us a peek into the perks and the perils – are there any? – of being a celebrity.
When: January 28, 2.30 pm
8. Book Launch Na Bairi Na Koi Begana – Surendra Mohan Pathak in conversation with Poonam Saxena
What was it like being child in the 1940s-50s India? This is portrait of crime writer Pathak’s growing up years, in his own words.
When: January 27, 1.40 pm
9. The Wodehouse Effect – Philip Norman, Shashi Tharoor and Swapan Dasgupta in conversation with Amrita Tripathi
For the love of Bertram Wooster, his gentleman’s gentleman – the fish-eating and wise Jeevs, his aunts, and crazy pals.
When: January 27, 3.45 pm
10. Hindi Medium: Language and Elitism – Annie Montaut, Avinash Das, Satyanand Nirupam, Satya Vyas and Vineet Kumar in conversation with Anu Singh
Because we have loved films like English Vinglish and Hindi Medium, and it’s time to bring this up in public discourse.
When: January 29, 12.30 pm
11. Litro World Series: India: The Power of Fiction Across Borders and of Translation – Shashi Tharoor, Suki Kim, Tishani Doshi and Vivek Shanbag in conversation with Eric Akoto
It might be best to read a work of literature the language its originally written in, but why miss the story for not knowing a language?
When: January 27, 1.40 pm
12. Globe to Globe: Why Hamlet Works in Every Country of the World – Dominic Dromgoole in conversation with Tom Stoppard
Can there be a literary meet without some Shakespeare?
When: January 27, 5.15 Pm
13. Manto: The Man and the Legend – Nandita Das and Nawauddin Siddiqui in conversation with Vinod Dua
Because it’s Manto.
When: January 26, 1.40 pm
14. The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs in India – Pradip Krishen and Pranay Lal in conversation
Did you know that Jurassic Park, the film that made dinosaurs so popular in our times, completes 25 years this year?
When: January 28, 10 am
15. #MeToo: Do Men Still Have It Easy? Bee Rowlatt, John Freeman, Pinky Anand, Ruchira Gupta, Sandip Roy, John Freeman and Vinod Dua, moderated by Namita Bhandare
It’s time to take it take it beyond social media, into the realm of serious discourse.
When: January 29, 5.15 pm