Jaipur Literature Fest 2016 to focus on culture and heritage
The rich culture and heritage of Rajasthan will come alive at the Jaipur Literature Festival, beginning January 21.
The literary event will have a number of sessions on the tradition, culture and writers of Rajasthan. For instance, the session ‘Meera Bai: Jeevan Ki Kavita’ will explore the life of the celebrated 16th century poet and devotee of Krishna.
Madhav Hada, author of a widely acclaimed book on the life, time and social environs of the Bhakti poetess; Alpana Mishra, a young Hindi novelist and associate professor; and singer Suman Yadav will give audiences a glimpse of the beautiful musical settings of Meera Bai’s work in this session.
Organisers of the festival informed that another session – Rajasthali: Katha aur Kathakaar – will explore the unique cultural and linguistic heritage of the state, with its rich diversity of ballads, epics and oral traditions finding echoes in readings by well-known writers and poets from the state. Dr Satya Narayan Soni, writer of Ghamsan and Dhan-kathava, well-known and award winning short story writer Reena Menaria and Manohar Singh Rathore, a Rajasthani and Hindi writer, will speak in the session, moderated by Nand Bhardwaj.
The rich, oral Kaavad tradition will be celebrated and explored in ‘Kaavad: The Itinerant Storytellers of Rajasthan’.
The Kaavadiya Bhats of Mewar and Marwar use a portable shrine of multiple unfolding panels to bring to life, myths, histories and lineages. Rituals, symbolism and narratives converge in a unique space in a virtual pilgrimage, leading from the external to the innermost shrine.
Nina Sabnani will discuss the dynamics between words and images that are the essence of the Kaavad repertoire, while Kojaramji and his accompanist will demonstrate through a compelling performance.
Former Udaipur royal Arvind Singh Mewar will launch ‘Rajasthan on a Platter/ Rajasthan Ka Khana Peena’, an informative cook book on the wide and delicious variety of traditional culinary items.
Dr Suman Bhatnagar and Dr Pushpa Gupta, both professors at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in Udaipur, have written the book.
Other authors from Rajasthan who will appear at the Jaipur Literature Festival include Prem Chand Gandhi, poet, playwright, translator and columnist; Harish Karamchandani, recipient of the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Samay Kaisa Bhi Ho.
Others include poet Ravindra Prabhat whose work often touches on human suffering and social issues; Om Purohit Kagad, well-known author and poet in both Hindi and Rajasthani; and Mithesh Nirmohi.

10.61 lakh new voters added to electoral list in Rajasthan: SEC

Rajasthan police reject claim that Bikaner girl forced for interfaith marriage
- Bikaner’s superintendent of police, Priti Chandra, rubbished the claims made by the girl’s family.

Mercury dips at several places in Rajasthan

6 dead, 36 injured after bus runs into high tension power line in Rajasthan
- All the passengers on the bus were from the Jain community and were returning to Ajmer after visiting a temple in Beawar

‘No cause for fear... Happy to be in first few to get vaccinated’

Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan fails to appear in court
- Salman Khan has filed an application before the court seeking exemption from personal appearance in the poaching case.

Kota medical college principal 1st to get vaccine after recovering from Covid-19
- Vijay Sardana (58) was critically infected with Covid-19 in September 2020 and was hospitalized in Covid-19 ICU for a week but he didn’t lose courage

Boy run over by train while catching kite, youth’s throat slit by sharp string
- Nearly 140 persons, including 100 in Jaipur alone, are reported to have been injured in kite-flying incidents in the state on the occasion of Makar Sankranti

Coronavirus claims two more lives as 281 news cases surface in Rajasthan

7 dead, 3 critical due to illicit liquor in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, probe on
- Villagers said they approached officials several times in the past with the request for action against the selling of illegal liquor in the area but no action was taken.

Rajasthan receives 20,000 doses of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

Rajasthan reels under bitter cold, near-freezing temperature in Ganganagar

Bird flu: Samples found positive from 2 more Rajasthan districts
- The samples from districts such as Jhalawar, Kota, Baran, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Hanumangarh, Dausa, Pali and Jaisalmer have already been confirmed with bird flu.

Youth suspected of killing mother, her live-in partner in Jaipur rural
- Preliminary probe reveals that the son of the woman was angry with his mother's relationship, said police.

'So-called farmers enjoying chicken biryani, trying to spread bird flu': BJP MLA
- BJP MLA Madan Dilawar said that the so-called farmers are doing picnic in the name of farmer agitation in the country.