JAIPUR LIT FEST MAKES A SPLASH AS IT DEBUTS IN CANADA

TORONTO: The Canadian edition of Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in Toronto’s historic Distillery District came to a splashy end on Sunday with authors, such as travel writer Pico Iyer, Nepaleseorigin author Manjushree Thapa and Madhur Jaffrey who has taken Indian cuisine global with her cookbooks, making memorable appearances.

The three-day affair, which concluded on Sunday, was a success with multiple events sold out. “We had a lot of enthusiasm and affirmation of bringing the festival to Toronto. We were pleasantly surprised at the mood and vibe and people were very positive,” said executive director Srinka Wallia.

Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, who was also present at the event, welcomed the addition of the JLF to Toronto’s cultural landscape as an event to enhance India’s image abroad. “One of things we have to appreciate is that this kind of things take India to the world in a very different way from, let’s say, a ‘sarkari’ festival of India or a Bollywood film festival,” he said.

India’s high commissioner to Canada Vikas Swarup was among the early proponents of getting the JLF to Canada. “This is a platform which was made in India, but speaks to the world.”

This is part of the global expansion of India’s premier literary brand, from its early outposts in Boulder, Colorado and London, to New York and Dublin, to it moving into Adelaide and then Doha last December.