JLF 2018: The literary kumbh starts in Jaipur

It is that time of the year when literature lovers from across the globe pack their bags and head to Diggi Palace – the venue of Jaipur Literature Festival since its inception. Now in its 11th year, the JLF has become ‘the most popular un-ticketed book fest in the world’. “There are many – Hay in England, Brooklyn in New York, Spring Festival in China – but JLF is the only one which is free, and that makes it unique and popular,” says William Dalrymple, one of the curators of the fest. The 2018 edition boasts of more than 350 authors – both national and international – and many cultural gigs and after parties.

The author has names from Helen Fielding, the author of Bridget Jones’s Diary to Peter Bergen, one of the few journalists to ever interview Osama bin Laden, to Rupi Kaur, who rose to fame with her brand of ‘Instagram poetry’, to Sri Lanka-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje of The Cat’s Table, to Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Rezendes. From the other end of the spectrum are writers like Janice Pariat, Amish, Chandrahas Chaudhury, Javed Akhtar, Jeet Thayil and many more from Indian subcontinent.

“Jaipur remains one of the world’s most beautiful cities

The list includes names from Helen Fielding, the author of Bridget Jones’s Diary to Peter Bergen, one of the few journalists to ever interview Osama bin Laden, to Rupi Kaur, who rose to fame with her brand of ‘Instagram poetry’, to Sri Lanka-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje of The Cat’s Table, to Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Rezendes. From the other end of the spectrum are writers like Janice Pariat, Amish, Chandrahas Chaudhury, Javed Akhtar, Jeet Thayil and many more from Indian subcontinent.

with remarkable literary and artistic traditions. It is the perfect setting for what we pride ourselves for, is the most democratic and egalitarian book festival in the world. And when we ask an author to come to Jaipur, he or she rarely says no, and this year we are proud to present a galaxy of the world’s greatest writers and thinkers, including constellations of Harvard, Yale, Oxbridge and St. Stephen’s faculty as well as glittering cohorts of Booker, Pulitzer, Sahitya Akademi and Samuel Johnson winners. It’s like a super-university pitching its tents in Jaipur for five days and opening its doors to all comers,” says Dalrymple while his co-curator writer Namita Gokhale adds, “Across languages, across generations, the rooted traditions of Bhasha writing and the heritage of the Indian languages continue to enrich each other, and the Jaipur Literature Festival, with its predominantly young audiences, (60 per cent of our audiences are under 25) remains a crucial platform for the young to read and encounter these legendary names.” While Gokhale is mainly responsible for the multi-linguistic author list, Dalrymple concentrates on international writers. In between these two, there are many other authors and newsmakers who are also invited for the fest.

Dalrymple also asserts that the topic of discussions this year are much varied. “We will also explore a vast range of subjects from the history of head-hunters to nature writing and the decline of pollinating insects; from the Russian Revolution to the perils of celebrity; study biographies from Lenin to Cleopatra, Bin Laden to Bruce Chatwin; we hear tales of book smuggling in Timbuktu and river journeys up the Congo; we look at the art of film and screenwriting and ask whether the page is mightier than the screen; we probe the reason for the Reformation, ask how to save the Ganges and uncover the secrets of al-Qaeda; we share the agonies of Syria and Palestine and the pleasures of Chinese philosophy and Sufism, as well as learning about dinosaurs and dark matter,” he adds.

Though the list of speakers and sessions is exhaustive, one should not confuse it as the exclusive intellectual gathering. The musical events and theatre performance along with the after parties of the JLF are famous in their own right. The idea of many languages and one literature continues to hold true in this celebration of words.