JLF: A Cultural Catalyst
The decade old Jaipur Literature Festival has grown in stature and significance. Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts and Producer Jaipur Literature Festival, shares his journey so far
How has JLF evolved over the years?
The past decade has seen the Jaipur Literature Festival grow into the world's largest free gathering of its kind, having hosted more than 1,300 speakers and over 1.2 million visitors. Celebrating writers from across the globe, the festival has hosted some of the biggest literary names, ranging from Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer and Man Booker Prize winners to debut writers.
Starting with a few sessions, a handful of speakers and a couple of hundred participants, the festival has continuously evolved over the years adding new dimensions, spaces, affiliate programmes and participation opportunities for audiences. While the hub continues to be the beautifully appointed Diggi Palace Hotel, JLF now runs across multiple heritage locations in and around the city including the Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, Albert Museum, Rambagh Hotel, Clarks Hotel, Narain Niwas, Grand Uniara, among others.
The event has also gone international, kindly elaborate on that.
A sizeable chunk of our international visitors come from the UK and the US and we have a strategy in place to extend the JLF brand to Europe and America. Harvard Business School talks about brand JLF being among the fastest growing in its space.
In 2014, we looked at London and found a productive partnership with the Southbank Centre. By 2015, we'd found our home in the US in Boulder, Colorado. When we visited for the first time, we realised Boulder was the perfect destination city for a JLF style festival. Scenically stunning, it boasts of a highly educated, professional population as well as a large student influx, all catalytic in building a successful festival. We've hosted two extremely successful editions in Boulder and even received a proclamation from the Governor of Colorado whereby the opening day of the festival in 2016, i. e. September 24, was proclaimed as the JLF at Boulder Day. JLF will have a pop up version in
Melbourne, Australia in February 2017. In 2017, JLF at London will move to the British Library for its fourth edition.
Over the years, what main initiatives have you taken to popularise and grow the event? JLF is a cultural catalyst and its success has spawned over 115 festivals in the region and a number of others who we advise and help set up their own versions of the festival. It has brought literature out of the hallowed reading chambers of elite clubs and institutions and made it accessible allowing writers, publishers, booksellers to celebrate the written word.
In 2016, over 330,000 visitors passed through Diggi and associated venues, many of them coming from across India and abroad including USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, etc. Festivals contribute to local economies providing incentive to local businesses, built heritage, craft and retail and the hotel industry.
The festival has managed to galvanise support from across a board of influencers including Indian and global media who congregate in numbers of 500 each year to cover the festival; partner brands who have extended their support, travel, tourism and hospitality partners, festival supporters and loyalists, and the publishing industry which has embraced it invaluably. What are the main challenges of conducting and further popularising events in India? The challenges are plenty ranging from permissions, infrastructure, limited understanding of governmental departments of the real value and economic contribution of the arts towards local economies, financial and tax issues and the ever- present debate around freedom of speech.
How supportive has the state and the central government been for JLF?
Extremely supportive. The Government of Rajasthan realises and acknowledges the unique role that JLF has played in the city's economy, in strengthening brand Jaipur and bringing about worldwide awareness about the state's incredible heritage, both tangible and intangible.
A sizeable chunk of our international visitors come from the UK and the US and we have a strategy in place to extend the JLF brand to Europe and America
What kind of revenue model do you follow? The Jaipur Literature Festival is primarily supported by a multitude of partners that include Indian and global brands, arts and culture organisations, publishing houses and government bodies. We continue to look for partners who support our ambitions and welcome delegates and supporters of the festival.
How many licenses and permissions are required to conduct events in India?
For a literature programme of this kind we need a slew of permissions from Home Ministry and MEA clearances to local police and security.