Five-day Jaipur Lit Fest begins on Thursday

Yash Goyal
Our Correspondent 

The Pink City Jaipur is all set to host the five-day Jaipur Literature Festival at the Diggi Palace on Thursday.  

Considered one of the country’s most prestigious literature festivals, the JLF, currently in its 13th year, has a history of hosting some of the world’s biggest names in the world of literature in the past.  

Some of the big names at JLF this year are novelists Booker-winning British novelist Howard Jacobson, American author Elizabeth Gilbert, Franco-Moroccan writer and journalist Leila Silmani, Indian writer Avni Doshi, and award-winning British writer and poet John Lancaster.

Bruno Macaes, a Portugese politician; Shivshankar Menon, a former national security advisor to former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh; and Deepal Nayyar, a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor will be part of a panel discussion titled ‘Asia Rising’, a session that will discussion rising Asian powers in the new globe order.  Politicians Jairam Ramesh, Shashi Tharoor, and Sachin Pilot will also be part of panel discussions at various sessions.

Several noted journalists, actors, and filmmakers have also been part of the festival in the past. The JLF has hosted acclaimed writers Margaret Atwood, VS Naipaul, Michael Ondaatje, Vikram Seth, Mohsin Hamid, Mohammed Hanif, Salman Rushdie, Wendy Doniger, Rana Dasgupta, and Zadie Smith among many others in the past.

Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee will hold a session titled ‘Poor Economics: Fighting Global Poverty’ on January 26. 

 The Tribune will be presenting a session titled ‘Ann Cleeves :  Hidden Depths’ in conversation with Bee Rowlatt, and another session titled ‘Big sister, little sister, red sister: Three women at the heart of Twentieth Century China’ in which Jung Chang will be in conversation with Frank Dikotter. 

Besides literature, JLF will also feature the Ojas Art, Festival Bazaar, School and Youth Outreach Programme, Heritage Event, and various music events. 

Too expensive?

The JLF has raised its spot registration fee to Rs 500 on weekdays and Rs 800 for the weekend this year. The festival has closed its free online registration. 

A book enthusiast, Ashish Gaur—who came to the festival with his friends— says the fees, up from last year’s Rs 300, is too high for students.  

Another enthusiast, Sikha Tomar, agreed saying that Rs 800 for weekends could be heavy on the pocket.   

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.