KATHMANDU, Feb 6: Since its inception in 2006, the Jaipur Literature Festival has established itself as the most successful of India´s literary festivals. An annual affair, it draws writers, publishers, editors and artists from around the world to the pink city´s Diggi Palace.
This year, over 160 high profile literary figures, celebrities and personalities participated from eleven different countries. These people read out from their works, participated in panel discussions and interviewed fellow writers from January 21 to 25. The audience remained enthralled throughout.
Amitabh Bachchan (right) at the launch of a book on him.
In the inaugural session, Pavan Verma, a diplomat and writer who has over a dozen books under his belt, lamented that in Indian writing, English language hogged an inordinate amount of media attention. He talked about the need to translate various literatures into different vernaculars, including English and into each other so that there will be a greater appreciation and understanding of Indian literature. He also foresaw the probability of vernacular literature and writers being underrepresented or getting lesser attention in these festivals.
And so they were, underrepresented. The participation of Gulzar, Ashok Vajpayi, UR Ananthamurthy, etc. did make some difference. However, their sessions were attended by only a handful of people. No wonder Ashok Vajpayi said, more in defense, "It´s not important whether anyone comes to our program, but what we write."
The session with Gulzar, however, remained an exception. A celebrated Urdu poet, lyricist and filmmaker talked to Pavan Verma in Jugalbandi with Gulzar. They talked about the poetry of Gulzar, followed by recitations – Gulzar reading in Hindi and Verma reading in English – with the audience wah, wah-ing.
In another session, Vikram Seth talked about his books and writing (and his family too), sipping a glass of wine in front of a large crowd, taking the reins off the interviewer, a young writer called Sonia Faleiro. Perhaps she was cowed down by the presence of Mr Seth, an eminence of such stature.
The seasoned writer Pico Iyer, on the other hand, did not allow fellow Patrick French, the biographer of Sir VS Naipaul, dictate the show. In the session entitled, The Biography of Sir VS. Naipaul, Iyer posed intelligent questions. French answered with interesting anecdotes, many unknown, about Naipaul. The biographer came across as resourceful making the session both captivating and enlightening.
Nothing more can be said of the conversation between the former undersecretary general of the UN and writer Shashi Tharoor with the executive editor of Tehelka Soma Chaudhury, except that it was fascinating. Tharoor was persuasive in his answers, but also sounded a tad nationalistic at times, at least to our Nepali ears.
Not all the sessions involved writers. In one session, Bollywood sensation Nandita Das talked about her directorial debut, Firaak. And in another, Amitabh Bachchan talked about his film career, family, but declined to say anything about Oscar nominated Slumdog Millionaire.
A session titled Kashmir saw two Pakistani writers Daniyal Mueenuddin and Nadeem Aslam talking about the divisive politics in Kashmir. Our very own Manjushree Thapa participated in a panel discussion on "Writing in the times of Insurgency" along with two other Indian writers who have written about or on insurgency.
The five-day free-to-all festival was packed with one-hour long sessions of interactions with literary figures each day and as many as four events were held simultaneously, in different venues. It was quite a feat, rushing from one session to another, getting some of those fats off your bum.
Manjushree Thapa (left) in a panel discussion.
All jaded, but the pain was worth it. It is not always that one can hobnob with international writers, talking about their works and a rare opportunity to participate in nature´s call alongside the writer for whom your admiration sees no bound.
PLEASE DESIST FROM ATTACKING THE WRITER PERSONALLY AND BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHER READERS.
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The festival was lovely - the organisers did a superb job keeping it accessible despite its growing size.
The Vikram Seth interview was actually one of the better interviews with him. He is a a notoriously difficult subject, but opened up and was taken off his usual well worn track by the interviewer. Post festival it was one of the most widely quoted sessions, as he was far more forthcoming than he normally is, so I don´t agree with your interpretation of it.
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d diggy
Soo-sooing alongside those highly celebrated writers was a fascinating experience indeed; just as fascinating were the narratives of their writing experience.
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Dinesh Kafle
This piece would sound pretty better in the form of feature.
It as a form of news, is unable to fill the life in the memories with writing celebreties.
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And so they were, underrepresented. The participation of Gulzar, Ashok Vajpayi, UR Ananthamurthy, etc. did make some difference. However, their sessions were attended by only a handful of people. No wonder Ashok Vajpayi said, more in defense, "It´s not important whether anyone comes to our program, but what we write."
Nothing more can be said of the conversation between the former undersecretary general of the UN and writer Shashi Tharoor with the executive editor of Tehelka Soma Chaudhury, except that it was fascinating. Tharoor was persuasive in his answers, but also sounded a tad nationalistic at times, at least to our Nepali ears.
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