From school children to literary scholars, journalists, authors and book lovers, Jaipur swarmed with those dedicated to the written word from January 20-24. Last year’s 60,000 visitors would have easily been surpassed – some speculate the number to be around 100,000.
At times, traffic even came to a standstill as those eager to leave a venue to meet their favorite authors at the book-signing table were met by those equally eager to meet their favorite authors in the upcoming session.
Clearly, a better system with a dedicated entrance and exit to each tent or venue needs to be in place next year to avoid this kind of crowding. But apart from these minor snags, Jaipur is a book lover’s dream.
What’s Special About the Jaipur Literature Festival?
Acknowledged by many as the “Kumbh Mela of Indian and international writing”, the Jaipur Literature Festival manages to provide just the right mix of casualness and professionalism that charms visitors each year anew. It is still small enough (just about) to provide the familiarity that is appreciated by panelists and attendees alike while being big and well known enough to attract high-profile Indian and international writers.
The venue itself adds to the festival’s uniqueness: Diggi Palace in the heart of Jaipur’s Old City is a picturesque hotel with sprawling lawns. During the festival, these are taken up by tents of all colors and sizes, five altogether.
Visitors will first stumble upon the Front Lawns that accommodate a few thousand people; smaller venues like the festive white-and-blue Mughal Tent, or the beautifully decorated Durbar Hall, hold a few hundred visitors. Samvad on the first floor is an intimate venue with a few dozen chairs, and Baithak a venue for any crowd in between.
Wherever visitors' interests may take them, they will listen to sessions in style. Be it on the Front Lawn’s pink and yellow chairs, the Mughal Tent’s green and blue ones or Baithak’s wicker chairs with colorful cushions, it is details like these that create the warm, fuzzy feeling that turns the Jaipur Literature Festival into the “literary lovefest” that it has come to be known as.
Celebrities at the Jaipur Literature Festival this year
Then, of course, there are the world-famous authors and celebrities to look forward to. Without doubt, the most awaited speaker who drew the biggest crowds at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2012 was Oprah Winfrey. For her Sunday morning session, visitors started queuing up hours before, eager to snatch one of the coveted seats with a good view of the stage. And the talkshow queen did not disappoint. With lots of wit, heart and compelling stories, she charmed her audience and kept them spellbound for an hour that passed only too fast.
The audience was in for another treat as best-selling author and self-proclaimed mind-body healing pioneer Deepak Chopra enthralled listeners with his presentation. Amy Chua, Anupam Kher, Ben Okri, Chetan Bhagat, David Hare, Jamaica Kincaid, Javed Akhtar, Michael Ondaatje, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Tom Stoppard were just some of the literary treats visitors could enjoy over the course of the five-day festival.
Ghostlike, Salman Rushdie and the controversy surrounding his Satanic Verses kept cropping up in most sessions. Tellingly, the organizers have not yet removed Rushdie’s name and picture from the website’s “attending speakers” list, given his overbearing presence at the event.
Jaipur Music Stage Saw an Eclectic Mix of Performances
The music program each evening at the Jaipur Literature Festival should not be forgotten. Starting every evening at 7:30pm, after the literature sessions had finished, the musical program combined Indian and western, contemporary and classical music in an eclectic mix of performances.
This year, those looking forward to hearing one of India’s (in)famous brass bands could do so with the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, followed by Rajasthani musicians, fire-eaters and dancers on the first night.
Performances by Gods Robots, Dub Colossus, the Sabri Brothers, Shruti Pathak, Duncan Bridgeman from 1 Giant Leap and many other musical highlights rounded off each stimulating literary day perfectly. A special treat was the poetry night with Jeet Thayil, Sudeep Sen and Tishani Doshi on Sunday. Despite the chilly nights in Jaipur at this time of the year, the venue was packed each evening with revelers enjoying every moment of the performances.
If You Missed It, the Festival Will Be Back Again Next Year
Don’t worry if you missed the Jaipur 'Literary' Festival as it was mistakenly called, even by some panelists – it will come again next year, same time, same place. And according to this Huffington Post article, the line-up is already impressive - Umberto Eco, Ariel Dorfman, Michael Palin, Elizabeth Gilbert, Noam Chomsky, Philip Pullman, Bill Bryson, Monica Ali and Jhumpa Lahiri are scheduled to attend.
In the meantime, for those who were spoilt for choice at the festival and missed a session or two, most have been videotaped and can be accessed on the festival’s official website. JLF truly takes care of all literary needs.
Simone Preuss - Simone is a freelance writer, editor and translator who decided to go solo after a successful career in publishing. That was more than ...
