India Non Fiction Festival 2013

“Our country does not have a strong enough political leader to even go up against an Italian housewife”. Ms. Tavleen Singh This was a 'strong enough' statement made by Ms. Tavleen Singh at the Inaugural Session of the India Non Fiction Festival being held at Mumbai. The theme of the festival is 'Be Bold Stay Real'. The keynote speakers elaborated about the theme of the festival in their own unique way. While Mr. Kiran Karnik reiterated that in India we have no choice but to be bold and hence stay real while talking about the problem of social sustainability; it was Mr. R Jagannathan who said that the theme of Be Bold Stay Real is wasted on Indians as we have to be bold and very real as the survival in our country is an effort for all of us; and Prof. Vivek Dahejia added that the country’s youth are bold but they are stymied by institutions which hold them back.

When it comes to being bold, how can one not talk about the digital age and this age's gadgets. Talking about some fun tricks you can use for your electronic devices, discussing cyber crime and the question of privacy with Mr. Suresh Venkat, Ankit Fadia also made a mention of the cool interesting things you can do with your smartphone, social media and much more.

Mahesh Bhatt, the celebrated film-maker, presided over the panel on Bold Cinema for Real India. Apart from that the session‘India: Real Consumers, Markets and Bold Brands’ witnessed a conversation between bestselling Authors, Branding and India experts Mr. Santosh Desai and Mr. Anand Halve. In a parallel session ‘Leadership in Imperfect Times: Daring. Spirited’, author and founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust, Shri Swami Sukhobodhananda and leadership author Dr. A K Khandelwal were in heated discussion with author, TataLog and MD of Tata Global Beverages, Mr. Harish Bhat.

The festival also witnessed the launch of the book 'Directors Cut: 50 Major Filmmakers of the Modern Era’. The book penned down by Mr. M K Raghavendra and was introduced by renowned film director, producer and screenwriter Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. In attendance at the event and giving their support were Writer and Director Mr. Sanjay Gadhvi, Actors Mr. Rahul Bose and Ms. Minissha Lamba along with Critic and author Ms. Bhawana Somaaya.

See more photographs of the event here: INDIA NON FICTION FESTIVAL - 2013

Dalai Lama at Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

The first day of DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 saw a global icon of peace convey his message to thousands of festival attendees. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, spoke about his understanding of the way of seeing and knowing taught by the Buddha in conversation with author Pico Iyer. This marks the beginning of a special strand of sessions, titled ‘The Buddha in Literature’, at the Festival this year. 

Dalai Lama at Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 in conversation with author Pico Iyer

 

The Dalai Lama talked about global politics, although he conceded that he is now retired from his political role. He urged for there to be “good relations” between China and India, as they were the “most populous nations in the world”, and that China could learn from India. He said that these two countries needed to develop trust in each other and from that, equality and democracy could flourish without fear. 

The Dalai Lama talked about the challenges of the 21st century, with population increases, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. He warned about greed, joking that “even if the whole world own, then maybe want to buy some land on moon and set up a hotel there”. He warned that corruption had become “the cancer of the whole world - very serious”, and called for a more sustainable economy, more protection for women, and to “forcibly reduce this gap between the rich and the poor”. He called the 20th century “a century of bloodshed, of violence” and urged that the “21st century be a century of dialogue”. 

This depends on education, he emphasised. He called for an update of the existing education system, saying “there is something lacking about it”, and that moral ethics should be taught from a secular base, since ethics are not dependent on religion. He emphasized the need to train the mind so that inner values and qualities could flourish, as “the mind knows no limitations” and we need to learn to use our intelligence “more holistically”.

Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 - Keynote Address

DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 begins with Mahasweta Devi’s keynote speech – ‘O to Live Again’ ~ Ashok Gehlot – CM of Rajasthan and Margaret Alva – Governor of Rajasthan graced the inauguration with their valuable presence~ The 2013 edition of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival started with an inauguration speech by eminent author and social activist Mahasweta Devi. She reflected on her long and illustrious life and writing career in a speech laced with references to the rich world of ideas she has imbibed from the tribal and rural cultures that have been the subject of her work. Ashok Gehlot - CM Rajasthan and Margaret Alva - Governor of Rajasthan at the inaugural ceremony of Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

Ashok Gehlot, CM Rajasthan and Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan at the inaugural ceremony of Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

Having written on the “culture of the downtrodden” throughout her life, Mahasweta Devi referred to the simple dreams of simple people in her speech. She called for the “right to dream” to be the first fundamental right of all human beings.

Mahasweta Devi at Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

In a speech poignantly titled ‘O to Live Again’ renowned author Mahasweta Devi said “My early years proved to be formative for my future work as a writer and activist. I also have different approach to my writing process and I mull over the subjects in depth before setting out on the creative journey.”

Ashok Gehlot, CM Rajasthan and Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan at the inaugural ceremony of Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

Commenting on this, Namita Gokhale, Festival Director – DSC Jaipur Literature Festival said “We are delighted to begin the event with Mahasweta Devi’s warm keynote which was not only inspiring but thought provoking. She has been constantly working for Human Rights and Women rights to bring a change in the society."

Books Brewing - One Day Lit Fest at Chandigarh

Chandigarh witnessed first of its kind literature festival organised by Cafe Books n Brew at sector 16 outlet in Chandigarh. Manpreet Singh Badal mesmerised the audience with his session “My Journey with the books”, in this session he was found talking about the importance literature has in his life. He also read out some excerpts from some of his favourite books. 

Next session was lead by Ms. Neel Kamal Puri & Prof Rana Nayyar, who discussed “Patiala Quartet” her first book and also touched upon the importance and usefulness of books and how they help in grooming youngsters. 

Mr. Khushwant Singh, Akash Banerjee and Sanjana Roy Choudhary ; authors and Head of Publication in their session “fiction vs reality” talked about their works in their respective fields, where Akash Banerjee talked about his experience and how he came about writing his book , Khuswant Singh captured the audience with his dynamic personality; the author of “Turbaned Tornado”, a biography of World’s Oldest marathon runner had a one on one with the audience and was very humble in answering questions about his upcoming book of fiction that presents a mix of history and fiction. 

Fest also witnessed, two best seller authors from the different part of the country, Rahul Saini and Sudeep Nagarkar, authors of “The Orange Hangover” & “Thats the way we meet” launched this week by Random House. The session “New Age Media” had Tahira Khurana and a senior editor from the city talking about blogging , social media and their impact on the society. Session was concluded by Nirpuma Dutt and Arvinder Kaur, with their session, two languages – two worlds. Both are the eminent personalities in the literary circle of Chandigarh. The audience saw both reciting excerpts from their respective books which were received with a very enthusiastic applause.
“Books n Brew Cafe is committed to hold many such fests and events and will do its best to support and promote reading culture in the city and will provide its platform for this cause”, said the owner- Aarti Manuja. 

For more photos of the event, visit the Gallery.

One-Day Lit Fest in Chandigarh

Here's an opportunity for all the book lovers and those who have an appetite for literary tastes. One-day literature festival is going to be held at Cafe Books n Brew in Sector-16 at Chandigarh on 24 June, 2012 as per the following schedule:
10:50 : Inauguration by Shri Manpreet Singh Badal
My Journey With Books: Manpreet Singh Badal
11:30 : 1st Session - Writers Plenty - Neelkamal Puri, Author "The Patiala Quartet" with Dr.Rana Nayar, Professor of English, Translator and Theatre Worker
12:05 : 2nd Session - Fiction vs Reality Sanjana Roy Chaudhary, Head of Publishing at Amaryllis, in conversation with Khushwant Singh, Author "Turbaned Tornado" and Akash Bannerjee, Senior Special Correspondent, Headlines Today.
12:40 : 3rd Session - The Orange Hangover: is there a time limit to discover oneself Rahul Saini Author of bestselling "Those small Lil Things in life and love"
 1:15 : 4th Session - Local Brew Books n Brew introducing young authors Nikhil Mukhija and Hardik Dhamija in conversation with panelist Harsh Aggarwal, Director, Fountain Pen Guild.
2:50 : 5th Session - New Age Media Tahira Khurana, Author and Media Personality, to speak on Emerging trends in Journalism. Relevance and importance of Blogging.
 3:25 : 6th Session - Imagination runs wild Durjoy Datta Author of bestselling "of course i love you..till i find someone better"
4:00 : 7th Session - That's the way we met... kya life hogi set? Psychologist Adity Sood in conversation with Sudeep Nagarkar Author of bestselling "Few things left unsaid"
4:35 : 8th Session - Two languages, two worlds Nirupama Dutt, Poet and Editor, in conversation with Arvinder Kaur, Asst. Professor, Poet and Translator(Amrita and Imroz:In The Times Of Love and Longing.)
Guest Anchor: Aradhika Sharma, Author "The Agony Aunt & Sunita Williams"

See you there!

For a detailed report of the event visit: www.events.literaryjewels.com

Mountain Echoes 2012

The Bhutan Festival of Literature, Art and Culture - 2012 The best writers, musicians, film-makers, actors, artists and cultural icons - not just from Bhutan and India, but from around the world - will gather in Thimpu, Bhutan as part of Mountain Echoes 2012, from 20-24 May, 2012. From conversations on literature, art, music and cinema at the Tarayana Centre and Taj Tashi, to a Rock Concert at the Clock Tower, to film screenings and workshops at the Nehru Wangchuk Centre - Mountain Echoes 2012 has a little for everyone. So watch this space for more information and make sure you catch the most heavenly Literature Festival on earth from the 20th to the 24th of May 2012 in Thimphu, Bhutan. The speakers participating are: Karma Singye Dorji Kunzang Choden Vikram Seth Wendell Rodricks Kishwar Desai Tshering Tobgay Ashok Ferrey Ali Sethi Dayanita Singh Ugyen Pande Patrick French Gulzar

Salman Rushdie at Jaipur Literature Festival 2012

Yes, Salman Rushdie will be a part of the Jaipur Literature Festival - 2012 finally! Don't believe it? Believe it or not, this is what is true. True that Rushdie won't be physically present, But he will be addressing the festival through video conferencing at 3:34 pm IST on Tuesday; January 24, 2012. He has been venting out his anger through his tweets. He is outraged by the information that he received the death threat. He is believed to have learnt that the death alert was fake. He has also given a statement to the Press that the story was concocted by the Rajasthan Police. Earlier he was told that some Mumbai assassins from the underworld had been hired to kill him. But these reports were not owned by the Mumbai police as according to them they had received no such input. With the controversy refusing to die down, rather advancing with the leaving of the four authors,Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kumar, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi, who had read excerpts from Rushdie's book 'Satanic Verses' as a mark of protest; Rushdie has agreed for video linking from New York to the venue of the Festival.

Rushdie and Jaipur Literature Festival 2012 - an Afterword

Rushdie controversy instead of dying down, seems to be growing with each passing day. The latest development has been that the four authors (Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kumar, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi), who read excerpts from Salman Rushdie's controversial book 'Satanic Verses' as a mark of protest, have left the Jaipur Literature Festival - 2012 midway, with the organizers asking them to leave as an aftermath of a threat of arrest of those authors. William Dalrymple, one of the organizers of the Festival has confirmed this. With a view to clarify the organizers' stance, he said that they didn't know that reading from the book was an arrestable offence. Probably he had an undercurrent of satire too in saying that! Asaduddin Owaisi, a Member of Parliament and president of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has voiced his demand of arresting those four 'erring' authors. He has been quoted as saying, "Reading from a banned book is a deliberate provocation and proof that the festival is a forum for Islam bashing". Let's see how the events turn next!

Author of Controversial Gandhi Book in India

The controversy does not begin and end with Salman Rushdie this Jaipur Literature Festival (2012). We have another controversial author in India. He is Joseph Lelyveld, the author of 'Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India'. The book when published was received with opposing voices from some Hindu groups. They were outraged after a few reviews published about the book suggested that the author had hinted at Gandhi being a gay.

This is Lelyveld's first encounter with Indian audience and readers, and he says he has had a wonderful experience.

Rushdie and Jaipur Literature Festival 2012

Amitava Kumar and Hari Kunzru reading out from 'Satanic Verses'

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy: India Today

There was a clear cut proof of the protest of the authors over Salman Rushdie issue. The controversial author of 'Satanic Verses', Rushdie had announced that he won't be attending the Festival. The literary community had already been expressing their anger over the protests against Rushdie. But two of the authors attending the Jaipur Literature Festival 2012, Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar, had their ingenuous way of protesting. They read out portions of 'Satanic Verses' in their session. Kunzru clearly declared in a tweet that he was doing this to defy bigots and the shoe-throwers. They also quoted Rushdie's tweet in which he had thanked the two authors for showing such a gesture. A while later two more authors joined the stream, namely, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi. So we can say that Rushdie is present even while being absent for this literary extravaganza!

Latest Issue of 'The Literary Jewels'

'The Literary Jewels'  Issue: January-March, 2012

The latest issue of 'The Literary Jewels' - an online magazine of Art, Culture and Education is available now. You can access it here: The Literary Jewels

A GLANCE AT THE CONTENTS:

Cover Story
Chetan Bhagat: The Story 'Seller'

Book Review
Revolution 2020

Photo Essay
Faith and Nature

Special Features
Jaipur Literature Festival 2012

Other Columns:
Telling a Tale
In Philosophical Terms
Words' Worth
Poetic Pleasure
Art and Artifacts
Letters to the Editor

and much more...Read and enjoy
Most importantly, don't forget to give your feedback!

Salman Rushdie's India Visit Cancelled

TIME FOR SOME NEWS UPDATE FOLKS!!

The much talked about Salman Rushdie's visit to India during the Jaipur Literature Festival - 2012 is again in news. But now for the exactly opposite reasons, that is, the calling off of Rushdie's visit. The visit was cancelled after Rajasthan govermnent raised fears of security threat. Rajasthan police has confirmed that Rushdie's trip has been cancelled. They had persuaded the organisers of the Festival to ask Salman Rushdie to call off his visit. Rushdie was being believed to be the main draw at this annual Literature Festival held every year at Diggi Palace, Jaipur. Earlier it was scheduled that Rushdie would be a part of two sessions, namely, 'Midnight's Child' (20 January) and 'Inglish Amlish: The chutneyfication of English' (21 January), to be held at the Jaipur Literature Festival - 2012 (20-24 January, 2012).

Rushdie or no Rushdie the festival has already got its share of publicity. What remains to be seen is how much this cancellation would affect in numbers!

Salman Rushdie in India

Salman Rushdie

 Salman Rushdie, the famed author of 'Midnight's Children' has been in news ever since it was announced that he'll be visiting the Jaipur Literature Festival - 2012, to be held at Jaipur from 20 to 24 January this year. After that there were a few voices of protest on Rushdie being granted a visa to visit India. Now he has become an election issue too. Amused? It's true. According to a news item published the website of 'The Hindu', dated 11 January, 2012, Omar Abdullah (Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir) has said that visa being given to Salman Rushdie is unlikely to be a big election issue for Muslims, who are more concerned with their day-to-day affairs. Nevertheless, the name of Rushdie has to be discussed on whether that would become an election issue or not and that is what is important.

Rushdie himself has tried to brush aside the controversy surrounding a demand for denial of visa to him, by tweeting that he would be visiting India. He also posted a tweet mentioning: "Regarding my Indian visit, for the record, I don't need a visa."

It may be mentioned here that Rushdie has earned this wrath of the Muslim community all over the world with his controversial 'Satanic Verses' that was published in the year 1988. Earlier too Rushdie was in India to attend Commonwealth Writers Prize awards in 2000 and the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2007. With a view to silence the controversial opinions cropping up Sanjoy Roy, managing director of Teamworks Productions, the organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival said (as quoted by Times of India (dated 11 January, 2012), "A literary platform like the Jaipur festival provides a space for free speech in India's best democratic traditions."

The Hindu’s - Lit for Life

Hirco presents the first edition of The Hindu’s - Lit for Life, a three-day, two-city festival centred on the celebration of the second year of The Hindu Literary Prize. The festival takes off in New Delhi on September 25, 2011, at the India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road and continues on in Chennai on October 29 and 30, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency, 365 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

The Hindu's The Literary Review remains the only supplement in India devoted to books and literature brought out by a daily newspaper. The Hindu Literary Prize is a platform that stands proud and equal to the many other coveted literary awards of the world. Manu Joseph won the first Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 for his book 'Serious Men'.

The Lit for Life conclave begins on September 25, 9 a.m. with a cheerful Sunday breakfast at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The first session talk’s food – Are You Really Going to Eat All That? – with Nikhil Chib, Manu Chandra, Jigyasa Giri and Esther David followed by Mukul Deva, Anuja Chauhan, Angela Saini speaking of the Popularity Factor. While Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra with Jai Arjun Singh share their opinion on New Wave Cinema, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Indrajit Hazra, Rana Dasgupta and Aman Sethi discuss Realities: Fictional or Otherwise. Siddharth Varadharajan chairs a talk on Political Dynasties with Vasundhara Raje. Revolutions and New Beginnings with Mansoura ez Eldin and Ali al Muqri throws light on writings from the Middle East. A full-day workshop on children’s writing, Children of the Lamp, is being conducted by Anushka Ravishankar and Atanu Roy. A Life in Theatre, a discussion between Sanjna Kapoor and Mahesh Dattani, will be followed by a beautiful performance by Alarmel Valli. The Short List will be announced by Manu Joseph, the winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2010, in New Delhi on September 25 at the end of the day long festival.

Some of the sessions for Chennai programme are, Just in the Neighbourhood with Mohammad Hanif, Tahmima Anam and Ziya Salam, Playing Fields - Shashi Tharoor, Mukul Kesavan and Rahul Bhattacharya in conversation, Tragedy Workshop: The Hardships of Writing with Zac O Yeah, Comic Timing - a performance by Vir Das. Is Writing a Healing is a panel discussion with Bama Faustina, P Sivakami, Susie Tharu and Siddharth Varadarajan, Translations Workshop with Arunava Sinha and Mini Krishnan, Zooming In with Shabana Azmi and Urvashi Butalia, Destination Detectives - a session on travel writing with Rahul Bhattacharya and Latha Anantraman, Vikram Seth in conversation with Nisha Susan and Nirmala Lakshman, announcement of The Hindu Literary Prize Award.

Siyahi, the creative consultant for Lit for Life, has been instrumental in infusing the conclave with the right ingredients for a rich and wide-ranging literary experience. As a literary agency, it represents over sixty authors. The organisation also develops book proposals, creative content/solutions, designing projects for book publicity, translations, programming and planning of literary festivals, events and workshops. They are the pioneers of literary consulting in India.

Entry is free for all sessions. Please register for workshops at info@siyahi.in

The event is presented by HIRCO and our Associate Sponsors are Shriram City, Sessions Sponsors - Mahindra Holidays, Scholastic, Penguin India, HarperCollins Publishers India, Om Book International, Travel Partner - Le Passage to India, Venue Partner - India Habitat Centre, Books Partner - Full Circle, Creative Consultant - Siyahi.

Spring Festival 2011 organised by Penguin

Following the success of Spring Fever 2010, the first ever literary spring festival and OPEN AIR LIBRARY by Penguin Books India, Spring Fever 2011 is being organized in the month of March. The festival will be held at the Amphitheatre at India Habitat Centre from 4^th  to  13^th  March, 2011.

The unique open air library, open to all, will feature a complete range of Penguin India titles, from landmark fiction and non-fiction titles, to the latest bestsellers, children's books and cutting-edge books. I’m sure reading this all book lovers will be vying to be in that cozy and silent corner in the company of their beloved books!

To top it all, there will be special literary evenings featuring key authors, new books and previews of forthcoming attractions as well as some musical performances.

The details of the programmes are as under:

IN THE BAZAAR OF LOVE

Presenting a selection of Penguin Classics: In the Bazaar of Love: The Selected Poetry of

Amir Khusrau, Zafarnama and Kama Sutra followed by a performance by Shubha Mudgal

LOSING MY VIRGINITY

Taking a book to bed

Madhuri Banerjee, Ira Trivedi and Ismita Tandon Dhankher in a candid chat

with Kaveree Bamzai followed by a performance by rock band U.8.NOISE

COMING OF AGE

The launch of Penguin Young Adult

Sheba Karim, author of Skunk Girl, in conversation with Samit Basu, followed by

dramatized readings from David Hair’s Pyre of Queens and Swayamvara

A WRITER’S LIFE

Javed Akhtar, William Dalrymple, Namita Gokhale and Sunil Sethi Sethi in conversation

HOWZZAT!

Cricket mania at its best!

Quiz on India’s favourite game with cricket analyst and quizmaster Joy Bhattacharjya, open to all

(On the spot registration for the quiz)

FINDING ANANDA

An open workshop by the Osho Foundation

THE CULTURE OF CONSUMPTION

Four distinguished economic thinkers shed light on the promises and perils of capitalism

Bimal Jalan, Gurcharan Das, Kaushik Basu and Vinay Bharat-Ram

BOX OFFICE

A special film screening in association with The American Center

BLOCKBUSTER FRIDAY

Mega books in the making

Readings by Shobhaa Dé from Sethji, William Dalrymple from The Return of the King: Shah Shuja and the First Anglo-Afghan War, Suhel Seth from Jamil Ahmad’s The Wandering Falcon

HINDI: BADLEGI TO CHALEGI!

A quirky dialogue on the changing forms of Hindi over time

Sudhish Pachauri, Noor Zaheer, Anamika, Ravish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar

in conversation with Satyanand Nirupam

LIGHTS, CAMERA . . . ACTION!!

Celebrated film-maker Vishal Bhardwaj and Ruskin Bond in a very special conversation

CLOSING PERFORMANCE: Qawwali by the acclaimed Warsi Brothers of Hyderabad

Watch this space for more updates on the festival.

Penguin Spring Fever 2010

Following the success of Spring Fever 2010, the first ever literary spring festival and OPEN AIR LIBRARY by Penguin Books India, Spring Fever 2011 is being organized in the month of March. The festival will be held at the Amphitheatre at India Habitat Centre from 4 to 13 March, 2011.


The unique open air library, open to all, will feature a complete range of Penguin India titles, from landmark fiction and non-fiction titles, to the latest bestsellers, children's books and cutting-edge books. I’m sure reading this all book lovers will be vying to be in that cozy and silent corner in the company of their beloved books.


To top it all, there will be special literary evenings featuring key authors, new books and previews of forthcoming attractions as well as some musical performances.


The details of the programmes are as under:


IN THE BAZAAR OF LOVE
Presenting a selection of Penguin Classics: In the Bazaar of Love: The Selected Poetry of Amir Khusrau, Zafarnama and Kama Sutra followed by a performance by Shubha Mudgal

LOSING MY VIRGINITY
Taking a book to bed
Madhuri Banerjee, Ira Trivedi and Ismita Tandon Dhankher in a candid chat
with Kaveree Bamzai followed by a performance by rock band U.8.NOISE

COMING OF AGE
The launch of Penguin Young Adult
Sheba Karim, author of Skunk Girl, in conversation with Samit Basu, followed by dramatized readings from David Hair’s Pyre of Queens and Swayamvara

A WRITER’S LIFE
Javed Akhtar, William Dalrymple, Namita Gokhale and Sunil Sethi Sethi in conversation

HOWZZAT!
Cricket mania at its best!
Quiz on India’s favourite game with cricket analyst and quizmaster Joy Bhattacharjya, open to all
(On the spot registration for the quiz)

FINDING ANANDA
An open workshop by the Osho Foundation

THE CULTURE OF CONSUMPTION
Four distinguished economic thinkers shed light on the promises and perils of capitalism
Bimal Jalan, Gurcharan Das, Kaushik Basu and Vinay Bharat-Ram

BOX OFFICE
A special film screening in association with The American Center

BLOCKBUSTER FRIDAY
Mega books in the making
Readings by Shobhaa Dé from Sethji, William Dalrymple from The Return of the King: Shah Shuja and the First Anglo-Afghan War, Suhel Seth from Jamil Ahmad’s The Wandering Falcon

HINDI: BADLEGI TO CHALEGI!
A quirky dialogue on the changing forms of Hindi over time

Sudhish Pachauri, Noor Zaheer, Anamika, Ravish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar
in conversation with Satyanand Nirupam

LIGHTS, CAMERA . . . ACTION!!
Celebrated film-maker Vishal Bhardwaj and Ruskin Bond in a very special conversation

CLOSING PERFORMANCE: Qawwali by the acclaimed Warsi Brothers of Hyderabad

DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2011

For the first time award was given at the Jaipur Literature Festival, DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. In January 2011, this US $ 50,000 award was conferred upon H.M. Naqvi for his novel ‘Home Boy’, published by Harper Collins India. The Chairperson of the Jury, Nilanjana S. Roy declared that while finalizing the shortlist when all the members of the jury argued about the merits of all the contenders they rediscovered the joys of reading. She said, “As we finalised our shortlist, the criteria that was uppermost in our minds was DSC’s mandate to look for the best and the most interesting examples of the contemporary novel set in, or about, South Asia.”

The following novels were shortlisted for the prize:
• Amit Chaudhuri’s The Immortals (Picador India)
• Tania James’ ‘Atlas of Unknowns (Pocket Books)
• Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s ‘The Story of a Widow (Picador India)
• Manju Kapur’s ‘The Immigrant’ (Faber & Faber)
• Neel Mukherjee’s ‘A Life Apart’ (Constable & Robinson)
• H.M. Naqvi’s ‘Home Boy’ (Harper Collins India)

Apart from those mentioned above the other novels included in the longlist in the previous round were:
• Upamanyu Chatterjee’s ‘Way to Go’ (Penguin)
• Chandrahas Choudhury’s ‘Arzee the Dwarf’ (Harper Collins)
• Ru Freeman’s ‘A Disobedient Girl’ (Penguin/Viking)
• Anjum Hassan’s ‘Neti Neti’ (IndiaInk/Roli Books)
• Daniyal Mueenuddin’s ‘In Other Rooms, Other Wonders’ (Bloomsbury)
• Salma’s ‘The Hour Past Midnight’ (Zubaan, translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom)
• Sankar’s ‘The Middleman’ (Penguin, translated by Arunava Sinha)
• Ali Sethi’s ‘The Wish Maker’ (Penguin)
• Jaspreet Singh’s ‘Chef’ (Bloomsbury)
• Aatish Taseer’s ‘The Temple Goers’ (Penguin/Viking)

Jaipur Literature Festival 2011 - My Initial Experience

The Entrance Gate of Jaipur Literature Festival 2011

It was my first brush with such a huge number of authors at one place, all coming together to make the occasion all the more happening. Yes, it was at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2011 that went on from 21 to 25 January. As we headed towards the venue of the festival, that is, the Diggi Palace, a strange thought came to my mind. The city did not bear a festival look inspite of such celebrated festival happening there. It was only when we neared the official venue that we could spot the colourful banners at the entrance. In my five days stay there, I spotted just small signboards put up by the sponsors outside a few shops. But let me add here that it was not at all a let down. After all, literature has still not become a celebrity, although a few authors have tried to earn name and fame by glamorizing their public image.

There was food enough for thinking minds that have a literary bent of mind. There were all, right from veterans like Ruskin Bond and Vikram Seth; Nobel Laureates like Orhan Pamuk and J.M. Coetzee; modern writers like Jaishree Misra and Abha Dawesar; and new entrants like Jai Arjun Singh. The only thing is that the list was not as small as it might seem. It was a long one rather so couldn’t be given as such in a few sentences here.

Apart from the literature being served on a platter, there were a quite a few things that were attractive enough to catch your fancy at the very first glance. Here are a few glimpses of the temptations that were laid out well to catch you unguarded.

A display of the wide variety of products at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2011

Finally to add, I would like to mention, the experiences I gained were so wide that it would not be possible for me to sum up all in just one post. I’ll be writing a series of posts on the highlights of the Festival, about major authors, their books, the discussions and also a few exclusive interviews that I conducted.

Jaipur Literature Festival - 2011

The biggest literary event of not only India but of Asia-Pacific, the much-awaited Jaipur Literature Festival, an annual event, is going to start from the 21^st of this month. The festival would conclude on the 25^th.

The event would witness the visit of a host of celebrated authors from all across the globe. Prominent among them are:

•Arthur Miller

•Kiran Desai

•Manju Kapur

•Nirupama Dutt

•Orhan Pamuk

•William Dalrymple

•J.M. Coetzee

 

The Directors of the Festival are: William Dalrymple (the author of   White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India) and Namita Gokhale. It is being produced by Sanjoy K. Roy, Sheuli Sethi and Teamwork Productions.

 

HISTORY OF JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL:

The first of its kind was held in the year 2006. This festival is held in the month of January every year in the Pink City, Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan (Punjab). The Hall of Audience and the gardens of the Diggi Palace of Jaipur plays host to this literary extravaganza.

DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE OF JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2011

DAY 1: 21 January, 2011 (Friday)
Major Highlights of the Day:

In the section 'Pamuk & Art of the Novel' you will be the privileged spectator and listener to Orhan Pamuk (Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 2006 and know for his novel My Name Is Red) in conversation with Chandrahas Chaudhury, a Mumbai-based novelist and Book Critic.

It will be a double treat for you when you witness his discussion with Kiran Desai on Saturday.

In 'Fugitive Histories' Githa Hariharan (winner of Commonwealth Writer's Prize in 1992 for her first novel The Thousand Faces of Night will be in engaged in discussion with Manju Kapur (of 'Difficult Daughters' fame).

DAY 2: 22 January, 2011 (Saturday)

John Makinson, Kiran Desai, Patrick French & Sunil Sethi will be in conversation with Sonia Singh in the section 'Why Books Matter'.

Kiran Desai in conversation with Jai Arjun Singh (author of 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro') in the section 'The Inheritance of Books'.

DAY 3: 23 January, 2011 (Friday)

'Boys will be Boys' will see Ruskin Bond (The Life and Works of Ruskin Bond) in conversation with Ravi Singh.

'Readings from Coetzee' to be presented by J.M.Coetzee (of Disgrace: A Novel fame) himself will be introduced by Patrick French.

You will see MJ Akbar (known for The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857) in 'Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan'.

DAY 4: 24 January, 2011 (Friday)

'Poetry in the Time of Love & Torment' will witness Ashok Vajpeyi (the co-author of INDIAS GREAT MASTERS: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of Classical Music)& K.Satchidanandan, who will be introduced by Arundhathi Subramaniam.

In 'Imperial English' we will have Adam Zagajewski, Ahdaf Soueif, J.M.Coetzee & Mrinal Pande in conversation with Githa Hariharan. The section will be presented by Merrill Lynch.

DAY 5: 25 January, 2011 (Friday)

In 'Stranger than Fiction'Arthur Miller ( Arthur Miller: Collected Plays 1944-1961 (Library of America) ) in conversation with Abha Dawesar (the writer of Babyji ).

'The Alchemy of Writing: Truth, Fiction & the Challenge of India' will have Tarun Tejpal (known for his The Alchemy of Desire: A Novel ) in conversation with Manu Joseph.

We'll be the witnesses to Vikram Seth (his most famous creation A Suitable Boy: A Novel (Modern Classics) )in conversation with Somnath Batabyal in 'A Suitable Book'.

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Second Part : posted on 26 January, 2011
JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2011 - MY INITIAL EXPERIENCES

The Entrance Gate of Jaipur Literature Festival 2011

It was my first brush with such a huge number of authors at one place, all coming together to make the occasion all the more happening. Yes, it was at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2011 that went on from 21 to 25 January. As we headed towards the venue of the festival, that is, the Diggi Palace, a strange thought came to my mind. The city did not bear a festival look inspite of such celebrated festival happening there. It was only when we neared the official venue that we could spot the colourful banners at the entrance. In my five days stay there, I spotted just small signboards put up by the sponsors outside a few shops. But let me add here that it was not at all a let down. After all, literature has still not become a celebrity, although a few authors have tried to earn name and fame by glamorizing their public image.

There was food enough for thinking minds that have a literary bent of mind. There were all, right from veterans like Ruskin Bond and Vikram Seth; Nobel Laureates like Orhan Pamuk and J.M. Coetzee; modern writers like Jaishree Misra and Abha Dawesar; and new entrants like Jai Arjun Singh. The only thing is that the list was not as small as it might seem. It was a long one rather so couldn’t be given as such in a few sentences here.

Apart from the literature being served on a platter, there were a quite a few things that were attractive enough to catch your fancy at the very first glance. Here are a few glimpses of the temptations that were laid out well to catch you unguarded.

A display of the wide variety of products at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2011

Finally to add, I would like to mention, the experiences I gained were so wide that it would not be possible for me to sum up all in just one post. I’ll be writing a series of posts on the highlights of the Festival, about major authors, their books, the discussions and also a few exclusive interviews that I conducted.

DSC PRIZE FOR SOUTH ASIAN LITERATURE 2011

For the first time award was given at the Jaipur Literature Festival, DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. In January 2011, this US $ 50,000 award was conferred upon H.M. Naqvi for his novel ‘Home Boy’, published by Harper Collins India. The Chairperson of the Jury, Nilanjana S. Roy declared that while finalizing the shortlist when all the members of the jury argued about the merits of all the contenders they rediscovered the joys of reading. She said, “As we finalised our shortlist, the criteria that was uppermost in our minds was DSC’s mandate to look for the best and the most interesting examples of the contemporary novel set in, or about, South Asia.”

The following novels were shortlisted for the prize:

• Amit Chaudhuri’s The Immortals (Picador India)

• Tania James’ ‘Atlas of Unknowns (Pocket Books)

• Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s ‘The Story of a Widow (Picador India)

• Manju Kapur’s ‘The Immigrant’ (Faber & Faber)

• Neel Mukherjee’s ‘A Life Apart’ (Constable & Robinson)

• H.M. Naqvi’s ‘Home Boy’ (Harper Collins India)

Apart from those mentioned above the other novels included in the longlist in the previous round were:

• Upamanyu Chatterjee’s ‘Way to Go’ (Penguin)

• Chandrahas Choudhury’s ‘Arzee the Dwarf’ (Harper Collins)

• Ru Freeman’s ‘A Disobedient Girl’ (Penguin/Viking)

• Anjum Hassan’s ‘Neti Neti’ (IndiaInk/Roli Books)

• Daniyal Mueenuddin’s ‘In Other Rooms, Other Wonders’ (Bloomsbury)

• Salma’s ‘The Hour Past Midnight’ (Zubaan, translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom)

• Sankar’s ‘The Middleman’ (Penguin, translated by Arunava Sinha)

• Ali Sethi’s ‘The Wish Maker’ (Penguin)

• Jaspreet Singh’s ‘Chef’ (Bloomsbury)

• Aatish Taseer’s ‘The Temple Goers’ (Penguin/Viking)

Jaipur Literature Festival 2011

I don't know how many of you must have heard about the Jaipur Literature Festival that is held every year in the month of January. And I have now how many of you must have attended that. It is being held every year since the year 2006. It is the sixth festival this time. I am looking forward to going to Jaipur to attend it for the first time in the past six years.

Though the event is termed as a Literature festival, but it is in fact, an amalgam of literature, music, culture and other arts as well. The ambience of the Diggi Palace (Jaipur), where the festival is held every year, against the backdrop of the Pink city of Jaipur is bound to have a mesmerizing effect upon me. I'll be sharing a detailed report about the event once I return on 27 January. The festival will on till 25 January after its commencement on 21 January.

For detailed information about the event visit: JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2011