Among them was Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who made a surprise appearance at Diggi Palace, the festival venue, on Monday.
The eleventh edition of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (ZeeJLF) ended in the Rajasthan capital on Monday, like always, a huge success. According to the organisers, Teamwork Arts' Sanjoy K Roy, there has been a 23 per cent jump in the number of visitors over the 450,000 or so footfalls last year.
Among them was Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who made a surprise appearance at Diggi Palace, the festival venue, on Monday. Taking a break from the by-elections in Ajmer and Alwar, Scindia went around and bought around 40 books, among them gifts for her grandchildren.
The festival concluded with a debate on the hot topic of recent times – the #MeToo debate, and whether 'Men still had it too easy?" Rising tempers, heated rhetoric marked the exchange with journalist Manu Joseph saying that "morality was the creation of unattractive men". He was loudly shouted down by opponents, among them additional solicitor general Pinky Anand and founder of Apne Aap, an NGO, Ruchira Gupta. Unsurprisingly, the crowds voted overwhelmingly against the motion.
"Our objective has been to give a platform to writers in our Indian languages and dialects but to also bring not just English writers but those from the Arab world, South America, France, Spain. This helps to expand our own literatures," said festive co-director Namita Gokhale. It was a relatively controversy free festival, except for the little storm over Prasoon Joshi's decision to keep out fearing violence from the Karni Sena, as Roy pointed out, apologizing jokingly to the media which has made the most of the many controversies that have dogged the festival in earlier years. Next year, announced ZeeJLF co-director and writer William Dalrymple, there have already been confirmations from graphic artist Neil Gaiman; Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger; British authors Julian Barnes and Ian McEwan; member of Monty Python, British comic group, Michael Palin; Noam Chomsky, Stephen Greenblatt, Canadian-Indian author Rohinton Mistry, to name a few.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Panellists at the concluding debate on #MeToo")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}