Zee-JLF, however, is not just about books, but brings under its extended umbrella a variety of art and cultural forms.
As the 10th edition of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival gets underway in the Rajasthan capital today, there is much excitement in the air about what the literary carnival has to offer this time.
"When we began making preparations this year, we weren't exactly thinking about doing something spectacular," says festival producer Sanjoy K Roy. As always, Zee-JLF is attracting a sterling cast of literary stars — there's this year's Man Booker Prize winner Paul Betty, the translator of this year's Man Booker International Prize-winning Korean novel The Vegetarian, Deborah Smith, veteran poet Anne Waldman, eminent economist Ha-Joon Chang, actor Rishi Kapoor, Tamil writer Perumal Murugan and Academy Award-nominated scriptwriter David Hare among others. Sessions at the five-day festival will start from January 19 (Thursday) and continue until January 23 (Monday).
Zee-JLF, however, is not just about books, but brings under its extended umbrella a variety of art and cultural forms. The festival stage itself mounts a mix of musical forms; the star attraction at this year's opening ceremony is the famed Shillong Chamber Choir. There will also be performances by folk musicians from Ireland, The Aga Khan Music Initiative, along with an inter-religious arts programme that will feature musicians from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
"The idea is to showcase all aspects of the world's music and culture at the festival," says Roy.
In addition, this year, Zee-JLF offers an extended bouquet of cultural events spread across several venues around the Pink City, among them innovative performing arts jugalbandis to be held at Amer Fort and also an exhibition by contemporary artist Ranbir Kaleka at the refurbished Jawahar Kala Kendra in the city.
JLF has always been enthusiastic and supportive about other partners within the arts space showcasing their performances during the festival, adds Roy.
"Jaipur has become an organic space for many things to happen simultaneously," he adds.
Zee-JLF has acquired an enviable status in the country's cultural calendar, he notes with pride, inspiring more than a 100 literary festivals across India, some of them in remote towns like Sangrur.
Like every year, the run up to Zee-JLF has been marked by controversies, most vocally the objections raised to the inclusion of two RSS ideologues among the list of speakers. Responding to the clamour, Roy affirms that Zee-JLF, true to its tradition, will continue to be a platform for all kinds of voices and political ideologies. That move has drawn flak from both sides of the political divide, JLF will continue to maintain its inclusive nature. "It's a space where everybody can come and present their views and where there is respect for the written word," emphasises Roy.
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