ZEE-JLF organisers released a list of 177 more authors who will be present at the festival
The countdown to the next edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) to be held on January 25-29, 2018 began with a preview held in the national Capital on Tuesday. The event was marked with a vigorous debate on the subject "Populism is the greatest threat to democracy" with JD(U) spokesperson Pavan Varma, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, academician Rakshanda Jamil, lawyer Akhil Sibal, and journalist Pragnya Tiwari participating in it.
Varma spoke about how, in a democracy, populism was a deterrent to good governance because parties make promises only to win polls. He added that this breeds cynicism among people, making them feel like 'sab to chor hai'. Agreeing with Varma, Tharoor said populism led to de-legitimisation of pluralism, or minority points of view that did not agree with the majority opinion.
The organisers on Tuesday released a list of further 177 authors who will be present at this year's festival, bringing up the total number of speakers to over 400. Dominic Dromgoole, former artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, Burmese human rights activist Ma Thida; Philip Norman, the author of Beatles biography are some of the speakers.
This is the third tranche of announcements over the past two weeks. The ZEE-JLF line-up includes well-known names such as Helen Fielding, writer of the popular Bridget Jones' Dairy series; academy award winning scriptwriter Tom Stoppard; Amy Tan, author of the bestselling Joy Luck Club; acclaimed travel Pico Iyer; and Booker Prize winner Michael Ondaatje.
About the programming this year, "Poetry will be special focus this year - there will be around 35 poets from all across the world and India," says festival director Sanjoy K Roy. "And we have around 25 Harvard professors, from particle physics, literature, history - an instant pop-up university," says festival co-curator William Dalrymple.
The festival will also, this year, inaugurate a new venue adjacent to the Diggi Palace in what used to be the car park. "This is where all the popular sessions, Bollywood, cricket, Shashi Tharoor (with a laugh) with audiences of 10,000 will be housed," says Dalrymple. Another new venture is a literary prize named after French philosopher Romain Rolland which will be given by the French government to the best book translated from French into an Indian language.
STAR-STUDDED
- ZEE-JLF organisers released a list of 177 more authors who will be present at the festival.
- The total number of speakers for this year has reached over 400.
){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}
 "Michael Ondaatje")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}