Eight things you can't miss at ZeeJLF this year

‘The Real Thing’
Tom Stoppard in conversation with Sanjna Kapoor

The 80-year-old Czech-born British playwright is a true blue literary superstar — an Oscar winner, and the writer of the classic Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.  

(Jan 25, 3:45pm – Front Lawn, Diggi Palace)

Under the Stars @ Hawa Mahal
The Troth-Usne Kaha Tha

A joint initiative of Rajasthan Tourism and ZeeJLF, The Troth-Usne Kaha Tha is a multimedia dance theatre performance about the Indian soldiers at World War I, presented by Akademi, a British producer of 
Indian dance. 

(Jan 26, 7:30pm – Hawa Mahal)

Bridget Jones’ Diaries 
Helen Fielding in conversation with Meru Gokhale

This one needs no introduction, for who hasn’t read the Bridget Jones series and who wouldn’t want to hear its creator talk about it? 

(Jan 27, 11:15am – Front Lawn, Diggi Palace)

The Spirit of the Game 
Cricket vs Football, Rajdeep Sardesai and Novy Kapadia with Sanjeeb Mukherjea

One is the son of a former India test cricketer; the other has been called Indian football’s ‘genial chronicler’. The debate between them should be interesting, though in the popularity stakes, cricket wins hands down.

(Jan 26, 2:30pm – Samvad, Diggi Palace)

The Wodehouse Effect 
Shashi Tharoor, Swapan Dasgupta, Philip Norman with Amrita Tripathi

This is a reprisal of a wonderful discussion of PG Wodehouse and why he’s so popular in India that happened at the London edition of ZeeJLF last June. Watch it for Tharoor, who’s a self-acknowledged fan and knows the books backwards.

(Jan 27, 3:45pm – Samvad, Diggi Palace)

The Perils of Celebrity
Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore

Celebrities are a big draw at Diggi, and the Pataudis have an added attraction, being blue bloods. They’ll be on the stage to discuss Soha Ali Khan’s surprisingly readable recent release, The Perils of Being Moderately Famous. Should be interesting! 

(Jan 28, 2:30 pm – Samvad, Diggi Palace)

Afro Celt Sound System 
Music beyond borders

An acclaimed world music act, a fusion of EDM with traditional Irish, African and even the Indian dhol, makes an appearance on the JLF stage. ACSS has two Grammy nominations and its seven albums, including The Source which released in 2016, have notched 1.5 mn in sales.

(Jan 28, 8:45pm – Hotel Clarks Amer) 

Small Acts of Freedom 
Gurmehar Kaur in conversation with Manasi Subramaniam

This was the young college student, the daughter of a Kargil martyr whose statement ‘Pakistan did not kill my Dad, war killed him’ had stirred a hornet’s nest two years ago and you can be sure her book will have enough fireworks to set the TV studios off again. Be there to hear her first.

(Jan 29, 1:40pm – Samvad, Diggi Palace)