The concluding day of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival 2018 resonated with its characteristic energy amid diverse sessions, speakers and themes, from the erudite to the effervescent. The 11th edition of the Jaipur Literature festival has seen delegates from across the country and outside India too.
The literary extravaganza had its share of controversies and unpredictability this year too. There were various thought-provoking and informative discussions centered around freedom of speech and dissent in a democracy among others.
Dance, history and civilization, Bollywood, the dance of democracy, fashion and modernity, terrorism and investigative journalism, and the art of creating compelling literature were themes which lit up the stage in sessions that drew staggering crowds to the festival.
The event concluded with a debate on “#MeToo: Do Men Still Have it Too Easy?’’ between Bee Rowlatt, Pinky Anand, Ruchira Gupta, Sandip Roy and Vinod Dua which was moderated by Namita Bhandare.
This time the row over the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat had its impact on the festival as the Central Board of Film Certification chairman Prasoon Joshi withdrew from attending the event at the last minute because of repeated threats from the Karni Sena over the movie’s release by the censor board. He had mentioned in a statement issued to the organisers – Sanjoy Roy, Namita Gokhale, and William Dalrymple – that, “I will not be attending JLF this year and must say will miss sharing great moments with literature and poetry lovers. I am doing this so that the dignity of the event does not get compromised or discomfort caused either to the organisers, fellow writers or the attendees. And also so that the lovers of literature get to focus on creativity and not controversy.”
In its 11-year journey, the festival has always created space for free speech and as co-director William Dalrymple said, “What makes the JLF stand out is that it is completely free and open to all, and for five days we set up a mini-university.”
The five-day literary gala gathered talent from across the globe from Afghanistan to Patagonia and Tasmania to Turkey to present writers of genius as diverse as the great literary critic Homi k Bhabha, travel writer Redmond O’Hanlon, one of the most admired playwrights Tom Stoppard and much more.
This year the organisers had booked 4,000-plus hotel nights to host over 500-plus speakers and over 178 musicians who participated in 205 sessions and 19 concerts of infectious music played morning and night.
Described as the “Kumbh of Literature”, the Festival’s core values remain unchanged; to serve as a democratic, non-aligned platform offering free and fair access. The past decade has seen it transform into a global literary phenomenon having hosted nearly 2000 speakers and welcoming over a million booklovers from across India and the globe.