Fun, color, excitement, food and a whole lot of anticipation is what gets any festival going. Festivals are generally characterized by the number of people participating and the general level of satisfaction. So when you combine two of India’s passions, books and festivals, you get an unstoppable combination, something that can steal away an entire region’s attention with its activities. So, let’s check out two major India’s international book festivals.
The Jaipur Literature Festival
Conceived in 2006, the Jaipur Literature Festival has steadily grown to become Asia’s largest literature festival. So much so that Miranda Seymour described the event as “the grandest Literary Festival of them all”. The festival is overseen by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple and is produced by Sanjoy Roy of Teamwork Productions. The festival is generally held in the hall of audience and the palace gardens.
Events:
Over the years the festival has seen notable works from a number of great writers including Jamaica Kincaid, Niall Ferguson, J.M. Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, and Salman Rushdie. The 2012 edition faced controversy because of Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, but went without a hitch.
The 2014 edition featured luminaries like Amartya Sen, Amish Tripathi, Anita Roy, A. N. Wilson and many more. Over 240 authors were welcomed for five days of debate and discussion. From fiction to biography, history to music, the programme contained something for everyone young and old. This year they had special sessions on the themes of Crime and Punishment, Democracy Dialogues, Women Uninterrupted and Endangered Languages. Adding to the usual venues was a dedicated place for children.
Verdict:
On the whole each year the Jaipur Literature Festival has been growing in leaps and bounds, and brings something rich and new each time. If you can find the time to go, don’t miss it!
Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival
The Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, the first festival to be initiated by a book store celebrates its fifth anniversary in Calcutta this year. The festival brings with it freshness and new ideas while paying homage to India’s history and culture. It reveres instances in history that took literature to greater heights, such as its celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th and the birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore back in 2012.
Events:
The festival over the years has seen increased participation from authors and personalities from different parts of the world and continues to expand its footprint, with participants from Europe – France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK.
Other writers reflect cultures like Egypt, China, Ghana and neighbors Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Aamir Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Farrukh Dhondy, Mrinal Pande, Mark Tully, Bachi Karkaria, Anita Nair, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Amit Chauduri, Shankar, Syeda Hameed, Bina Ramani , Romesh Gunasekera are a few of the eminent personalities who have graced the occasion.
In 2014:
Events held included an inaugural lecture by Aamir Khan celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Maulana Azad: His Belief in Secularism & His Foresight, The Creative Columnist: Mark Tully & Bachi Karkaria in conversation, Of Food & Love Bollywood Style: Bhaichand Patel & Moon Moon Sen on food & love in Bollywood. Launch of Bhaichand Patel’s Mothers, Lovers & Other Strangers, were some of the events held during the six day festival.
Verdict:
We wait for the 2015 edition with renewed vigor. Mark the dates on your calendar, it’s a must attend occasion.
Image credit: Pratham Books on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Aravind.jpg [/author_image] [author_info]Aravind Shenoy is a writer interested in topics ranging from finance to food, current affairs to types of prayers and all things in-between. An avid reader and music lover, he prefers quiet introspection, brainstorming and pooling ideas.[/author_info] [/author]