The Jaipur Literature fest kick started in Jaipur on January 21st. Known to be one of the largest festivals for authors and public figures in India, a number of books will be launched at the festival this year.
The first book launched at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2016 is Conversations at Jaipur: The Spirit of JLF, edited by Urvashi Butalia and launched by Puneet Goenka and Sreyashi Goenka, owners of ZEE during the inaugural event. The book brings together some of the best of the debates and discussions at JLF over the years. The book will be further discussed in detail at a session on January 24th.
Here are a few more works of literature that will be launched through the course of the festival.
Paresh Maity: World of Colours an illustrated limited edition publication featuring a comprehensive review of Paresh Maity’s vast repertoire in the Foundation’s collection will also be launched here. The Stellar International Art Foundation is a non-profit setup which holds over 600 paintings and sculptures dating from the late 19th century to present day, including renowned Indian and international artists.
The Indian Accent Restaurant Cookbook is based on Indian Accent, the restaurant at The Manor, New Delhi’s which serves a ground-breaking contemporary Indian menu by award-winning chef, Manish Mehrotra. With photographs by Rohit Chawla, among India’s foremost food photographers, the cookbook has a selection of Indian Accent recipes to excite the adventurous while satisfying traditional palates. The book will be launched today from 1.40 pm to 2.20pm. It will be released by Shobhaa De at the Google Mughal Tent.
The Art of the Jogi Family spiralled out of an encounter in the 1980s after which Ganesh Jogi and his wife Teju started to draw. They were soon joined by their six children in what became a family tradition. If their folkish naïveté is aesthetically pleasing, it also serves as a useful tool to reflect upon the varied hues of their life’s experience, between the village and the city, between tradition and modernity. The book will be launched today from 4.45pm to 5.15pm. The session’s name is , Contemporary Expressions: Art of the Jogi Family curated by Tulika Kedia, with Hon’ble Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Malvika Singh at the Char Bagh Tent.
In, You Can Be – Smarter and Wiser, a book by Meera Shenoy where she uses real life stories to inspire us, celebrating those who have converted their disability into an opportunity to touch and transform other vulnerable lives. The book will be launched today from 4.45pm to 5.15pm and will be released by Sanjoy Roy and Namita Gokhale at the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns.
It’s not all books for adults, Thunderstorm: Dalit Stories by Ratan Kumar Sambharia comprises of 15 stories that are at once grim, wryly ironic, humorous and affecting portraying with rare acuity the injustices rampant in a caste-driven society and the triggers that spark rebellion. Ratan Kumar Sambharia will launch the book at Samvaad Tent
In the panel session India at Play a stellar line up of sports people will discuss the national obsession with cricket as well as an array of alternative popular sports, from football and wrestling to boxing and polo. Acclaimed sports writer Suresh Menon has edited the Wisden India Almanack 2015 which will be launched during this session. Suresh Menon is joined by iconic cricketer Anil Kumble, legendary footballer Baichang Bhutia and journalist and writer Sidin Vadukut to discuss the nature of competitive sports and the fierce passions they inspire. The book will be launched on January 22nd at 12.25 to 1.25 in the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns.
Renowned French writer and cineaste Jean-Claude Carrière has written Sujata Bajaj: Ganapati, which also includes an interview with Sujata Bajaj by Kishore Singh. The book, published by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, showcases the artist’s lifelong endeavour to capture and render the essence of Ganapati, the beloved and enigmatic idol so important to the culture and belief of many Indians. This book will be launched on January 22nd at the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns.
Disasters came in the Himalayas, in Kedarnath, Kashmir and Nepal. Disasters can be a natural occurrence, but the death of so many people attributed to these disasters does not naturally follow. Himalaya Pe Kabristan is a first-hand report suggesting inefficient disaster management was the reason behind the loss of 20,000 lives and investigates what went wrong. This riveting book by Lakshmi Pant will be launched by Namita Gokhale and Stephen Alter at the Google Mughal Tent.
Being a good parent is a skill acquired over time and one that requires constantly adapting to the rapidly changing times. In Is Your Child Ready to Face the World? Dr. Anupam Sibal, through his experience as a father and a paediatrician outlines his approach to effectively getting through to children despite modern distractions. Bina Kak will release the book at the Silver Pearls Front Lawns on January 22nd from 4.45pm to 5.15.
As a former cabinet minister, Salman Khurshid has witnessed crucial behind-the-scenes developments that have had a profound impact on the destiny of the nation. In The Other Side of the Mountain he takes the reader on a journey through politics, media, international relations, the Nirbhaya tragedy and the Anna Hazare movement. The Other Side of the Mountain will be released on 23 January from 1.40pm – 2.20pm at the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns.
Another tasty treat is served up in Rajasthan on a Platter: Easy, Tasty, Healthy presenting traditional, easy-to-cook Rajasthani meals for young homemakers and all food connoisseurs and mixing traditional knowledge with the fast-changing, modern snacking generation. The book by Suman Bhatnagar and Pushpa Gupta will be launched on January 23rd at 1.40pm to 2.20 by Ram Pratap Diggi at the Google Mughal Tent.
Gandhi – An Illustrated Biography by Pramod Kapoor will be launched at ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival during the session, Beloved Bapu. A distinguished panel, including his granddaughter, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, will discuss the human vulnerability and genius of the man who became the Mahatma, the conscience and political catalyst of his age. It will be released on January 23rd at the Charbagh Tent.
From the film sets of Bollywood to a closeted marital home in a Tamil Nadu village; from the rigours of a beauty parlour to a home for abandoned girls in Karnataka – walk with them. Walking Towards Ourselves is a timely piercing and sometimes humorous exploration of what it means to be a woman in India in a time of intense and incredible change. The book will be launched on January 23rd at the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns.
ShabdVedh is the story of the extraordinary life and work of India’s thesaurus man, Arvind Kumar. It encompasses his 70-year journey in the world of words. In the late 70s, he plunged deep into researching and preparing the first Hindi thesaurus. In 2007 Penguin India and Yatra Books brought out a 3-volume Hindi-English, English-Hindi thesaurus/dictionary spanning nearly 3000 pages and with a database of one million English and Hindi expressions. The book will be launched on January 23rd by Javed Akhtar at the Google Mughal Tent.
Iconic filmmaker and inheritor of the legendary Satyajit Ray’s legacy, Rituparno Ghosh was one of the finest auteurs to emerge out of contemporary Bengal. His films, though rooted firmly in middle-class values, desires and aspirations, are highly critical of hetero-patriarchal power structures. This is the first scholarly study undertaken on Ghosh which discusses his contribution to the cinematic landscape of India. The book will be launched by Sangeeta Datta at the Rajnigandha Silver Pearls Front Lawns on January 24th from 1.40 to 2.20.
Griffith Review 49: New Asia Now showcases outstanding young writers from the countries at the centre of Asia’s ongoing transformation. All born after 1970, they write about the people and places they know with passion, flair and insight. At the Char Bagh Tent on January 24 from 4.45pm to 5.15pm will be Julianne Schultz and Jane Camens who will launch the book.
A session discussing the new book launched at the beginning of the Festival, Conversations at Jaipur: the Spirit of JLF with Amish Tripathi, Bibek Debroy, Namita Gokhale, William Dalrymple and Sanjoy Roy will take place at 4.45 – 5.15pm on January 24 in the Google Mughal Tent.
