An unforgettable day at the Jaipur Literature Festival

The aura in the Pink city of Rajasthan, Jaipur, was surrounded with the ninth edition of  the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). The five day festival from January 21 to 25, 2016, celebrated, literature, culture, poetry, revolution, history and many more. Intellectuals from about 20 countries debated and discussed on diverse topics.

This year the name of the fest was ‘Kathasaritsagar‘, meaning the sea of stories. The venue of this grandeur was Diggi Palace, a heritage building in Jaipur. JLF witnessed a footfall of 35,000 every day. It was that time of the year where many of the Malaviya National Institute of Technology students spent their days at Diggi Palace, enjoying the precious words of scholars and Rajasthani Folk music. The beautifully decorated tents become the place where discussions took place on a plethora of topics such as the importance of silk route in developing cultures across the globe, the role of Urdu poets in poetry, Make in India, caste discrimination, temples in Pakistan, journey of entrepreneur, sexual violence in South Asia and many more.

I reached out for the fest to listen to my favourite author of modern era, Amish Tripathi, whose novels have not only made mythology interesting but also are a fountain of inspiration to me. The session started with a formal discussion with Amish, where he discussed his journey so far and the difficulties he faced in getting his first book published that later turned out to be a Best-seller. It was a motivational session for budding authors. It further got better when he gave me an autograph on “Scion of Ikshvaku”. His first novel on Lord Ram Series.

Jaipur Literature Fest is incomplete without some beautiful poems and shayaris. When it comes to Hindi shayari, who better than the Oscar winning lyricist of India, Gulzar, to narrate a few poems from his collection. His poems compelled the audience to think and introspect, and at the same time appreciate the man who penned these words. The event rose to great heights when this session was followed by another legendary and national award winning lyricist of India, Javed Akhtar, who narrated some of his best Urdu poetry.

The energy of the place was such that it engaged me for eight hours and gave me insights about various aspects of life something which I will cherish forever. 

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