Pune: The 9th edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is hosting some of the world’s greatest writers, thinkers, journalists, poets and novelists including heavyweights from Mumbai and neighboring Pune.
Audiences can look forward to the pen-pushers and many diverse voices from the maximum city including poster boy of Indian Mythology Amish Tripathi, who will talk about his work and reorienting a new generation of readers towards popular myth and religion; social activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, discussing with her translator, writer and academic R Raj Rao, her powerful and riveting document of choosing to become a member of the Hijra community and exploring biological, social and personal gender roles; UTV group founder and writer Ronnie Screwvala whose inspirational book Dream with your Eyes Open explores inner growth and self-actualization through anecdotes and learnings from his life and career; and maestro of the mysterious and the unexpected, Ashwini Sanghi who will discuss his latest novel, Sialkot Saga.
Joining the stellar line-up at Jaipur this year are columnist and novelist Shobhaa De, often described as the Jackie Collins of India; Gujarati novelist Ila Arab Mehta, whose recently translated novel Fence delves into the life of young Gujarati Muslim woman and is a contemporary portrait of prejudice as well as hope; poet, novelist, essayist and translator Priya Sarukkai Chabria who will speak on her translations of Tamil Alvar poet Andaal as well as on women writers and her other works; artist and storyteller Nina Sabnani who will discuss the rich, oral Kaavad traditions of illustrated story-telling, as well Anindita Ghose and Poonam Saxena.
Also at the Festival this year are Marathi playwright Makarand Sathe who will discuss his encyclopedic work Thirty Nights: A Socio-political History of Marathi Theatre, a landmark three-volume set written in the form of a dialogue between a writer and a clown; author of The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay Siddharth Dhanvant Sanghvi who will join contemporaries Colm Toibin, Armistead Maupin and Henry Finder in discussing intersections between sexuality and writing and whether LGBT labels are simply passé; Journalist and Film Critic Rauf Ahmed on his biography Shammi Kapoor: The Untold Story who joins Jai Arjun Singh and Anuja Chauhan in discussing Bollywood biographies, and Ravi Subramanian author of award winning trilogy The Incredible Banker, The Bankster and Bankerupt.
“Mumbai is a hub of creative expression and home to many exciting contemporary literary voices in India. This year we’re delighted to host some extremely engaging authors who have been redefining the literary landscape with their visionary work well as those who have immortalized the city in their writings.” said Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and Producer of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival.
Taking place from 21 to 25 January 2016 at the beautiful and historic Diggi Palace Hotel, the 9th ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival will be a carnival of minds that will see the coming together of the best minds in a global celebration of literature.
Other popular names set to appear at the festival in 2016 include India’s most beloved and prolific storyteller Ruskin Bond; this year’s Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James; India’s most celebrated psychoanalyst and author Sudhir Kakar; Stephen Fry, one of the world’s best known actors and comedians; Hindi journalist, poet and novelist Uday Prakash, one of the leading figures in modern Indian literature; Colm Tóibín, Ireland’s greatest living writer; poet, novelist and essayist Margaret Atwood; French economist and global voice on wealth and income inequality Thomas Piketty; creator of one of the landmarks of modern American literature Tales of the City Armistead Maupin; and activist and writer Bant Singh, whose tragic and inspiring story of resistance to the atrocities he suffered as a Dalit Indian is a story of empowerment as well as a mirror to the fault lines in a still feudal society.
