Bhasha at Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

By Santanu Ganguly, Jaipur: The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival will be a hotspot for dialogue and readings in South Asian literatures. Writers from Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will converge in the lawns of Diggi Palace. These include Fahmida Riaz, M.A. Farooqui and others from Pakistan, Sonam Dorji and Kunzang Choden from Bhutan, Ani Choying from Nepal, Anisul Hoque from Bangladesh and Ranjini Obeyesekere and Ashok Ferry from Sri Lanka.

Over 17 Indian languages including Bangla, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Magadhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil and Urdu will be featured in the multilingual sessions making these books and writers accessible to Indian and international audiences.

Commenting on the Indian Languages participation at this year festival, Festival Co-Director Namita Gokhale said, “Writing in the Indian languages is sparkling, vibrant, and rooted in the metaphor and idiom of our times. This year, the festival will emphasize readings and dialogue in over 17 Indian languages, foregrounding the joy and vitality of both tradition and contemporary interpretation”

Festival Co-Director William Dalrymple said "This is the most cerebral, intellectually-stimulating and high-powered A-team we've ever fielded at Jaipur. It’s going to be an absolutely extraordinary five days. Don't miss it!"

A major theme at the festival this year is centered around ‘The Buddha in Literature’. Sessions planned include ‘Kinships of Faiths: Finding the Middle Way’, ‘God as a Political Philosopher - Dalit Perspectives on Buddhism’, ‘Women in the Path’ and ‘Jataka Readings’.

Speaking about the festival, Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi, Eminent Hindi Poet and Critic said- “The creative and dynamic programming of Indian languages will make the Jaipur Literature Festival even more democratic in one sense, more Indian in a deeper sense and make the discovery of these Indian languages familiar to a larger audience.”

Ambai, one of the most significant Tamil writers and feminist researchers in India, will be in conversation with eminent translator and writer Lakshmi Holmström.

‘Sthraina Kamasutra’ by Malayalam writer K.R Indira is a reimagining of the legendary erotic text from a woman’s point of view. Indira will be in conversation with Pavan Varma to discuss her book in the session ‘The Contemporary Kamasutra’.

Sharing his enthusiasm, Mr. K. Satchidanandan, poet, critic and chair of the jury for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013 said-“What makes Indian literature more fascinating than the literature of any other country in the world is its immense diversity of languages, styles and perspectives. Any literary festival within India, and even the ones outside India that genuinely aspire to represent Indian writing cannot but reflect this great linguistic range and variety. I am happy that the scale of representation of Indian languages in the Jaipur Literature Festival has been growing with the gravity, popularity and magnitude of the Festival itself.”

‘Remembering Sunil Da’ is dedicated to the legendary Bangla novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay who was to have attended the Jaipur Festival in 2013. Sunil Da died on 23rd October this year, leaving a void in the literary firmament. Sharmila Tagore shall read from the author’s work in the original Bangla as well as English translation while eminent translators and litterateurs shall pay homage to his enduring genius.

In the session ‘Bhasha aur Bhrashtachar’, writers like Gaurav Solanki, Ajay Navaria and Anamika will speak about breaking through the barriers of societal restraints and self-censorship to use language as a tool of defiance and assertion.

Noted feminist, historian, writer and publisher Urvashi Butalia said, “The real wealth of India's diverse literatures is found in its languages, and each year, as more and more Indian languages claim their rightful place at the JLF, the full spectrum, from the classical to the modern and everything that lies in between, is splendidly on offer for readers and listeners.”

Radio presenter and story-teller Neelesh Mishra presents ‘Yaad Shehar’, where music and narrative mingles to bring alive the city of memory.

The session ‘Ek Bhasha Hua Karti Hai’ will look at the heritage and new expressions in Maithili and Bhojpuri languages.

Travel writing sessions have always been popular at the Jaipur Literature Festival and so it’s no surprise that this year’s Condé Nast excellence award for promoting cultural tourism has been awarded to India’s most loved literature festival.

Adding further on the festival, Sanjoy K. Roy, Producer, DSC Jaipur Literature Festival said-“We are hopeful that the audience will be thrilled and feel satiated, since we are receiving an overwhelming response from them in the buildup to the festival.”

More updates on authors, sessions and happenings coming soon.

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival is considered to be Asia’s leading literature event, celebrating national and international writers, and encompassing a range of activities including film, music and theatre. The festival has already hosted some of the best-known national and international writers including Orhan Pamuk, J.M. Coetzee, John Berendt, Kiran Desai, Christopher Hampton, Ian McEwan, Vikram Seth, Wole Soyinka, Salman Rushdie, Pico Iyer, Simon Schama, Thomas Keneally, Hanif Kureishi, Vikram Chandra, Anoushka Shankar, Michael Frayn, Stephen Frears, Alexander McCall Smith, Donna Tartt, Tina Brown, Shashi Tharoor, Mohammed Hanif, Paul Zacharia, among many others. The Directors of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festivals are William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale and the festival is produced by Sanjoy K. Roy and Sheuli Sethi of Teamwork Productions. DSC Limited is the principal sponsor of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival.

Teamwork is a highly versatile entertainment company with roots in the performing arts, social action and the corporate world. Our expertise lies in the area of entertainment and includes television, film – documentary and feature, and the creation and development of festivals of contemporary performing arts, visual arts, and literature across the world.

We currently produce 17 performing and visual arts festivals in 21 cities across 11countries, including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Israel, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, UK and USA.

Teamwork produces Asia’s biggest literary gathering – the annual DSC Jaipur Literature Festival – as well as the Hay Festival in Kerala.

‘Celebrating India in Israel’, ‘Indian Summer in Canada’, ‘Eye on India in Chicago’, ‘Kahaani Festival’ and ‘Strings of the World’ are five new annual performing and visual arts festivals that have been launched in 2011-2012.