Shivangi Singh/ Nabila HabibWith authors like Gulzar, Meghnad Desai and William Dalrymple, DSC Jaipur Literature Festival began with a bang. The festival took off to packed, eager audiences at a royal palace here Thursday, boasting of over 200 writers, among them Dalit authors and stars on the international literary firmament - but a thick fog in Delhi threw some reputed guests off its trail on day one.
Nobel prize wining author Wole Soyinka, the Queen of Bhutan and actress Shabana Azmi were among those who could not make it on time to Diggi Palace, the venue for the fifth DSC Jaipur Literature Festival that is being held in its biggest avatar so far Jan 21-25.
The festival director and noted author, William Dalrymple’s opening words were instantly gripping. He declared the fest was already a success half be design and half by accident.
He said, “Exactly five years ago this festival started and only six people turned up. Out of these six, three left midway. Since then something extraordinary has happened – thanks to our extraordinary sponsors. The fest has expanded at an extraordinary rate, like some goddess or a monster. Last year 114 authors came and 20k people turned up, this year 220 authors are to attend the fest, out of which many are currently stuck in Delhi, and other parts of the country! They are expected to arrive by evening.”
Talking about the increasing participation of Pakistani authors in the festival, he added, “Last year we had Pakistani intellectuals on the ground explaining the complexities of their country. People were firing questions at them and not all of these were friendly. Literature makes life momentous. The impact the Pakistani authors had on our festival showed us we were on the right track.”
Talking to
Spicezee, Sujoy Roy said, “The festival is getting bigger.” When asked about his opinion on the physical book versus the electronic book, he said, “I don’t think anything can take over (the physical book). You can’t hold a computer in your lap and read it. There is something more personal about a book.” He also said that all the authors are expected to arrive by 3.
Festival director, Namita Gokhale called the gathering a Kumbh of Literature and stressed upon the need to focus on Dalit Literature.
The audience was concentrating on Gokhale’s words when she suddenly welcomed Gulzar, and urged him to come forward and take a seat. The giant of contemporary Urdu/Hindustani Literature was standing unnoticed amid the thronging crowd and media persons near the gate!
Just as AK Mehrotra stepped on the stage, he was interrupted by what seemed like some snag in the projection on screens on both sides of the stage, and lively music drowned his voice. But the surprise music and footage of last year’s festival was just an interesting welcome to the amused poet – a signature style of naughty Dalrymple, no doubt!
Having seen the musical footage for half a minute, Mehrotra started with a smile and took the audience in a guided tour of 2500 years of Indian poetry. He read out excerpts from his translation of the oldest available texts of Prakrit poems.
Then the audience became less aware of the foggy winter outside, and grew more conscious of the intellectual stimulation that the words of so many wise intellectuals brought alive. Mehrotra’s recitations made one forget the outside world completely, and made us realize the very much alive and throbbing world of inspiration and urge to express the treasures of wisdom that the authors and litterateurs have inside them and that makes them create the gems of literature that enrich the culture.
Other famous faces spotted on day one of the Literature Festival were Bollywood actor and activist Rahul Bose, poet Basharat Peer and Tansin Tsundue, author and Tibetan freedom activist listed among India’s 50 most stylish people by Elle Magazine.
In the words of a poet, “Great literature never goes away; never stops surprising us. It is there as the rising sun in the morning. It helps give life to you.”
The colourful ‘durbar hall’ was the first venue for the cerebral assembly on the inaugural day of the Literary fest. Fog had lifted by mid morning, and Jaipur seemed to have caught the warmth and enthusiasm of the people to start with a sunny sky.
First Published: Friday, January 22, 2010, 11:51
