Aditya Prakash gave a stirring Carnatic music performance during the opening of the second day of the 16th Jaipur Literature Festival at the Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur
Usha Uthup, one of India’s top pop superstars and playback singers, spoke with Srishti Jha, the translator of her biography, and journalist Sathya Saran during some of the festival’s closing sessions on the first day. Uthup described her road to becoming one of India’s top pop idols, saying, “… I was thrown out of class, and my music teacher, Ms. Davidson, said that she couldn’t fit me anywhere in the choir, but they all knew I had little music in me…so I said okay and I stood on the side, of course, my lips did twitch a little bit…actually, I realized very early in my life that it was not music that was my business but communication, and how better could I communicate with everybody while I am on the stage.”
Geetanjali Shree, winner of the International Booker Prize, and translator Daisy Rockwell were talking with Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar laureate Tanuj Solank.
Thus, the trio addressed the novel Maai by Geetanjali Shree, which was released roughly 30 years ago, as well as how a daughter’s perspective varies from others’ and how the book defies prejudices.
Therefore, the irony that the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis’ creation are its largest victims and suffer the most is one of the sad ironies of the situation. A distinguished expert panel, including Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts and festival producer; Lakshmi Puri, recipient of the prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for Human Rights; Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India; Tshering Tashi, author; and Ugo Astuto, ambassador of the European Union, critically examined the future after COP27.
Public figures Javed Akhtar, a lyricist, poet, and playwright, and Shabana Azmi, an actor, and social activist, talked about the contrasts and similarities between their respective fathers, poets Jan Nisar Akhtar and Kaifi Azmi, and their viewpoints on love and passion. Akhtar discussed the All-India Congress Conference, which was presided over by Munshi Premchand, as the birthplace of the progressive writers’ movement.
Akhtar talked about working with Rajesh Khanna in the well-known film Haathi Mere Saathi. Akhtar told a story from his life that illustrated the following: “We envy the freedom of a villain, we envy the freedom of a man eating a tiger somewhere… At the same time, we admire him… He has no moral binding. This power, this freedom is admired by normal human beings. So that is why, when I write them, I feel lighter, I am not carrying the baggage of morality.
The renowned journalist Ravish Kumar discussed “fear” and its significance in politics today with the editorial director of Rajkamal Prakashan, Satyanand Nirupam, and the publisher and co-founder of Speaking Tiger Books, Ravi Singh. The judges, the wealthy, and political prisoners—all of whom are terrified of the state—were topics that Kumar covered in detail. When discussing the contribution that individuals may offer to the nation, Ravish remarked, “It takes time.” Getting out of colonialism took a long time. “To get out of this too, it will take a lot of time… until the people change and become aware.”Â
In a chat with author Janice Pariat, biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake discussed his book Entangled Life and shed light on the fascinating world of fungi and how important they are to human existence.
Sheldrake also spoke on the connections between the arts and sciences, as well as how both are fueled by a sense of wonder and surprise.
In an interview with Lakshmi Puri, Raja Mohan and Bibek Debroy talked about their most recent book, “Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power.” A previous edition of the book, titled Getting India Back on Track, is a collection of articles. The post-Independence era of the Indian economy was briefly discussed by Mohan and Debroy.
When discussing India’s evolving position, Mohan stated, “We have seen how India thinks about itself, and how India relates to the rest of the world have changed. “And this change has been facilitated by material resources on the economic front, and the willingness to think about the world differently, and our role differently.”
China and India’s relationship has had numerous ups and downs. from the conflict of 1962 until the calm preserved by agreements in the 1990s, before the current upheaval and turbulence. A panel of experts, including Manoj Joshi, a journalist, and author; Vijay Gokhale,
A former foreign secretary and ambassador to China; Shyam Saran, a former ambassador to Myanmar, Indonesia, and Nepal; and Suhasini Haidar, a journalist, and expert in foreign policy, discussed the rising tensions at the unresolved LAC and what that means for the region.
A Poem a Day, a collection of Indian poetry chosen and translated by Gulzar, is one of the most renowned collections of scripts, filmmakers, and poets in India. Gulzar was speaking about it with an award-winning translator, writer, and literary historian, Rakhshanda Jalil. Gulzar Sahab remarked, “You will get the sense that Shayari is not something that can be kept in the textbooks.” It is as alive as you are, and the way you breathe, the poem breathes… “I am giving you 365 days so that I can present to you a new shayar and language every day and so that you can experience its breath.”
