Lit fests in India have become vibrant cultural celebrations across India, bringing together celebrated authors, emerging voices, poets, thinkers and passionate readers, many of them very young, under one lively roof.
Dattatreya Hosabale and Manmohan Vaidya have been invited as speakers at the event starting tomorrow.
'Our fractured world has been embroiled in wars and hatred, and many sessions reflect these concerns.'
'Many of the biggest events at such lit fests have nothing to do with books or authors, but about current events and the changing nature of society,' points out Aakar Patel.
The dramatic moves of Donald Trump, which have shaken up the global order, dominated the discussion. A sense of bewilderment prevailed, but there was also expectation that President Trump would settle down to a more traditional style of governance after a time of shock and awe, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, an attendee at literary festivals in Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Sharjah and Thiruvanathapuram.
'Surprised by the absence of any sloganeering or even mild protest in an ambience so free and self-regulated, I asked a friend from Delhi whether he too, with sharp political antenna, was surprised at how smooth and easy going everything was,' notes Ambassador B S Prakash.
Interrelations of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday took centre stage at the Jaipur LitFest where panelists discussed the upswing in talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan besides India's ties with its neighbour.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discusses India's foreign policy challenges in a multipolar world, emphasizing the need for nimbleness and prioritizing national interests.
A string of film celebrities like Waheeda Rahman, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad among others set to explore the intertwining of cinema with literature at the fest.
Four Indian authors, including well-known writer Urvashi Butalia, attended the KLF which was held between February 10-12 in Pakistan.
V S Naipaul has come in for stinging criticism from noted playwright Girish Karnad for his views on Muslims in India, with the latter saying the Nobel laureate has no idea of the community's contribution to the country's history.
Encouraged by the success of the ongoing crime and punishment series at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Crime Writers Association for South Asia has been co-founded by Namita Gokahle and author Kishwar Desai.
Two Nobel Laureates, four listed writers of this year's Man Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists, winners of Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Crossword Prize and film stars will be the attraction at the most sought after literary event in India -- the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Rishi Sunak, who seems to be on an extended holiday in India -- we spotted the former UK PM at the Jaipur Lit Fest and at the fourth T20I at the Wankhede late January -- was at Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday.
Former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha suffered a rude shock during the Times Lit Fest in Mumbai on Sunday when socialite Suhel Seth questioned Rasquinha's presence on the sports panel of the lit festival.
Chomsky and Prashad said that they were informed of the event's cancellation in the mail.
'In India we have a lot of superstar worship.' 'If we lose a match, but Tendulkar hits a century people are happy that their star did not let them down.' 'This should change. People should support the team and the sport and not individuals.'
Karnad's invective is not a fact based logical rebuttal of Naipaul's ideological variance. It lacks the grace or elements of an intellectual discourse, says Vivek Gumaste.
It is not an easy life even for someone like Dravid, whose touch points with cricket spread across decades, formats and varied roles.
'Those who say the Indian Army is persecuting Kashmiris... I will tell them that the reality is that the Kashmiri loves the fauj and what all the Indian Army has done.'
To be alive is to be an artist, legendary Carnatic singer T M Krishna tells the Tata LitFest in Mumbai.
The Devyani Khobragade row, India-Pakistan bickering over Afghanistan and a nightclub act by two diplomats were some of the issues discussed at one of the sessions at Jaipur Lit Fest, reports Sanchari Bhattacharya.
The Aam Aadmi Party reflects anger, which is among the people of India, said film star Irrfan Khan at the Jaipur Literature Festival, which kicked off on Friday.
What does Gideon Haigh, widely considered the finest cricket writer of our time, think of the man currently acclaimed as the finest cricketer on the planet?
'People have realised they bought into the prime minister's package and it is empty.'
'Chetan Bhagat is not great literature. Is that like you write third rate books and people can't do much better than to read those third rate books. Is it really an achievement?'
There's always scope for new ideas, new people and new experiences.
'Even apart from the Bengal famine, there was a great deal more bloodshed and deceit than I was prepared for.' 'Almost every one of the acquisitions was won by extreme extortionate methods and what came out was that these relatively honest officers found themselves doing very dishonest things.'
'I stopped getting work after 2004. Between 2005 and 2018, I had no work.'
Mark Tully on the India he loves.
'A robust electoral democracy provides the institutional basis for the generation and regeneration of political hope.'
Some important simple truths about the issue may be more helpful than high sounding debates, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Dear Friend is for those who idealised Dil Chahta Hai all out of proportion, and then warmed up to the premise that friendship could be a lot more complicated, and transient, observes Sreehari Nair.
'We need to invest in our youth, we need to invest on our athletes, that should be the priority and then when we are in a position to realistically win at least 40 gold medals in the Olympic Games. For me personally that would be the right moment to host an Olympic Games'
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Founders should have faith in themselves, their vision and their team, feels Infosys founder Narayana Murthy.
'In the last one year, it looks like there were bad things that didn't take place, and there were good things that didn't take place,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'I don't think Siddhartha has done anything wrong. He has not managed his debt well. In any case, he is not the best example of the system going wrong or the system pushing him hard. I think on that particular day, he was depressed and took an impulsive decision. It will be unfair to blame the system.'
The LGBT community in Mumbai, as in parts of India, longs for acceptance, freedom and equal rights and to spread this message a group of 15 people gathered at Mumbai's Marine Drive to ask for hugs. And acceptance.
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