The Pink City of Jaipur is all set to hold the much talked about International Literary Festival, the largest in Asia Pacific, starting from 20th January. The five day festival that will host several sessions engaging a spectrum of writers from across the world is expected to pull around forty thousand delegates during the event. Besides the people with literary interest, there will be spectators for whom the fascination ranges from seeing authors “in the flesh” to listening to talk-show celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey who will be in conversation with Barkha Dutt on the 22nd.
The other attractions of the event from abroad are Sri Lankan-born novelist Michael Ondaatje, Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto, Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri and New Yorker editor David Remnick, among the big names on the literary high street. From among India are Girish Karnad, Shashi Tharoor, the Goa-based Sudhir Kakkar, Chetan Bhagat, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, A.K.Mehrotra, Pavan K.Verma and a host of others. According to Jaya Bhattacharjee Rose, ‘it is a mela time to listen to panelists, to be able to ask questions directly of one’s favourite authors and discover new ones. It is also a space that provides opportunities for aspiring writers to contact publishers, word-doctors, and literary agents’. William Dalrymple, director, Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), says when he gets invited to international literary festivals as an author, he is always on the lookout for new voices or to connect with established names. It is easier to do it over breakfast than send off an impersonal email request. The two writers from Goa invited to participate are Wendell Rodricks and Damodar Mauzo. Wendell’s new book 'Moda Goa: History and Style' will be launched on the 23rd while Damodar Mauzo will be in conversation with Esther David on the 24th. In this session on ‘Theatre of the Novel: Readings and Conversation’ Esther David and Damodar Mauzo will be introduced by Wendell Rodricks. Author and art critic Esther David writes novels that evoke the Indian Jewish identity, while the novels and short stories of popular and prolific Konkani writer, Damodar Mauzo, depict the Catholic lifestyle of Goa. The two Sahitya Akademi Award winners will read and discuss their works. The session will be of approximately 50 minutes duration, including introduction, discussion and Q& A. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------