Shoutout: Jaipur Litfest 2010

Sorry for the prolonged silence but I've been buried under a mountain of books and have been busy procrastinating. However, literary endeavors - big or small - must continue and hence, I've booked myself for the Jaipur Literature Festival next month. Honestly speaking, the list of speakers isn't as glamorous as it was last year but they've still got some fine writers such as Hanif Kureishi, Anjum Hasan, Sankar, Soumya Bhattacharya and Amit Chadhuri in attendance. When I visited the official website a few months ago, I was delighted to see Ahmad Rashid's name on the list as well but to my disappointment, it seems he's skipping the fest again this year. Which is sad because his book Descent Into Chaos is one of the best books ever-written on terrorism and America's response to it in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hopefully, he'll make an appearance in 2011.

Keeping these writers company will be Gulzar ( who re-appears after a spectacular debut last year) and Javed Akhtar. I just hope that unlike previous years, there isn't any Bollywood superstar present this year (Aamir Khan came a few years back and Amitabh Bachchan came last time around). It'll help attendees to appreciate the work of writers who've come there and keep the crowds slim at Diggi Palace.

To be honest, I had ambivalent feelings about attending the festival this year; a less-than-glamorous author list, huge crowds and of course, expenditure. But I guess it only seems natural that I should be there this year as well - after all, the germ of this blog and whatever freelance writing I'm doing these days is the festival. Hence, I shall be at the Diggi Palace again next month - attending sessions, meeting new people and (hopefully) doing some interviews for my blog.

In the meantime, do go through the January and February archives to read the interviews I conducted last time. I'm feeling too lazy to link them here. Hopefully, they'll be tempting enough for you to come to Jaipur!