The Jaipur Literature Festival celebrates books, authors, publishing and stories. But there’s music, parties and fun too
I have been attending the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) on and off for more than a decade. And I have to confess that I had begun to take the wealth of riches it brings to us a little bit for granted. But when the Rajasthan deputy chief minister (and Jaipur princess) Diya Kumari inaugurated the festival this year and declared that JLF did more for Rajasthan tourism in five days than the state government could do in a year, I realised with a start how right she was.
Mary Beard, Bonnie Garmus and Peter Frankopan were among the speakers this year. (HT Archives)
Shashi Tharoor always manages to draw crowds at the Jaipur Literature Festival. (HT Archives)It took the JLF — spearheaded by Sanjoy K Roy, Namita Gokhale and (above) William Dalrymple — to turn Jaipur into a literary mecca.Rajasthan deputy chief minister and Jaipur princess Diya Kumari is all praise for the JLF. (HT Archives)