BySukant Deepak

January 24, 2020 (IANSlife) The Jaipur Literature festival will bring together some of the best-known writers, politicians and speakers representing 15 Indian and 35 international languages. With the theme of learning each other’s stories, this year’s edition will celebrating perspectives and embrace differences.
The 13th annual edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival was inaugurated on Thursday at the Diggi Palace, Jaipur by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Launching the book, ‘Bijji: Timeless Tales from Marwar’ by Vishes Kothari, the state Chief Minister stressed that the Festival motivates, “a new generation of readers, writers and literary lovers” and has establishing Jaipur on the world map “as the pride of India”.

Festival Producer, Sanjoy K. Roy, in his welcome address cited the importance of literature and art as a platform to push back the narrative of hatred. “We need to speak in one voice which is filled with empathy and love for each other and for the common cause of humanity.”

Namita Gokhale, Festival Co-Director, said that the Festival was “an act of faith in life, ideas and in the human spirit” under the guiding light of Rajasthani heritage and culture. She mentioned the different highlights in the next five days of the Festival from ‘Kathasaritsagara’ to ‘Premchand ke Phatte Jootey’ to a galaxy of eminent speakers including Magsaysay Award winner Ravish Kumar and Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor among others.

Thanking the audience for their participation, Festival Director William Dalrymple recalled that during the first edition of the Festival, only sixteen people turned up for a session, ten of which were Japanese tourists who quickly walked out when they realised that they had come to the wrong place! Talking about the reason of the overwhelming success of the festival, he said, “The tradition of spoken literature is deeply rooted and celebrated in India, and it is very much alive and loved here”.

Adding his welcome address to the 13th edition of the Festival, British mathematician Marcus du Sautoy quoted Indian scholar Srinivasa Ramanujan, who believed that every number had its particular character in the “story of mathematics”. “For me,” he added, “It is thirteen. Thirteen is a prime number and an indivisible number. And the Jaipur Literature Festival is certainly in its prime!”

Indian Classical musician Shubha Mudgal highlighted the significance of interdisciplinary arts in the Indian context. “Hierarchies should have no place in the arts and as long as art exists in its richness, we can dream of a better tomorrow.”

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Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in