5 REASONS TO ATTEND JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2017

Jaipur Literature Festival is an important event in the publishing calendar of India. Many literature festivals have sprung up in recent years, but Jaipur is the one that started it all, and even today it’s known to be the biggest literary event in India. In this article we give you five reasons why you cannot miss it.

In January of every year, a five-day literary extravaganza happens in Jaipur, the pink city of India. Authors from across the country and the world attend this event, and it is easily the world’s largest free literary festival. It is called the Jaipur Literary Festival, or JLF for short. The 2017 edition is happening at Diggi Palace starting from January 15. Here are a few reasons you should attend this event.

1. You’re a book lover.
This one’s obvious. If you’ve been a long-time reader, there is nothing better than a literature festival to bond with fellow book lovers over. The festival also has a bookstore that stocks the books written by all the festival organisers, so there will be plenty of browsing time as well, and who knows? This might be the perfect opportunity to meet some likeminded people and make some life-long friends. This is also a great chance to meet some of your favourite authors in the flesh!

2. Indian culture in microcosm.
If you’re travelling from Australia, you might wish to sample Indian culture in its entirety. While even JLF cannot claim to encapsulate all of Indian culture with one event, they do a good job of trying because a vast number of regional authors also come to the event. There are also a number of writers who write in English about India, and there is also a selection of South Asian authors who will bring in their own flavour. Between all of these, you will get a pretty good idea of the cultural smorgasbord that is India.

3. You’re an aspiring author.
JLF also has multiple avenues for aspiring authors by means of workshops and storytelling events, generally organised by participant authors. While no one can make you bestseller through a small workshop, the amount of networking and inspiration you can glean from an event like this could give an enormous boost to your writing journey. Also, watching all the great writers strut about the stage and give talks might just give you a peek into your own future.

4. Bollywood and Politics
What has Bollywood and politics got to do with a literature festival, you ask? Well, beloved lyricists like Gulzar and Javed Akhtar have always been regulars at such events around the country, and there are multiple political journalists who have written books about the political landscape in India. So if you are into Bollywood and politics, you can expect some high profile appearances and well-attended debates.

5. Poetry readings
There’s literature, and then there’s poetry. JLF makes it a point every year to bring together the best poets from the world, who also have the advantage of being good readers and performers on stage. So if you enjoy listening to poetry being read by a competent poet, come along toe Jaipur and treat yourself. You will encounter poets plying their wares in different languages. The current list of poets is not out yet, but rest assured that it will be great and comprehensive.