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| A musical performance at the Jaipur Literature Festival [PHOTO © news.BDTV.in] |
Jaipur: As Asia's biggest literary jamboree, Jaipur Literature Festival in its eighth edition, kicked off Wednesday (January 21) on a musical note in the presence of greatest thinkers and writers from across the world seen as an agenda-setter on key issues from the global economic crisis to the rise of e-books.
From Nobel laureates to local language writers, Man Booker prize winners to debut novelists, every January the most remarkable, witty, sensitive and brilliant collection of authors come together for five days of readings, debates and discussions at the beautiful Diggi Palace in the India's northern state capital Jaipur (Rajasthan).
Famed Sufi gospel singer Sonam Kalra's voice, singing the famous hymn 'Abide with Me', welcomed all delegates attending the Jaipur Literature festival.
Since its inception in 2006, JLF regarded as a cultural catalyst within India and around the world, exposing audiences to a constant flow of ideas. Featuring live music sessions and interactive workshops, the Festival provides a space to dare, dream and imagine.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who inaugurated the five day event, took a trip down memory lane and recalled the origins of the festival in the year 2006.
The festival is hosting a number of Indian and International authors.
China-born British author Jung Chang, former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, actor Naseeruddin Shah, playwright Girish Karnad, Nobel laureate V S Naipaul, renowned contemporary travel writer Paul Theroux, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Vijay Seshadri, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and novelist Hanif Kureishi are few of the participants lined up for the LitFest.
Notably, the Jaipur Literature Festival was marred in controversy in the same month of 2012 when two prominent authors read out portions from Salman Rushdie's banned book "Satanic Verses" as a mark of protest after the India-born author had to pull out of the event over security concerns.