Literature fest to turn spotlight on South Asian literatures

JAIPUR: The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 will be a hotspot for dialogue and readings in South Asian literatures. Numerous writers from Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to attend the fest. Fahmida Riaz, M A Farooqui from Pakistan; Sonam Dorji and Kunzang Choden from Bhutan; Ani Choying from Nepal; Anisul Hoque from Bangladesh; and Ranjini Obeyesekere and Ashok Ferry from Sri Lanka have confirmed their participation.
Over 17 Indian languages including Bangla, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Magadhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil and Urdu will be woven into multilingual sessions enlarging the festival's reach to the Indian and international audiences.
Commenting on the inclusion of various Indian languages in the festival, co-director of the event, Namita Gokhale, said, "Writing in the Indian languages is sparkling, vibrant, and rooted in the metaphor and idiom of our times. This year, the festival will have readings and dialogue in over 17 Indian languages, foregrounding the joy and vitality of both tradition and contemporary interpretation."
Speaking about the festival, Ashok Vajpeyi, eminent Hindi poet and critic, said, "The creative and dynamic programming of Indian languages will make the Jaipur Literature Festival even more democratic in a sense, more Indian and make Indian languages accessible to a larger audience."
The theme 'The Buddha in Literature' has been given prominence in the fest this year. Sessions have been planned highlighting the subject- 'Kinships of Faiths: Finding the Middle Way'; 'God as a Political Philosopher - Dalit Perspectives on Buddhism'; 'Women in the Path' and 'Jataka Readings'.
"What makes Indian literature more fascinating compared to the literature of any other country is the vibrant diversity of its languages, styles and perspectives. If any literary festival within India or outside it genuinely aspires to represent Indian writing it cannot but reflect this great linguistic range and variety. I am happy that the scale of representation of Indian languages in the Jaipur Literature Festival has been growing in proportion to the gravity, popularity and magnitude of the festival itself," said K Satchidanandan, poet, critic and DSC Jury this year.
"Travel writing sessions have always been popular at the fest and so it's no surprise that this year's Condé Nast excellence award for promoting cultural tourism has been awarded to JLF," gushed Sanjoy K Roy, producer of the fest.
JAIPUR: The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival will be a hotspot for dialogue and readings in South Asian literatures. Writers from Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka including Fahmida Riaz, M.A. Farooqui and others from Pakistan, Sonam Dorji and Kunzang Choden from Bhutan, Ani Choying from Nepal, Anisul Hoque from Bangladesh and Ranjini Obeyesekere and Ashok Ferry from Sri Lanka have confirmed participation.
Over 17 Indian languages including Bangla, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Magadhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil and Urdu will be featured in the multilingual sessions making these books and writers accessible to Indian and international audiences.
Commenting on the Indian Languages participation at this year festival, Festival Co-Director Namita Gokhale said, "Writing in the Indian languages is sparkling, vibrant, and rooted in the metaphor and idiom of our times. This year, the festival will emphasize readings and dialogue in over 17 Indian languages, foregrounding the joy and vitality of both tradition and contemporary interpretation"
Speaking about the festival, Ashok Vajpeyi, eminent hindi poet and critic said- "The creative and dynamic programming of Indian languages will make the Jaipur Literature Festival even more democratic in one sense, more Indian in a deeper sense and make the discovery of these Indian languages familiar to a larger audience."
A major theme at the festival this year is centered around 'The Buddha in Literature'. Sessions planned include 'Kinships of Faiths: Finding the Middle Way', 'God as a Political Philosopher - Dalit Perspectives on Buddhism', 'Women in the Path' and 'Jataka Readings'.
"What makes Indian literature more fascinating than the literature of any other country in the world is its immense diversity of languages, styles and perspectives. Any literary festival within India, and even the ones outside India that genuinely aspire to represent Indian writing cannot but reflect this great linguistic range and variety. I am happy that the scale of representation of Indian languages in the Jaipur Literature Festival has been growing with the gravity, popularity and magnitude of the Festival itself," said K. Satchidanandan, poet, critic and DSC Jury for Jaipur Literature Festival 2013.
Travel writing sessions have always been popular at the Jaipur Literature Festival and so it's no surprise that this year's Condé Nast excellence award for promoting cultural tourism has been awarded to India's most loved literature festival, said Sanjoy K. Roy, Producer of the JLF.