15th Jaipur Literature Festival: Watch Out for Ruper Everett, Giorgio Parisi's Thoughtful Dialogues on Day 2

The 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, which took off with a bang on its brand new virtual platform on Saturday, 5 March, will have an interesting line-up of speakers having thoughtful conversations on the second day of the 10-day event.

Major Attractions of Day 2:
South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut, the writer of Booker Prize-winning book The Promise, will be having a conversation with Maya Jasanoff, where they will discuss his writing style, process, inspirations and the essence of his latest work.

English actor Rupert Everett, who is known for his performances in the films like Another Country, My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband, will be speaking with Shanghvi - best-selling author of The Last Song of Dusk and most recently, Loss - about the nature of fame, friendship, drama, gossip and love.

Sonali Bendre Behl, Indian actor, writer and public figure, will be engaging in a discussion with Meghna Pant on the power of books through the vicissitudes of life. A successful actress and cancer survivor pivoted to writing and self-expression with The Modern Gurukul: My Experiments.

Dutch investigative journalist, Bette Dam, will have a conversation with historian, author and Festival Co-Director, William Dalrymple, on pioneering journalists and voices in the discourse surrounding Afghanistan come together for a necessary session on an urgent state of current affairs.

Stellar Italian physicist Giorgio Parisi, who received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to "the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales", will talk about his exceptional research and book with Priyamvada Natarajan.

Day 1 Round Up
The annual event began with an inaugural address by Festival Producer, Sanjoy K Roy and Festival Co-directors, Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple.

In his speech, Roy said that people should envision the future of "our planet" by looking at "our history.". "We have to look at our history and be able to envision a better future for our planet and our children - what better way to express it than through literature and writing! We were able to pivot online and through our digital series JLF Brave New World, JLF Words are Bridges, and the 2021 Jaipur Literature Festival, which was entirely digital - reaching over 27.5 million people across the world. Today you don't need to be physically present in Jaipur, you can be a part of this celebration, from the comfort of your home", said Roy in his welcome address.

Namita Gokhale, Festival Co-director, Jaipur Literature Festival said, "The clouds of war are gathered around our planet, even as we struggle to recover from the pandemic, we are faced by chaos and disruption. Through all this, the inspirations of literature, of music and poetry and the solace of our shared stories have continued to sustain us. This edition of the festival is a celebration of heart, mind and intellect. It reflects the concerns of the world around us, as well as the eternal questions and timeless answers that literature offers."

"I hope the Jaipur Literature Festival will provide solace for many of us, particularly the book-lovers who have missed the joy of live events with their favourite authors. It is a unique lineup, no other literary festival in the world has writers like this year after year and we are incredibly proud to present them to you at Clarks Hotel in Jaipur over the next few days", said Festival Co-director William Dalrymple.

Concluding the inaugural address, Preeta Singh, President, Teamwork Arts, said, "We are absolutely delighted to have put together the second 10-day virtual festival for each one of you sitting in the comfort of your homes, to sit there and enjoy authors from across the length and breadth of India and more importantly, across the world."

For registrations and more info visit Jaipur Literature Festival Website