Dr. Shashi Tharoor to headline Jaipur Literature Festival

MP from Thiruvananthapuram Dr. Shashi Tharoor will be having a conversation with Mohit Satyanand on political organisation and intelligence to discuss this unprecedented era of the Panopticon on the ninth day of the 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Tharoor, who is the Chairman of the parliamentary panel on Information Technology and raised attention to the alleged illegal surveillance of journalists and political leaders via Pegasus software, will be joined by retired Judge, Madan B Lokur, who writes extensively on legal and justice systems, human rights, politics, and individual and national sovereignty and investigative journalist Swati Chaturvedi, who has previously covered political organisation in social media and was among the list of individuals whose communications were intercepted with spyware.

Other Attractions on Day 9

Film critic Anupama Chopra will be engaging in a chat with Shunali Khullar Shroff around her place of work and worship, the films that have shaped her long career and fuelled personal intrigue.

Award-winning British poet, novelist and non-fiction author Ruth Padel, who combined natural history and travel writing in Tigers in Red Weather: A Quest for the Last Wild Tigers - on Wild Tiger conservation, will be part of a discussion on the power of Mother Earth in life, literature and healing with Vandana Singh-Lal. Award-winning wildlife conservationist Neha Sinha, whose recent book Wild And Wilful examined fifteen iconic Indian species in need of conversation, will be part of the panel.

By its very nature, the raga promises the immortality of creation, expression and freedom. The ancient and unparalleled system of ragas provide melodic frameworks that beckon the talents of improvisation and composition and nurture the range, the complexities, of emotion, expression and metamorphosis. Masters and exponents of Indian Classical, contemporary, and genre-defying music come together for a captivating conversation: Violinist, composer, and educator Ambi Subramaniam; Sheykhar Ravjiani, acclaimed music director, producer and singer, part of the prolific composing duo Vishal-Shekhar; musician, composer and author Ayaan Ali Bangash; With writer and curator Sadhana Rao, a session on the raga as it lives in this age of expression.

The Hindi language has become the new 'cool', especially among the millennials. The new digital media like YouTube, podcast channels and Instagram have given a platform to those who have not only grown up loving the language, but have also earned their bread and butter through it. From being treated as a difficult language of the past, it has become the preferred mode of creative expression. What is the story behind this change? Who are the key players? What is the way forward? Authors Nishant Jain and Divya Prakash Dubey in conversation with publisher and editor Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal.

Day Eight Round Up

At a session, writer Anirudh Kanisetti discussed his book Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas with a critically acclaimed writer and historian Manu S. Pillai. The book is a testament to his thoughtful and immense study of medieval South India and its influence on contemporary politics and culture. "What was invigorating was the book...it fills a major gap in the medieval period", said Manu S. Pillai about Anirudh's book. Both writers came together for an invigorating conversation on the lords and legacies of the Deccan.

For registrations and more info visit Jaipur Literature Festival Website