Impressive second tranche of speakers in spectacularly hybrid Jaipur Literature Festival

The 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is set to go hybrid in 2022. The literary extravaganza will be streamed online from March 5-14 and will be held on the ground from March 10-14.

Offers Immersive Experience of Literature

With a plethora of themes and writers curated specially for audiences across the world, the event will have the participation of over 350 authors, thinkers, politicians and popular culture icons. Thus offering an immersive experience of literature, discourse, musical performances, art installations, merchandise, local cuisine and more.

The event, of which Oneindia is a media partner and Daily Hunt is an Online Streaming Partner, brings people from the diverse background on one platform to engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.

It will become a stage for an exchange of ideas and will have a session that explores the narratives and counter-narratives of the electoral process and democratic systems.

Former Chief Election Commissioner of India and the author of Every Vote Counts Navin B Chawla; National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janta Party and the author of Makers of Modern Dalit History Guru Prakash Paswan; eminent jurist and retired judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Madan B Lokur are part of the esteemed panel which will discuss the political and electoral process, the paradoxes of democracy, and its triumphs and discontents with academic and author Mukulika Banerjee.

The Jaipur Literature Festival sets literary conversations and dialogue against a cultural backdrop promoting India's traditional heritage including curated art installations, cultural evenings and the Jaipur Music Stage, which runs parallel to the Festival.

List of Speakers

The first list of 15 speakers comprises of the author of the latest Women Who Wear Only Themselves Arundhathi Subramaniam; Delhi-based vascular and endovascular surgeon, writer and director of the Vascular Cath Lab at Sir Ganga Ram hospital Dr Ambarish Satwik; eminent art critic, art historian BN Goswamy; senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, former Portuguese politician and author Bruno Maçães; bioarchaeologist and field archaeologist specialising in the Viking Age, Viking women and Rapa Nui Dr Cat Jarman; 2021 Booker Prize winner for his novel The Promise Damon Galgut; Australian author and 2003 Booker Prize winner for his debut novel Vernon God Little DBC Pierre; Indian-born British writer, playwright and screenwriter Farrukh Dhondy.

The list continues with National Book Award-winning author and 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist Jonathan Franzen; author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Miniaturist and Kalkatta and a collection of stories titled The Japanese Wife Kunal Basu; academic and author of Cultivating Democracy: Politics and Citizenship in Agrarian India Mukulika Banerjee; member of parliament and author Dr Shashi Tharoor; debutant novelist of the latest Equations Shivani Sibal; historian and author of three acclaimed books, Sixteen Stormy Days, Imperial Sovereignty and Local Politics and the latest Nehru: The Debates that Defined India Tripurdaman Singh; historian and the author of four acclaimed books, with his latest being Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966 Vikram Sampath.

Vibrant List of Speakers

The second list of 25 speakers include Indian poet, LGBTQ rights activist and author of Like Blood on the Bitten Tongue: Delhi Poems and How Many Countries Does the Indus Cross Akhil Katyal; British biographer, literary agent and author of several book books - including those on the lives of the writer John Buchan, spy Guy Burgess and Edward VIII - Andrew Lownie; Mumbai-based writer and journalist Anindita Ghose; British archaeologist and author of (co-written with late anthropologist David Graeber) the New York Times bestseller The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity David Wengrow; award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read woman author in Turkey Elif Shafak; Rajya Sabha MP, Ex-Union Minister and author of several well-known books Jairam Ramesh; Sahitya Akademi Award recipient, renowned poet, writer, critic, playwright and editor who has written extensively in English and Malayalam K. Satchidanandan; PEN Open Book Award-nominated Jamaican poet, writer and essayist Kei Miller.

Making the list more vibrant, the stellar line-up includes renowned Bangladeshi journalist Mahfuz Anam; critically acclaimed historian and writer of the most recently published False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma Manu S. Pillai; American academic and author of the award-winning books Edge of Empire, Liberty's Exiles and The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World Maya Jasanoff; British writer of Booker Prize-shortlisted book Brick Lane - Monica Ali; actor, child-rights activist and writer of six children's books, translated into more than 15 languages globally, Nandana Dev Sen; Co-Chairman of Forbes Marshall, engineer, businessman and author of The Struggles and the Promises Naushad D. Forbes; feminist, publisher and writer of the recent ZOHRA! A Biography in Four Acts Ritu Menon; author of internationally bestselling and award-winning books Underland, The Old Ways, Landmarks, and The Lost Words: A Spell Book (with writer Jackie Morris ) - Robert Macfarlane.

Giving it a diverse flavour, the speaker list includes celebrated Hollywood actor, director and writer Rupert Everett; award-winning British poet, author of 12 poetry collections, two books on wildlife and two novels Ruth Padel; Indian novelist, critic and academic Saikat Majumdar; Sri Lankan writer of Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew which won the Commonwealth Prize, the DSC Prize, the Gratiaen Prize and was adjudged the second greatest cricket book of all time - Shehan Karunatilaka; award-winning Indian film actress, TV personality and author Sonali Bendre; Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar recipient author Tanuj Solanki; author of a range of books that include The Body Adorned, Discourse in Early Buddhist Art and Yogini Cult and Temples and India: A Story Through 100 Objects Padma Bhushan Vidya Dehejia; senior Indian journalist and National Award-winning filmmaker Vinod Kapri.

Rs 200 for Entry Ticket

Interestingly, the attendees, for the first time, have to pay Rs 200 per ticket to attend the on-ground festival. The event was originally scheduled to be held between January 28 and February 1 and was postponed in view of rising Covid-19 cases.

For registrations and more info visit Jaipur Literature Festival Website