The British Library was transformed into a mini-India last weekend during the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival on May 20 and 21; that took inspiration from India's 70th year of Independence and was a part of the UK-India Year of Culture.
There were debates, performances and mini-seminars on both days, with big names including Karan Johar, Stephen Frears, Lila Azam Zanganeh, Meera Syal and Daljit Nagra, Shashi Tharoor, Helena Kennedy, Patrick French, William Dalyrmple, Namita Gokhale, Swapan Dasgupta and Anthony Sattin.
The culturally curious flocked to attend sessions on a huge range of topics including the partition, the constitution, PG Wodehouse, the Raj, the architecture of Lutyen, travel and India. Many of the sessions drew on the rich collection of the Library and brought it to life through storytelling and debate.
Naomi Canton, a freelance journalist told the Asian Voice “For me, Karan Johar on stage with Rachel Dwyer was the best session as he gave a really candid interview and spoke from the heart about his private life, the state of Indian cinema, his surrogate children and so on.
"I really enjoyed Karan Johar's talks, it was very informative. I didn't expect to hear that level of depth about the topic. The talk on knowledge networks was too academic for me and I thought it was inappropriately placed, but hyphenations was interesting and relevant" said Manjari from the audience.
“I liked the session on the Beatles in Rishikesh in 1968 and one on ideas of India and India's identity - that included a Nepali-Indian (Prajwal Parajuly), a Kashmiri (Asiya Zahoor) and a Tamil Indian (Meena Kandasamy) so was fascinating,” said Naomi.
Some of the world’s leading travel writers gathered together in Footloose: The Travel Session to discuss their personal journeys and the experiences behind their writings. Anthony Sattin, Hugh Thomson, Samanth Subramanian with William Dalrymple demonstrated that travel writing has an unending capacity for reinvention.
Singer and author Vidya Shah is on a mission to share long lost music recorded by women in India, in the early days of the gramophone. In an important session Constitutions: We the People, presented by the Aga Khan Foundation, the panel discussed the separation of powers, lines of accountability and the balance of judicial activism and restraint. Shashi Tharoor, former president of the P.G. Wodehouse Society at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, discussed his legacy and popularity along with author Mihir S. Sharma, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and author Tony Ring.
According to Manjari, "Shashi Tharoor hit a good tone, but the PG Woodhouse had no woman in the panel, and I think a proper gender representation is needed on such platforms."
In a session exploring Lutyen’s Delhi, Delhi biographer Malvika Singh claimed, citizens should “take ownership” of their city spaces to create a workable city. Ideas of India and The Theft of the Raj: The British Empire in India – a panel including Arundhathi Subramaniam, Namita Gokhale, Mihir S. Sharma and Sanjoy K Roy discussed the scrutiny placed on the Idea of modern India.
Naomi had visited the Jaipur Literature Festival in India for three years and said the London venue suited the ethos of the festival. “It's a grand building with large open spaces both inside and outside the building which emulates Diggi Palace (where it is held in Jaipur every January) a bit. They had a Piazza set up i a marquee outside and they used a large auditorium in the Knowledge Centre at the British Library and another open space in the main building. This worked really well.”
The food stalls and cafes had closed by mid afternoon, and many could not attend the afternoon sessions as the rooms were totally packed with enthusiasts. Some suggested that the cafes should be kept open for longer hours. While others suggested: "A few more activities for children and perhaps a writing workshop for aspiring novelists could be added in the next editions of the festival." It was an overall well-organised event with several fantastic elements.
2017 marked the fourth London edition of the Festival, which is rooted in the Pink City of Jaipur, India. Held every January, this year commemorated the 10th anniversary of the flagship event.
