A complete lo-down on the Jaipur Lit Fest

The Jaipur Literature festival is a celebration of an eclectic mix of ideas, languages, literature and opinion from across the globe. First held in 2005, the festival has grown into a huge event now, with the 2015 edition of the festival hosting 77 authors from around the world.

The festival will be held from the 21st to 25th of January at the Diggi Palace in Jaipur.  Here’s all you need to know about the festival, and the city that hosts it!

For the book-worms: The JLF touches upon many themes associated with the individual and the society. The festival sees a milieu of authors from different countries, writing in different languages and genres. The central theme of the festival this year is “The Seven Deadly Sins”, with major emphasis on poetry. The festival will also focus on highlighting the best of South Asian literature, besides featuring some of the most acclaimed Indian language authors, such as Girish Karnad and Vinod Kumar Shukla. Famed bollywood lyricist and poet,  Javed Akhtar  will be there to talk about music in films, whereas Nobel Laureate V S Naipaul will be seen in coneversation with Farrukh Dhondy about “The Writer and The World”.

Beyond literature: The Festival also celebrates music, with folk and western artists from across the globe. Jazz artist Joe Alvare will share the stage with folk artists such as Nathoo Solanki. Sufi artists Sonam Kalra and Rashmi Agarwal will also perform at the festival. The Alim Qasimov Ensemble, who has been awarded with  UNESCO  International Music Prize for Performers has been lined up to bring the spiritual sounds of Azerbaijan to the audience on the opening night of the festival. The ‘ Musical Stage’ will be hosted at Hotel Clarks, from  21-24 January.

While you’re in Jaipur: The Pink City has a unique charm and prides itself on its architecture and local art.  Visit the Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and the Iswari Minar Swarga Sthal to get a flavour of traditional Rajputana architecture. Jaipur, like every other Indian city, has its fair share of old restaurants with specialties that others simply can’t match up to. Visit Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar to get the best of pure vegetarian Rajasthani cuisine. For those who want to savour traditional non vegetarian recipes, a trip to Niro’s on MI Road is a must. The glass-panelled ceiling creates a wonderful ambience, and the Lassi available at the Lassiwala across the road will complete your meal. Rajasthali, the state-run emporium is the best place to shop for Rajasthani artefacts.