GAMUT OF IDEAS & STORIES

The third day of the multi-faceted and exuberant Jaipur Literature Festival began with a soulful performance by the Indian classical ensemble, The Anirudh Varma Collective. The Quintet performed Vansanthi raga, which was led by pianist, composer, and producer, Anirudh Varma.

The festival on Saturday featured Booker Prize winning Srilankan author Shehan Karunatilaka in conversation with writer Nandini Nair.

International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree, wellknown Rajasthani and Hindi writer Nand Bhardwaj, Sahitya Akademi Award recipient and novelist Anamika, Managing Director and CEO of Bank of Baroda Sanjiv Chadha and authortranslator and columnist Pushpesh Pant focused on the diversity of Hindi and the difficulty of ‘purifying’ it.

A session on ‘A Nation To Protect’, talked vigorously about India, how the covid took a toll, and how we mastered it all and learnt some important lessons. “But did we make a mistake between first wake and delta wave? Did we let our guard down soon?,” asked Naresh Tehran as the session started. An expert panel consisting of renowned journalists Praveen Swami, Manoj Joshi, and Nishtha Gautam were in conversation with author C Raja Mohan, to discuss In Hard Times, an important collection of essays edited by them, highlighting the significant challenges India faces today.

The Jaipur Music Stage is a 3-day programme that runs parallel to the lit fest will be focused on showcasing world music with a diverse mix of genres and artists. Living up to its motto of variety & discovery, the music stage transcends borders, genres and geographies through electrifying performances that range from world music, ghazals and jazz to rock and the blues.