Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is the grandest celebration of literature, authors, poets and language and quite possibly the biggest literary event that happens in the country. The JLF is back with its 2019 edition and soon hordes of people will be flocking the city to attend the event and soak in all that Jaipur has to offer.
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The Jaipur Literature Festival is often termed as the biggest literature event of the city and often credited with the overall development of the city of Kings and it’s popular culture. Rightly so, with over 3000 prominent speakers on its list, a plethora of celebrities and literary figures, Jaipur lit fest has truly molded the young and old in the city and paved way for infrastructural and economical developments.
The annual five day event is not only visited by people from around the country but all over the world. The bookworms and literary enthusiasts who would, if not for Jaipur Lit Fest, had never known the city of palaces, rich cultural history and legacy. JLF in its wake has put Jaipur on the world map. Today people visit Jaipur not only to see its palaces but also to soak up as much of the local culture as they can.
The 2019 fiesta
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The Litfest is going to be ‘lit’ as this year’s line-up includes literary greats such as Colson Whitehead, the author of 9 fiction and non-fiction books, including the Pulitzer Prize winning ‘The Underground Railroad’; Markus Zusak, author of ‘The Book Thief’, an international bestseller which spent over a decade on the New York Times bestseller list; Andrew Sean Greer,author of 5 bestselling fictions and the 2018 Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘Less’; acclaimed British novelist and journalist Hari Kunzru; and the President and CEO of the Frankfurt Book Fair since 2005, Juergen Boos.
Apart from the literary side, the festival will be full of many colloquial, ethnic and international cuisines as well, paired with some great soft and calming music for livening up the spirit of the event. Workshops and interactive events such as blogging competitions and essay writing competitions are also organised.
Past Highlights
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Jaipur Literature Fest has been graced by renowned authors, journalists and cultural commentators in the past. Some of these include poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur, investigative reporter Michael Rezendes, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, playwright Tom Stoppard just to name a few. Even the well known and appreciated musician Zakir Hussain made an appearance at the event. This year too, there will be over 60 speakers.
The Impact
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JLF has also been a great platform to many budding writers who, in the last 10 years, have transformed themselves into authors. Jaipur, in the past decade has witnessed a significant change, the folk arts have seen an unheard of revival, the local businesses boomed and world became aware of the cultural gold mine that is Jaipur; Jaipur literature festival has brought it all to the forefront.
Jaipur becomes the melting pot for tradition and new age cultural clash every January and the city derives its unique modern-old world charm from it. The city of palaces and forts transforms into the city of culture and literature, while the youth gets to have an other-worldly experience.
