2016 Jaipur Lit Festival: Privacy, Migration And Navigating Modernity Main Themes
04 December, New Delhi
Privacy, Migration and Navigating Modernity will be the main themes for the Jaipur Literature festival 2016 which will be attended by noted writers and litterateurs.
Among those expected to attend the Festival, scheduled to be held in January, include writer Ruskin Bond this years Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James; Indias most celebrated psychoanalyst and author Sudhir Kakar; Stephen Fry, one of the worlds best known actors and comedians; Hindi journalist, poet and novelist Uday Prakash, one of the leading figures in modern Indian literature: Colm Toibin, Irelands greatest living writer; poet, novelist and essayist Margaret Atwood; French economist and global voice on wealth and income inequality Thomas Piketty; creator of one of the landmarks of modern American literature Tales of the City Armistead Maupin; and activist and writer Bant Singh, whose tragic and inspiring story of resistance to the atrocities he suffered as a Dalit Indian is a story of empowerment as well as a mirror to the fault lines in a still feudal society.
Setting the agenda for international dialogue, the programme for the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2016 will touch upon a multitude of ideas and themes including the age old, yet highly topical issue of Migration in the Chronicles of Exile a session that examines alienation and acceptance, acrosspolitical, cultural and geographical landscapes; and in Manto and the Pity of Partition which recounts one of the greatest migrations of human history through the works of Saadat Hasan Manto, arguably one of the greatest chroniclers of the trauma of Partition.
Highlighting the dynamics of the rapidly changing world around us will be panels and sessionsaround Navigating Modernity as societies, customs, traditions and knowledge systems stand at acrossroads with modernity and development.
Sessions include ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’ on how the rural idyll gives way to dysfunctional urbanities; Parivaar, Parampara aur Parivartan with narratives of continuity and change within family and societal structures; Ancient Indian Knowledge Systems which explores the universe of ideas that can still be glimpsed through ancient manuscripts, archaeology and myth; and Navigating Modernity – a panel that looks at the ambiguous and conflicted politics of change.
The evolving modern issue of Privacy will also feature prominently in a series of sessions curated by Homi K Bhabha with sessions including The Fiction of Privacy: Drawing the Line which sees journalists and non-fiction writers discuss their daily battle with issues of privacy, both philosophical and legal; The Private and the Public exploring the impact of data mining by governments and corporations; and Total Recall: The End of Privacy a look at whether privacy is dead forever.
Speaking at a curtain raiser for the festival, Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher and co-Director of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “This coming year, my new metaphor for JLF is that of the KathaSaritSagar, the sea of stories. An entire cultural ecosystem has evolved around the festival, of shared narratives, of ideas, of dialogue and debate.
At a time when our nation and indeed the world is taking up fixed and rigid positions, when we are in danger of forgetting our shared humanity, the Jaipur Festival is steadfast in upholding the value of dialogue, of responsible debate, of the free exploration of ideas, of listening in as wellas speaking out.