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| Image Credit: luxurytripsindia.com |
Apparently, it's become harder to get a seat on a flight to Jaipur in January, and those trying to drive down from Delhi usually encounter daunting traffic jams on the highway. Yet, more travellers from across the world go through the maddening rush and effort every year at the height of the winter to get to the Pink City.
In addition, the reason is rather unlikely in these times of instant entertainment - books. The Jaipur Literature Festival's cult popularity seems odd to people who hear of it for the first time. A literature festival that has free, unrestricted entry - anyone can walk in - and has sessions all day long where authors and poets expound on how and why they write and read, isn't the kind of thing that sounds like a major international event, especially one that attracts hordes of cool young people. But it does, and not just Indian young people; the festival is a gigantic foreign tourist attraction too, what with its vibrant, folksy feel and eclectic musical performances. This year, the fest had 15% international visitors from 24 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, UK and USA.
Furthermore, footfalls have grown year on year, and this year, in 2011, over 55,000 visitors jostled nose to nose on each of the five days of the festival. Each year, more space in the Diggi Palace, the fest venue, has to be taken over to accommodate the ever-expanding activities and sessions - this year, they had 225 speakers, apart from the musical performances every evening, workshops, debates and other interactive activities. The 2011 fest had a media valuation of over 23 million USD (Rs 63,00,00,000). Home-grown celebs - many from Bollywood - visit the lit fest of their own accord, people like Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Aamir Khan, and it's featured a stellar line-up of both literary figures and musicians from across the world, including this year's coup, the extremely reclusive JM Coetzee, who made a rare appearance to read from his work.
In addition to that, Jaipur always has been one of the foreign tourist's favourites in India, and the lit fest, as it's known, has added to that, making Jaipur the world's must-visit every January. Says poet, lyricist and adman Prasoon Joshi, who has been a speaker at the lit fest every year since its inception, "I've seen attendance grow year on year, and this year, the session that Javed Akhtar and I held had to be repeated in the lawns because the crowd was just that huge - there was a near stampede! With 'literature' being as alien as it is today, I didn't expect people to come in these numbers. Contrary to what people think young people are interested in... there were hordes of them sitting on the floor at our session, listening to us talk about poetry in rapt attention. The fest has revived faith among people like me that there is still interest in literature and poetry."
Also, says Sue Carpenter, the founder of the organisation Jaisalmer In Jeopardy, "I've certainly watched it grow from a handful of ill-attended events when it was part of the Jaipur Heritage Festival to an all-singing and dancing extravaganza now." But what sets it apart from other literature events, which are staid affairs, nothing like the literature mela that the lit fest has become? "Undoubtedly, William Dalrymple (one of the fest directors) has given it international status and pulled in some big international names, and I think Sanjoy Roy, who puts on the whole production and music, is definitely a large part of its success - the colourful tents and banners, the feeling of festivity, is all-embracing and extremely well-organised. And of course, once a few big name writers come, they give the fest status for future writers, and the whole thing snowballs," says Sue. Adds Prasoon, "It's also not a reproduction of other literature festivals or events - it's done pretty organically. People plan their holidays around the lit fest, corporates block dates en masse - the sphere of the festival is now much larger. And it's a cultural extravaganza too, with the various kinds of indigenous music performed every night. It's changing the perception that entertainment in India is only Bollywood. Plus, it's also that it's located in Jaipur, which is pretty central in the foreign tourist's itinerary and well-connected to Delhi. There is no lack of hotels or other tourist facilities either, and there are places to visit besides the lit fest also."
Moreover, and even though Jaipur was always one of India's foremost tourist destinations, the lit fest has become an important event in the foreign tourist's calendar. Says Jamie Larson, a foreigner who works with the company that organizes the fest, "Even people who organize such fests abroad - people from countries like Canada and Germany - come to see how this fest this done. When visitors come, they're also experiencing India, because the fest has a vibrant cultural aspect for something that's also international and inclusive." "I'd hate to think Jaipur wasn't already on the map for foreigners - genuinely, it is part of the golden triangle and on every visitor's list, certainly from Britain, which is full of Rajasthan-lovers," says Sue.
In addition, the reason is rather unlikely in these times of instant entertainment - books. The Jaipur Literature Festival's cult popularity seems odd to people who hear of it for the first time. A literature festival that has free, unrestricted entry - anyone can walk in - and has sessions all day long where authors and poets expound on how and why they write and read, isn't the kind of thing that sounds like a major international event, especially one that attracts hordes of cool young people. But it does, and not just Indian young people; the festival is a gigantic foreign tourist attraction too, what with its vibrant, folksy feel and eclectic musical performances. This year, the fest had 15% international visitors from 24 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, UK and USA.
Furthermore, footfalls have grown year on year, and this year, in 2011, over 55,000 visitors jostled nose to nose on each of the five days of the festival. Each year, more space in the Diggi Palace, the fest venue, has to be taken over to accommodate the ever-expanding activities and sessions - this year, they had 225 speakers, apart from the musical performances every evening, workshops, debates and other interactive activities. The 2011 fest had a media valuation of over 23 million USD (Rs 63,00,00,000). Home-grown celebs - many from Bollywood - visit the lit fest of their own accord, people like Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Aamir Khan, and it's featured a stellar line-up of both literary figures and musicians from across the world, including this year's coup, the extremely reclusive JM Coetzee, who made a rare appearance to read from his work.
In addition to that, Jaipur always has been one of the foreign tourist's favourites in India, and the lit fest, as it's known, has added to that, making Jaipur the world's must-visit every January. Says poet, lyricist and adman Prasoon Joshi, who has been a speaker at the lit fest every year since its inception, "I've seen attendance grow year on year, and this year, the session that Javed Akhtar and I held had to be repeated in the lawns because the crowd was just that huge - there was a near stampede! With 'literature' being as alien as it is today, I didn't expect people to come in these numbers. Contrary to what people think young people are interested in... there were hordes of them sitting on the floor at our session, listening to us talk about poetry in rapt attention. The fest has revived faith among people like me that there is still interest in literature and poetry."
Also, says Sue Carpenter, the founder of the organisation Jaisalmer In Jeopardy, "I've certainly watched it grow from a handful of ill-attended events when it was part of the Jaipur Heritage Festival to an all-singing and dancing extravaganza now." But what sets it apart from other literature events, which are staid affairs, nothing like the literature mela that the lit fest has become? "Undoubtedly, William Dalrymple (one of the fest directors) has given it international status and pulled in some big international names, and I think Sanjoy Roy, who puts on the whole production and music, is definitely a large part of its success - the colourful tents and banners, the feeling of festivity, is all-embracing and extremely well-organised. And of course, once a few big name writers come, they give the fest status for future writers, and the whole thing snowballs," says Sue. Adds Prasoon, "It's also not a reproduction of other literature festivals or events - it's done pretty organically. People plan their holidays around the lit fest, corporates block dates en masse - the sphere of the festival is now much larger. And it's a cultural extravaganza too, with the various kinds of indigenous music performed every night. It's changing the perception that entertainment in India is only Bollywood. Plus, it's also that it's located in Jaipur, which is pretty central in the foreign tourist's itinerary and well-connected to Delhi. There is no lack of hotels or other tourist facilities either, and there are places to visit besides the lit fest also."
Moreover, and even though Jaipur was always one of India's foremost tourist destinations, the lit fest has become an important event in the foreign tourist's calendar. Says Jamie Larson, a foreigner who works with the company that organizes the fest, "Even people who organize such fests abroad - people from countries like Canada and Germany - come to see how this fest this done. When visitors come, they're also experiencing India, because the fest has a vibrant cultural aspect for something that's also international and inclusive." "I'd hate to think Jaipur wasn't already on the map for foreigners - genuinely, it is part of the golden triangle and on every visitor's list, certainly from Britain, which is full of Rajasthan-lovers," says Sue.
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