Jaipur Literature Festival returns on ground after 2 years

The 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) kicked off on ground here on Thursday with a scintillating performance by Ujwal Nagar, maestro of Hindustani classical music and the lead classical singer of Indian fusion band Advaita.

The event, which is being held at Clarks Amer hotel, proceeded with inaugural addresses by keynote speakers -- writer and academic Harish Trivedi and UN Resident Coordinator for India Shombi Sharp.

The JLF was cancelled in 2020 and held virtually in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it is being held both virtually and on ground.

It was held virtually from March 5-9, and will be held on ground from March 10-14.

Author, historian and JLF co-director William Dalrymple said, ''I think the pandemic has been hard for everyone but the performing arts, in particular, have found it an existential threat. But now we are back.'' On the first day, Tasneem Khan's English translation of the novel 'Ae Mere Rehnuma' was unveiled. The novel describes the situation of Muslim women across the globe.

A session saw Portuguese politician and author Bruno Macaes talk about his book 'Geopolitics for the End Time: From the Pandemic to the Climate Crisis', a study of an emerging world order that is competitive and driven by the need to adapt and survive in increasingly hostile natural environments.

In another session, renowned writer and the recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for 2021 Namita Gokhale discussed the paradoxes of returning a work of fiction to the language of its geographical and emotional location.

Another session featured Norwegian Ambassador to India Hans Jacob Frydenlund, Vir Chakra recipient Chandrakant Singh and German Ambassador to India Walter J Linder, among others. The session on the possibility of peace in a world that is torn was moderated by Hannah Ellis-Peterson, correspondent at The Guardian.