Crowd at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Sharell Cook.
The second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival saw even more people pour in! How many? Just take a look at the photo. Once again, the issues of freedom of speech and corruption featured prominently in today's sessions.
I got an early start in time to catch Chetan Bhagat. When asked about the negative comments that his books often attract, he replied with some words of wisdom that we could all benefit from. Those are, that we don't spend enough time on people who love us, and loving them more. Instead, we waste our energy trying to convert those who don't like us into liking us. Like it or not, Chetan wants to bring about change in a fun way that the masses can relate to, and his books are written in a simple style that reflects this.
The second last session that I attended featured book readings by a group of travel writers, lead by William Dalrymple. One book to watch out for is India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India, by Akash Kapur. Due out mid March 2012, it contains real life tales of the impact of development on Indians, both young and old, across the country. Akash's book reading was a particularly poignant tale of a rural land owner who was troubled by the changes in his village and nostalgic for the past.
If you like biographies, I'd highly recommend Lucknow Boy by Vinod Mehta, who's possibly the finest contemporary editor in India. What a humorous, intelligent, and self depreciating man! I finished the day with his session, and he had the crowd riveted and laughing along to his life stories. His most refreshing line: "How could I possibly be pompous when I come from where I do." (If you haven't guess from the title of his book, he's referring to Lucknow).
Oprah is scheduled to appear at the Literature Festival tomorrow morning, followed by Deepak Chopra. It's going to be a big day!