JLF sessions to feature Indian language literature

Teamwork Arts, producer of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival, the multi-continent JLF and the recently-launched JLF Brave New World, today announced a new online literary initiative - 'Jaipur Literature Festival – WORDS ARE BRIDGES' - to celebrate the fascinating diversity of languages from India and the literature they spawn. The series has been curated in partnership with publishing house HarperCollins India and will be telecast every Thursday, commencing from July 2, 2020.

The first season of the series will concentrate on the treasure trove of literature in Indian languages and their translations in English. The first series of 8 conversations will showcase eminent writers and noteworthy translators across languages such as Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Punjabi and Kannada. The series will host sessions that feature readings in languages followed by English translations and conversations between the writers and translators.

The series will feature some of India's most reputed authors and their works. The list starts with Joy Goswami, one of the most powerful poets of Bengal and among the best in the post-Jibanananda Das era of Bengali poetry, in the session 'Translating Joy'. In conversation with his translator, the poet and fiction writer Sampurna Chattarji, and poet, art critic and cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote, Goswami will discuss the source of his inventive, enigmatic and visionary verse.

Khooni Vaisakhi

On 13 April 1919, twenty-two-year-old Nanak Singh joined a mass of peaceful protestors agitating against the Rowlatt Act at Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab. It was a life-changing experience for him: he survived the massacre unleashed by General Dyer's troops, and left unnoticed among the hundreds of corpses. His poem about the traumatic event – 'Khooni Vaisakhi' – was banned soon after its publication in May 1920. At a session on Nanak Singh's book 'Khooni Vaisakhi', Navdeep Suri, Nanak Singh's grandson, will talk to noted poet and journalist Nirupama Dutt about rediscovering this poem and translating it after sixty long years. The session will have a special musical rendition on Nanak Singh's poetry by much-loved singer Harpreet.

Shriman Yogi

Ranjit Desai's Shriman Yogi about the foundation of the Maratha Empire and the life of its charismatic founder, the great warrior Shivaji, is a beloved classic in Marathi literature. In conversation with author and translator Rita Kothari, the prolific translator Vikrant Pande will speak about giving Ranjit Desai a new voice in English and about the continuing relevance of Shivaji, at the session, 'Shivaji: The Great Maratha'.

Written in Tears

Arupa Patangia Kalita's fiction is a chronicle of the disturbing and searing history of the decades-long aggression and hate that plagued Assam. In conversation with her translator Ranjita Biswas, alongside author Aruni Kashyap, she will speak about the overpowering beauty of the landscape of Assam, the conflict that scarred it, and the role of the writer in fraught times, at a session titled 'Written in Tears'.

The sessions will be telecast simultaneously on all official social media handles of Jaipur Literature Festival including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.