Jaipur Bytes

Hussain Zaidi and Vikram Chandra in conversation with Jenny Bhatt. Introducing us to the inner world of noir, celebrated authors Vikram Chandra and Hussain Zaidi embark on a journey around the various aspects of the genre, the craft and techniques of building plot and character, and developing narrative styles. Chandra is the bestselling author of books such as Sacred Games, Red Earth and Pouring...

Taking us on a journey through his layered and multifaceted literary process, Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel talks about the liberating power of the written word. Martel is the bestselling author of books such as Beatrice and Virgil and Life of Pi . In a conversation with writer and author Diksha Basu, Martel explores the inspirations and essence of his work, and talks about his journey a...

Bee Rowlatt, Edward Chancellor, Nick Robins, Swapan Dasgupta, William Dalrymple and Zareer Masani discuss the age of iconoclasm with Mukulika Banerjee in the closing debate of #JLFLondonAtBL2020 Britain is full of statues of men once regarded as imperial heroes, many of whom are responsible for acts of loot and pillage that would now be classified as war crimes. This house believes the time has no...

What are the responsibilities of the writer, to themselves, to their readers, to the narratives they share? Bestselling writers Amish, Vikas Swarup and Shrabani Basu speak to one another on their commitment and belief in words and of the dharma of the storyteller. This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

Writer, politician and public intellectual Shashi Tharoor is the award-winning author of over 20 books of fiction and non-fiction. His predilection for long words has also created a sub- genre of #Tharoorisms . On #JLFLondonAtBL2020 , Tharoor speaks with author & journalist James Crabtree of his latest book ‘Tharoorosaurus’ and shares some whimsical anecdotes behind his vocabulary. This episod...

Award-winning foreign correspondent Christina Lamb has worked extensively in war-torn areas and combat zones for over 30 years. She speaks to fellow journalist Taran N. Khan about her latest book ‘Our Bodies, Their Battlefield’, a groundbreaking examination of how women experience sexual abuse in modern conflicts. This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

Deepa Anappara’s debut novel ‘Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line’ journeys to the heart of childhood and painful loss of innocence. In conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts and the founder-trustee of Salaam Balaak Trust, she discusses the impact of poverty and religious violence on the education of children.  This episode is the audio version of a live online sessio...

The award-winning Vidya Balan and author and screenplay writer Nayanika Mahtani discuss their latest film on the mathematical genius, the late Shakuntala Devi. In conversation Vani Tripathi Tikoo. This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020. Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Man Booker Prize-winning ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ follows the journey of an interconnected group of 12 black women in a quest for love, hope and home spanning across the legacy of contemporary and colonial Britain. In conversation with writer Anjum Hasan, she discusses the idea of womxnhood,...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Elizabeth Gilbert, Leila Slimani, Avni Doshi, John Lanchester and Howard Jacobson in conversation with Damian Barr.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Travel writing is one of the most ancient forms of literature but does it have any relevance in the age of the internet, globalisation and Google Maps? Travel writers Katie Hickman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Peter Hessler, Howard Jacobson and Suketu Mehta discuss the genre and read from their work with William Dalrymple.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Writer and TIME editor-at-large Anand Giridharadas takes on the privileged classes in his scorching new book, the bestselling Winners Take All . It investigates the global elite’s efforts to ‘change the world’ except in ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. This searing critique of modern plutocrats who seek to do more good but neve...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. How does one capture the life of a woman in writing? How different is the feminine biography from that of a man? Biographers Bettany Hughes, Benjamin Moser, Jung Chang, Lindsey Hilsum and Hallie Rubenhold discuss the difficulty of pinning to paper the lives of women to paper in conversation with Anita Anand.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. China’s mammoth Belt and Road initiative, straddling almost 70 countries, is an infrastructure project of staggering complexity. Alongside writers and diplomats Manoj Joshi, Shyam Saran, Sujeev Shakya and Bruno Maçães, a Portugese politician, former Minister of European Affairs and author of Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order , discusses its ambitions and...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Throughout history, artists and scientists have been bound together by a complex thread born out of the desire to experiment, taking inspiration from each other’s disciplines but working from very different perspectives. This session, featuring Tilly Blyth, Head of Collections and Principal Curator at the Science Museum in London and the author of the edifyi...

Three major Indian poets discuss the poetic imagination, searching its sources, inspirations and philosophy. Eminent English poet and translator Arvind Krishna Mehrotra speaks of his influences, among which he acknowledges William Carlos Williams and the Beat poets, as well as Kabir. Iconic Hindi poet and critic Ashok Vajpeyi has nurtured and founded many cultural institutions. Much awarded Englis...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. The wizarding world of Harry Potter isn’t just about magic versus muggles. It has a dizzying array of scientific theory, metaphysics and connections between complex natural phenomena. Roger Highfield, author of The Science of Harry Potter , explores the fascinating links between magic and science, and shows how the fantastical conceits in the Potter books ca...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Francesc Miralles in conversation with Nilanjana S. Roy. The people of Japan believe that everyone has an ‘ikigai’ or ‘a reason to jump out of bed every morning’. The international bestseller by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles shares the Japanese secret to a long and happy life and has helped readers around the world to find purpose, nurture friendships...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Almost ten years ago, Om Swami renounced material wealth and left for a spiritual quest to Varanasi where he was initiated into the path of renunciation by a Naga saint in a little village. Soon after, Swami spent 13 months in intense meditation in the Himalaya. In conversation with  Puneeta Roy, Founder Trustee of the Yuva Ekta Foundation, he discusses...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. In a magical session that brings the music of words to life, the acclaimed vocalist Shubha Mudgal reads from and speaks her debut collection of short stories, Looking for Miss Sargam . Her book, set in the world of classical Indian music, is wry, tongue in cheek and full of deep insights and perspectives. In conversation with editor Sudha Sadanand, Mudgal te...

At the age of 17, after a childhood in a foster family followed by six years in care homes, Norman Greenwood was given his Birth Certificate. He learned that his real name was not Norman. It was Lemn Sissay. He was British and Ethiopian, and he learned that his mother had been pleading for his safe return to her since his birth. This is Lemn's story, a story of neglect and determination, misfortun...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. For our 19th century forebears, science meant progress and hope. Today, we are not so sure. With Google and Facebook harvesting our data and listening to our every conversation in the service of surveillance capitalism, with development bringing environmental catastrophe in its wake and with robots replacing more and more human jobs, we now fear science the...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. Kaveree Bamzai’s edited anthology No Regrets: The Guilt-Free Woman’s Guide to a Good Life is a spunky handbook featuring insights by prominent women on how to rise above conventional norms and expectations and break free. Editor and journalist Bamzai discusses the inspirations behind the book and the deeper message it conveys. Novelist and celebrity columnis...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. What is leadership? An invigorating session with R. Gopalakrishnan, Director of Tata Sons, that follows the path of the leader across the changes of perspective from the transactional to the corporate and the larger societal view. Moving away from the cut and thrust of operational action, Gopalakrishnan reflects on a leader’s journey emphasising the role tha...

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020. What makes Indian democracy tick? A riveting session that explores the narratives and counter narratives of the electoral process and democratic systems. Sachin Pilot is a dynamic young politician currently serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and as the President of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. A member of the Indian National Congr...