Jaipur Bytes

William Dalrymple, festival co-director of #JaipurLitFest2020 and author of "The Anarchy", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, William talks to Lakshya about the year that has been, and why this year's programme is the festival's finest. 

Sanjoy K. Roy, Producer of Jaipur Literature Festival and Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive chat, Sanjoy talks to Lakshya about what you can expect from the festival in its 13th edition and the many ways you can experience it when it returns to the Diggi Palace in Jaipur from January 23 to 27, 2020. Learn more about...

In the 100th episode (and 2019 season finale) of Jaipur Bytes, host Lakshya Datta speaks with Jaipur Literature Festival co-director Namita Gokhale about her upcoming novel 'Jaipur Journals'. Partly a love letter to the greatest literary show on earth, partly a satire about the glittery set that throngs this literary venue year on year, and partly an ode to the millions of aspiring writers who wan...

A sense of belonging is an essential component to the notion of identity. In conversation with Mridula Nath Chakraborty, Roanna Gonsalves and Shameem Black read from their work and discuss the multiplicities of identity in their writings. This episode is a live session from JLF Adelaide 2019.

Dr. James Onley, Director of Historical Research and Partnerships at the Qatar National Library, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, James and Lakshya talk about the 4000+ years long history between India and the Gulf, how the dynamics between the two regions changed after 1947, and the work he and his team at QNL having been doing to archive this rich...

In conversation with James Crabtree, writers Peter Verghese, Shashi Tharoor & Tony Birch examine social realities nd the conflicts of today. This episode is a live session from JLF Adelaide 2019.

Author Intan Paramaditha in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive chat, Intan talks to Lakshya about her academic career, Indonesian films, why she chooses to write in her native language, and how she wrote a choose your own adventure novel.  Intan is an Indonesian fiction writer and currently a lecturer in Media and Film Studies at Macquarie University,...

Frank Dikötter, author of "How to Be a Dictator: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive chat, Frank talks to Lakshya about his career, The People’s Republic of China, The people of Hong Kong, and dictators.  Frank has been Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong since 2006. He...

Tony Joseph, author of " Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors  and  Where We Came From", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Tony tells Lakshya about the research that went into writing the book, how the modern indian population came to be composed as it is, and what we can learn about ourselves and our current times from o...

Writer and editor Tom Cho in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive chat,  Tom talks to Lakshya about his first book, his next book, and where and how he finds the words to fill them. Tom’s debut collection of fiction, titled " Look Who’s Morphing" , was shortlisted for multiple awards, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book. He&nbs...

Ryan Stoa, author of " Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Ryan tells Lakshya about what drew him to studying and teaching law, how he found himself writing a book about the cannabis and marijuana industry, how he proposes for quality regulation in the form of Marijuana...

André Aciman, author of " Call Me by Your Name " and its upcoming sequel " Find Me ", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, André and Lakshya talk about why he drawn to writing these characters again, how the success of the film affected his writing process on "Find Me", why he chose to tell this story from three perspectives, while also sharing some grea...

Vanessa R. Sasson, author of “Yasodhara: A Novel About the Buddha’s Wife”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Vanessa and Lakshya talk about why she wanted to tell this story, what it was like to write in Yasodhara’s voice, and how the process of writing this book changed how she felt about the Buddha. Vanessa is a professor of Religious Stud...

Author, activist, psychotherapist Farzana Doctor in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Farzana and Lakshya talk about her life and career - both as a novelist and as a psychotherapist - as well as the work she does with WeSpeakOut, a global group that is working to ban female genital cutting in her Dawoodi Bohra community. Farzana Doctor is the award...

David Moscrop, author of "Too Dumb for Democracy? Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. David and Lakshya talk about politics, the currently ongoing Canadian elections, his new book, and what sort of topics he and his guests will be debating on his new podcast "Open to Debate with David Moscrop". David is a polit...

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and internationally recognized human rights and inspirational peace activist, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. Dr. Abuelaish talks to Lakshya about what hatred does to a person and to a community, where he gets his strength to deliver his message of hope and forgiveness, why political leaders need to humanize and not polit...

Marcus Moench, founder of The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-International, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Marcus tells Lakshya about the connection between literature and science that he found in India, why he was drawn to work on social and environmental issues, how JLF gives scientists and activists a platform to...

Kent Nerburn, author of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Kent and Lakshya talk about how “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” came to be, how it became a cult classic that is used as a bridge to connect non-natives to the Native-American experience, how Robert Plant (lead singer of Led Zeppelin) found the book and ended up writ...

Author Maaza Mengiste in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Maaza and Lakshya talk about how she was drawn to storytelling as a kid, what it was like to take the unknown path of becoming a writer, the research and multiple drafts that led to “The Shadow King”, and why she loves telling stories. Maaza is an Ethiopian-American writer and a...

Scholar-translator Linda Hess in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Linda talks to Lakshya about what drew her to come to India in her 20s, how she fell in love with Kabir and his words, and why 500 year old songs created by an illiterate poet are still relevant today. Linda’s publications include "The Bijak of Kabir", "Singing...

Chiké Frankie Edozien, author of "Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Frankie talks to Lakshya about his time at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2019, what it was like to be in India soon after Section 377 was abolished, what the ruling in India meant for the LGBTQ community in Af...

Mira Jacob, author of "Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations", in conversation with writer/host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Mira and Lakshya talk about her new book - why she wrote it, what it was like to re-live these talks from her past, and what conversations she hopes it starts. About the book: Inspired by her viral BuzzFeed piece '37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son',...

Sohaila Abdulali, author of "What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape", in conversation with writer/host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive episode, Sohaila talks to Lakshya about what it has been like to share this book with people around the world, and what stories readers have shared with her along the way. Sohaila has also published two novels, "The Madwoman of Jogare" and "Year of the...

Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of the New York Times Bestselling memoir “All Souls: A Family Story From Southie”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. Lakshya speaks with Michael about what drew him to tell stories, the writing process behind his memoirs, how his family and his community reacted to his books, and how he uses storytelling as a tool to talk about justice and heal...

Ranju Roy and Dave Charlton in conversation with Tara Fraser. Understanding Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is the key to understanding yoga itself and yet relatively few of today’s practitioners know how to apply these ancient Sanskrit aphorisms to contemporary life. Yoga Teachers Ranju Roy and David Charlton, both practitioners within the tradition of TKV Desikachar of Chennai, discuss some of the most...