Jaipur Bytes

Pico Iyer (author of 16 books, TED speaker) in conversation with Lakshya Datta (Founder of Launchora). Pico Iyer's books have been translated into 23 languages. Both his 2008 meditation on the XIVth Dalai Lama,  The Open Road , and his TED Book, The Art of Stillness , were best sellers across the US. Outside magazine called him "arguably the greatest living travel-writer," and the New Yorker...

Bashabi Fraser - author of “Rabindranath Tagore (Critical Lives)" - in conversation with Lakshya Datta - Founder of Launchora. Bashabi Fraser is a Tagore and post colonial scholar and poet. A Professor of English and Creative Writing and Founder Director of the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies at Edinburgh Napier University, she is also the Editor-in-Chief of the e-journal  Gitanjali and Bey...

Miles Taylor (author of “Empress: Queen Victoria and India”) in conversation with Lakshya Datta (Founder of Launchora). Miles talks about why and how he got into learning and teaching Modern History, what drew him to writing a book about Queen Victoria, while also sharing surprising facts about her life and influence on India. Miles is a Professor of Modern History at York University,&nb...

Damian Smyth (Head of Literature and Drama at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland) in conversation with Lakshya Datta (Founder of Launchora). Hear Damian talk about the work the Art Council does in Belfast and beyond, how the association with JLF came about, and why Belfast is the perfect city for the festival. Experience the first ever JLF Belfast from June 21 to 23. #JLFBelfast2019

Jamie Andrews (Head of Culture and Learning at the British Library) in conversation with Lakshya Datta (Founder of Launchora). Jamie talks about the work the British Library does in the UK and internationally, their current “Writing: Making Your Mark” exhibition, why they got involved with JLF as their festival host in London, and what to expect from the upcoming festival from June 14 to 16. #ZEEJ...

Matt Reed (CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation UK) in conversation with Lakshya Datta (Founder of Launchora). AKF has been supporting JLF since 2015. As CEO, Matt’s focus is on expanding AKF’s partnerships in the UK and Europe and building greater public awareness about the work of the broader Aga Khan Development Network.  #ZEEJLFatBL2019

An encounter with the free-spirited Shabana Azmi, magnificent actor and a committed social activist. Azmi belongs to an illustrious literary family and has been a member of the Indian Parliament. In conversation with writer and film director Sangeeta Datta, she speaks of her work in experimental and mainstream cinema, and the interplay of culture, entertainment and politics. This episode is a live...

Namita Gokhale ( founder and co-director of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival ) in conversation with Lakshya Datta ( host of Jaipur Bytes and founder of Launchora ). Namita shares her favorite moments from the festival in Jaipur this past January, why she believes all writers - young and old - need to be readers first, how she curates the international JLF festivals and their programming, and wha...

William Dalrymple (historian, art historian, and co-director of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival)  in conversation with Lakshya Datta (host of Jaipur Bytes podcast and founder of Launchora). William talks about how he helped create JLF all those years ago, what he thought of #ZEEJLF2019 (the first one he couldn't attend), how he finds authors and speakers from around the world to bring to t...

Assa Doron, Sanchaita Gajapati in conversation with Robin Jeffrey. This episode is a live session from day 5 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Jon Lee Anderson, Peter Bergen and Steve Coll in conversation with Navtej Sarna. The growth of India, China, Brazil, Russia and Africa is generating a new landscape. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, highest-grossing movies and most advanced mobile phones are now all being made outside Europe and the United States. Regions that previously lacked political confidence and national pride are findi...

Akhil Katyal, Geetanjali Sree, Neelesh Misra, Pravin Kumar, Rakhshanda Jalil in conversation with Saurabh Dwivedi. This episode is a live session from day 3 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Identifying Gender Violence & Finding Solutions That Fit. Simar Singh, Sohaila Abdulali and Sunita Toor in conversation with Pragya Tiwari. This episode is a live session from day 3 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Amitabh Kant, Dean Nelson and Nishtha Gautam in conversation with John Elliott. A timely conversation on the uniquely Indian concept of ‘jugaad’, the flexible bottom-up strategy of innovation that seems to come so naturally to a resource starved nation. Based on the concept of doing more with less, this approach to frugal engineering and ingenious solutions often helps turn adversity into opportun...

Dominic Asquith, Nikesh Shukla, Rachel Johnson and Sir Roy Strong CH in conversation with James Crabtree. This episode is a live session from day 3 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Darryl Jones, Maja Lunde and Mridula Ramesh in conversation with Marcus Moench. The disruptions of climate change can no longer be ignored. A timely and urgent conversation on perhaps the most crucial issue for our planet that discusses the ingenuity and initiative required to adapt to changing conditions while attempting to reverse their shattering consequences. A panel of distinguished environme...

Sven Beckert is Laird Bell Professor of American History at Harvard University, where he teaches the history of the United States in the nineteenth century, and global history. Patrick French is a biographer and historian, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor for the Public Understanding of the Humanities at Ahmedabad University. This episode is a live session from day 2 of #ZEEJL...

Dhrubo Jyoti, Desraj Kali, Manoranjan Byapari and Sheoraj Singh Bechain in conversation with Harish Trivedi. Transformative Dalit literature has an inspirational role to play in the battle for justice and equity. Iconic writers and journalists who struggled with extreme poverty, prejudice and illiteracy and went on to become highly regarded litterateurs speak of the trajectory of their careers, th...

Information empowers and its role in a democracy is especially critical and definitive. In this important session, social activist Aruna Roy, the power behind the RTI Movement and Harsh Mander, fearless activist, who works with survivors of mass violence and hunger, the homeless and street children, and also the Director of the Centre for Equity Studies, make a passionate plea for the ‘Right to Kn...

Audrey Truschke, Parvati Sharma, and Rana Safvi in conversation with Ira Mukhoty. This episode is a live session from day 3 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Daniel E. Lieberman and David Reich in conversation with Tony Joseph. A session that brings together two of the most highly regarded geneticists and paleoanthropologists of our age. Everyone knows about DNA. It is the essence of our being, influencing who we are and what we pass on to our children. But its information can’t be used without a machine to decode it. The ribosome is that machine. Davi...

Anjum Hasan, Andrew Sean Greer, Jayant Kaikini and Mahesh Rao, moderated by Paul McVeigh. This episode is a live session from day 5 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Boria Majumdar, Rajdeep Sardesai and Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Prayaag Akbar. This episode is a live session from day 2 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Alka Pande, Bulbul Sharma, Devdutt Pattnaik, Pavan K. Varma and Yudit Greenberg in conversation with Malashri Lal, introduced by Namita Gokhale. This episode is a live session from day 1 of #ZEEJLF2019.

Ruby Wax (actress, comedian, mental health campaigner, lecturer, and author of 'How to be Human) in conversation with journalist and poet Jerry Pinto. This episode is a live session from day 1 of #ZEEJLF2019.