As I scoff my breakfast and prepare for our second epic day at JLF, I must share some highlights from our first.
What a triumphant launch. The VIPs were treated to an opulent dinner at Rambagh Palace, which according to all was spectacular. I worked into the night on various lists and last minute madness with the crew, then joined some new friends for an Italian dinner - oh my first taste of red wine for weeks was truly sweet. I ignored the Indian label and rather strange balance of flavours and tucked into a margarita pizza with zeal.
All but one of my volunteers showed up at 8am sharp and I was much relieved when the fifth made it just in time to be briefed. We needed every body to keep things running smoothly and of course there were some hiccups, but overall it was a roaring success. The sun shone brightly and all of our authors made it to the stage (though a few were rather tardy) bar one who is a Pakistani author called Mohammed Hanif, who was denied a visa rather contentiously. Such a pity, as he would have balanced out the panel perfectly that closed our day, which debated "The Future of the Novel". However, we made do with Zoe Heller, Howard Jacobson, Lawrence Norfolk, Linda Grant, Nadeem Aslam and the fabulous moderator Anita Anand.
It was electric. In fact the whole day was, but what an ending. Nadeem Aslam spoke with such passion about what writing means to him. He described the importance of the written word to people who struggle in this world, how it affects those you love and can change the fabric of society. All the panellists were impressive and Howard Jacobson in particular ruffled lots of feathers with his wonderfully outspoken truths, but I will never forget how Nadeem's voice broke and the audience gasped, before breaking into applause.
Our first session was on Shakespeare, who is adored in India (and of course the world over) and suffice to say that we once again had a panel of knowledgeable and eloquent writers (Elif Batuman, Chandrahas Choudhury, Anjum Hasan, Christopher Ricks, Tim Supple and a fabulous moderator Supriya Nair), who had the audience in the palm of their hand.
The opening keynote address on the Front Lawns was given by the much revered Bengali political activist Mahasweta Devi. She is now 88 and was wheeled over in a chair for a session at our Google Mughal tent, where Naveen Kishore guided questions from the audience after they watched some previously filmed interviews. Madam Devi is much beloved and there was a scrum around her wheelchair afterwards. She was tired after giving two presentations and her minders had forgotten her insulin shot, so we had to hide her backstage and let people in one-by-one. They all wanted photos, hugs and words of wisdom. They were overcome. I even heard one man asking Naveen what she ate!!!!
The next speakers had to contend with being in competition with the Dalai Lama, who drew an immense crowd to the Front Lawns. It took eight security guards in a human chain to get him in and out, his minders left behind. But somehow the Vice-Chancellor of Mathematics at Delhi University, Dinesh Singh, and Manil Suri a novellist and Professor of Maths, managed to pull in a good crowd for a dynamic session. There were many school children in the audience and they asked some of the best questions of the day. One young boy with rainbow braces asked, "Why is it good Sirs, that students seem to fall asleep in Maths but not in other subjects?". The audience erupted. Gender bias was attacked head on and much more. It was great fun and unexpectedly so.
With hardly a break and a bit of naan bread for lunch, we catapulted into the afternoon with a sizzling panel on "The Art of the Short Story". Richard Beard, Nicholas Hogg and the dynamic Chinese writer Yiyun Li debated the importance of this medium with Anjum Hasan moderating. Once again, the tent was packed with people from all walks of life. The festival's insistence on allowing free entry and promoting itself as the most democratic event in Asia provides a thrilling diversity of ages and backgrounds.
In haste, as I can't be late today, but I have to mention the panel with Javed Akhtar, a much beloved and worshipped poet and lyricist. He was in discussion with Ameena Saiyid moderated by Syed Shahid Mahdi, who was calmly sitting in the audience while about 10 people searched manically for him. This meant the panel started late while people jammed into every available space in the venue. We had bodies lining the aisles and every single bit of space. There wasn't a seat in the house, and the crowd standing at the back was thick and overwhelming for my team who were still finding their confidence and flow as a team. Security showed up and I did my best to keep things under control, but it was challenging. It reminded me of the session we had with Gulzar (again, a lyricist and poet, in fact an Academy winner for his lyrics to 'Jai Ho' from the film "Slumdog Millionaire"). They moved in and out of what sounded like three different languages, but I was mesmerised by Javed's connection with his audience. They hung on every word as though being showered with diamonds of truth. It was entrancing.
Wish I had time to describe the music last night, the Coca-cola stage has moved to a luxury hotel called Clarks Amer and it was on a scale I had not imagined. It was a wonderful ending to an exhausting but exhilarating day. I am so happy to be a part of this magical event. I must now get myself back to Diggi Palace, where our first session is in conversation with an old friend from New York, Andrew Solomon. I adore how life throws people back into each others' lives when one least expects it.
That's it for now...
What a triumphant launch. The VIPs were treated to an opulent dinner at Rambagh Palace, which according to all was spectacular. I worked into the night on various lists and last minute madness with the crew, then joined some new friends for an Italian dinner - oh my first taste of red wine for weeks was truly sweet. I ignored the Indian label and rather strange balance of flavours and tucked into a margarita pizza with zeal.
All but one of my volunteers showed up at 8am sharp and I was much relieved when the fifth made it just in time to be briefed. We needed every body to keep things running smoothly and of course there were some hiccups, but overall it was a roaring success. The sun shone brightly and all of our authors made it to the stage (though a few were rather tardy) bar one who is a Pakistani author called Mohammed Hanif, who was denied a visa rather contentiously. Such a pity, as he would have balanced out the panel perfectly that closed our day, which debated "The Future of the Novel". However, we made do with Zoe Heller, Howard Jacobson, Lawrence Norfolk, Linda Grant, Nadeem Aslam and the fabulous moderator Anita Anand.
It was electric. In fact the whole day was, but what an ending. Nadeem Aslam spoke with such passion about what writing means to him. He described the importance of the written word to people who struggle in this world, how it affects those you love and can change the fabric of society. All the panellists were impressive and Howard Jacobson in particular ruffled lots of feathers with his wonderfully outspoken truths, but I will never forget how Nadeem's voice broke and the audience gasped, before breaking into applause.
Our first session was on Shakespeare, who is adored in India (and of course the world over) and suffice to say that we once again had a panel of knowledgeable and eloquent writers (Elif Batuman, Chandrahas Choudhury, Anjum Hasan, Christopher Ricks, Tim Supple and a fabulous moderator Supriya Nair), who had the audience in the palm of their hand.
The opening keynote address on the Front Lawns was given by the much revered Bengali political activist Mahasweta Devi. She is now 88 and was wheeled over in a chair for a session at our Google Mughal tent, where Naveen Kishore guided questions from the audience after they watched some previously filmed interviews. Madam Devi is much beloved and there was a scrum around her wheelchair afterwards. She was tired after giving two presentations and her minders had forgotten her insulin shot, so we had to hide her backstage and let people in one-by-one. They all wanted photos, hugs and words of wisdom. They were overcome. I even heard one man asking Naveen what she ate!!!!
The next speakers had to contend with being in competition with the Dalai Lama, who drew an immense crowd to the Front Lawns. It took eight security guards in a human chain to get him in and out, his minders left behind. But somehow the Vice-Chancellor of Mathematics at Delhi University, Dinesh Singh, and Manil Suri a novellist and Professor of Maths, managed to pull in a good crowd for a dynamic session. There were many school children in the audience and they asked some of the best questions of the day. One young boy with rainbow braces asked, "Why is it good Sirs, that students seem to fall asleep in Maths but not in other subjects?". The audience erupted. Gender bias was attacked head on and much more. It was great fun and unexpectedly so.
With hardly a break and a bit of naan bread for lunch, we catapulted into the afternoon with a sizzling panel on "The Art of the Short Story". Richard Beard, Nicholas Hogg and the dynamic Chinese writer Yiyun Li debated the importance of this medium with Anjum Hasan moderating. Once again, the tent was packed with people from all walks of life. The festival's insistence on allowing free entry and promoting itself as the most democratic event in Asia provides a thrilling diversity of ages and backgrounds.
In haste, as I can't be late today, but I have to mention the panel with Javed Akhtar, a much beloved and worshipped poet and lyricist. He was in discussion with Ameena Saiyid moderated by Syed Shahid Mahdi, who was calmly sitting in the audience while about 10 people searched manically for him. This meant the panel started late while people jammed into every available space in the venue. We had bodies lining the aisles and every single bit of space. There wasn't a seat in the house, and the crowd standing at the back was thick and overwhelming for my team who were still finding their confidence and flow as a team. Security showed up and I did my best to keep things under control, but it was challenging. It reminded me of the session we had with Gulzar (again, a lyricist and poet, in fact an Academy winner for his lyrics to 'Jai Ho' from the film "Slumdog Millionaire"). They moved in and out of what sounded like three different languages, but I was mesmerised by Javed's connection with his audience. They hung on every word as though being showered with diamonds of truth. It was entrancing.
Wish I had time to describe the music last night, the Coca-cola stage has moved to a luxury hotel called Clarks Amer and it was on a scale I had not imagined. It was a wonderful ending to an exhausting but exhilarating day. I am so happy to be a part of this magical event. I must now get myself back to Diggi Palace, where our first session is in conversation with an old friend from New York, Andrew Solomon. I adore how life throws people back into each others' lives when one least expects it.
That's it for now...
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