January 25, 2014

From one litfest to another

With Kabir Bedi at the Writers’ Ball in Jaipur

January 25, 2014: I arrived in Kolkata on January 23 evening after a hectic Jaipur sojourn. Yesterday evening I attended the inaugural dinner of Kolkata Literary Meet at the Taj Terrace.

I shall again leave Kolkata and go to south India for a week to attend some family affairs.

With Jhumpa Lahiri at the Kolkata Literary Meet

On January 21, I attended the Writers’ Ball which was hosted at the Hotel Le Meridian instead of Kesar Kyari at Amber Fort where it was held each year. On the last day of the Jaipur Literature Festival there was a sudden change in the weather and it rained heavily since 4 am.

Full marks to Thakur Ram Pratap Diggi and their team and also to Namita Gokhale, Sanjay Roy and Sheuli Sethi for a great show. Not a single session was delayed or cancelled. In fact, the alacrity with which they made alternative arrangement immediately, when the Charbagh Tent collapsed, deserves full praise.

One of the last sessions of the JLF was “Is there anything called Indianism.”

I think the speedy arrangement that the JLF team made is what epitomizes Indianism. I am sure that had it been anywhere else in the world, they would have called off the event.

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