January 24, 2013

Jaipur LitFest 2013

With Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar at the LitFest

January 24, 2013: The five-day Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 takes off today. Mahasweta Devi will be the keynote speaker and the Dalai Lama is also scheduled to attend the first day of the LitFest.

With Suhel Seth, Queenie Singh and Madhu

Yesterday night there was a dinner at Rambagh Palace hosted by Satyajeet Krishnan, General Manager, Rambagh Palace and the directors and producers of The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2013.

With Madhu and Queenie

It was a dinner for very selective guests and authors and like last year it was a gala affair with vintage cars escorting guests to the venue.

I met Shabana and Javed Akhtar and had a long adda session with Suhel Seth. We decided to meet up at the Diggi Palace in the afternoon every day for samosas and tea like we did last year.

With Maharaj Vijit Singh

At the dinner I was introduced to Maharaj Vijit Singh. also got introduced to former Miss India and model Queenie Singh Dhody and actress Madhu from Mumbai who are Suhel’s friends. It was obvious that the guests at the dinner were very exclusive.

With Lakshyaraj Singh

Apart from a few bureaucrats who have an avid interest in literature, I did not see anyone else. I also met Lakshyaraj Singh, son of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur.

It was an enjoyable evening at the Royal Rambagh Palace with the royalty, great authors and of course amid regal atmosphere. I am planning to skip the opening of the inaugural session of the LitFest and reach the venue post noon when it would be less crowded.
ess bee