Jaipur Bytes

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 author of the 2010 novel “Beneath The Lion’s Gaze". Her new book, "The Shadow King", comes out on September 24. Maaza teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Queens College, City University of New York, and is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. She will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

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 Emptiness: Kumar Gandharva Performs the Poetry of Kabir", and "Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in North India". She has also written about Tulsidas and the Ramlila of Ramnagar. She taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University for 21 years, retiring in 2017. Linda will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

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 African countries where they’re still fighting for legality and equality, and why the journey from legal to normal is going to take time. Frankie is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, and starting in January 2020, he will be the new site director at NYU’s campus in Accra, Ghana. Frankie’s memoir, "Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man", won the Lambda Literary 2018 Nonfiction Award for Best Gay Memoir/Biography. He will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

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', Mira Jacob responds to: her six-year-old, Z, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and increasingly fraught exchanges with her Trump-supporting in-laws. Jacob also investigates her own past, including how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have shaped one life, but will resonate with many others. You can order the book on Amazon and learn more about MIra's work at mirajacob.com.

Mira will be speaking at #JLFHouston2019 on Sept 14, and #ZeeJLFColorado2019 on Sept 21.

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 Tiger", three children’s books, short stories and many non-fiction pieces. She will be speaking at JLF Houston on Sept 14, and JLF Colorado on Sept 22.

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 healing. You can learn more about his work at www.michaelpatrickmacdonald.com. Michael will be at #ZEEJLFColorado2019 at the session “We Shall Not Hate” on September 21.

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 important sutras in their new book Embodying the Yoga Sutra and show how each one illuminates a different aspect of the vast field of yoga, both on and off the mat. In conversation with author and yoga trainer Tara Fraser. This episode is a live session from #ZEEJLFatBL2019.

Santanu Das and Shrabani Basu in conversation with Yasmin Khan. Santanu Das's India, Empire and First World War Culture: Writings, Images and Songs recovers the experience of combatants, non-combatants and civilians from undivided India trying to make sense of home and the world in times of war. Shrabani Basu’s For King and Another Country also takes into account India’s First World War through the eyes of those who fought it. This episode is a live session from #ZEEJLFatBL2019.

The inaugural address by Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee at JLF Belfast 2019. She has held the position of Vice-Chairperson of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti for nearly nine years. Gandhi Smriti is the site of the martyrdom of her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, for truth and non-violence. She is also involved with the movement to protect rivers and the environment in India. She is the Chairperson of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, one of the oldest pre-independence, non-governmental institutions serving the needy women and children of rural India and founded by Mahatma Gandhi in the memory of his wife. This episode is a live session from #JLFBelfast2019.

Vasuki Shastry, Steve Tsang, Ellen Barry and Lijia Zhang in conversation with Salil Tripathi. While the phenomenal economic rise of India and China is of key interest to economists around the world, the civilisational links between these two ancient cultures are equally fascinating. A session on how the ‘elephant’ and the ‘dragon’ negotiate their relationship with each other and the ways in which their growing influence is reshaping the world. Author and expert on Asian economies and public policy Vasuki Shastry, political scientist and historian Steve Tsang, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ellen Barry and factory worker-turned writer Lijia Zhang discuss the two Asian superpowers and their impact on the world as we know it with author Salil Tripathi. This episode is a live session from #ZEEJLFatBL2019.