Jaipur Bytes

A session traversing the spiritual and archeological path of the expansion of Buddhism opening a fascinating window into its foundations, histories and traditions. It also gives a keen insight into the role of patronage and of Buddhist monks in spreading its ideas and philosophy. Academic and author Himanushu Prabha Ray, talks of the expansion of Buddhism within India while the Senior curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Guy, explores the spread of Buddhism through SE Asia, in conversation with Festival Co- Director and author William Dalrymple.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. From being an education activist in the Swat Valley in Pakistan to her path breaking work with the Malala Fund, she has emerged as an international voice in the fight for education for all and ending gender discrimination. Her latest book is We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World. In a conversation with Pragya Tiwari, she gives us an inside look into her inspirations, journey and roots.

Renowned author and music critic Alex Ross’ latest book Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music unravels the cultural history and significance of Richard Wagner and the kaleidoscopic work and life he inhabited. Ross weaves together not just Wagner’s story but also the political, artistic and cultural history of the last 150 years. Ross’ other books include The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century and Listen to This.with In conversation with academic and author Katherine Butler Schofield, Ross delves into the artistic genius of Wagner and the impact of art in world history.

We live in an age of accelerated anxiety and the prospect of loss stares us in the face in the times of the pandemic. A conversation across generations where two young women writers, Kairavi Bharat Ram, age 22, and Arshya Gaur, age 16, share their hurts and the process of healing with clinical psychologist and author Sonali Gupta and psychologist and family therapist Shelja Sen. 

Enter Stage Right: The Alkazi-Padamsee Family Memoir is a heartfelt homage to one of the greatest alliances in the world of theatre and art in post-Independence India: the Alkazi-Padamsees. Penned by noted director Feisal Alkazi, son of the late theatre veteran and Director of the National School of Drama Ebrahim Alkazi, and Roshen Alkazi, pioneering costumier and founder-director of Art Heritage, the memoir charmingly recounts the stories and anecdotes that constitute the history of Indian theatre, bringing them to life with insightful observations and more than 50 archival photographs. In this memorable session, he speaks to Quasar Thakore Padamsee to discuss the institutional legacy of their family and how they shaped the future of arts in India. In conversation with festival producer Sanjoy K Roy.

Journalist and writer George Packer’s Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century is an enduring account of the force behind the Dayton Accords which famously ended the Balkan wars. Packer’s sweeping diplomatic history is based on Holbrooke's diaries and papers and gives a peek into the life of man both equally admired and detested. Packer’s other works include The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq and Blood of the Liberals. In conversation with journalist and writer Basharat Peer, Packer dives into the life and career of an extraordinary and deeply flawed man and the political and social circles he inhabited.

A timely session which brings together a cross section of voices and perspectives to understand feminism and its kaleidoscopic dimensions. Bee Rowlatt embarks on an extraordinary journey looking at the life and legacy of the first celebrity feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, in her latest book In Search of Mary. Mariam Khan  in her anthology It’s Not About The Burqa, writes about why feminism needs to die. Both of these writers, alongside playwright, poet and editor of The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, Sabrina Mahfouz discuss the ways in which feminism has changed over the years. The three committed writers come together to inform us, critique and reframe feminism for contemporary women. In conversation with Afshan D'Souza-Lodhi.

Tom Stoppard, one of the greatest living playwrights, is a towering and beloved literary figure. Known for his dizzying narrative inventiveness and intense attention to language, he deftly deploys art, science, history, politics, and philosophy in works that span a remarkable spectrum of literary genres: theater, radio, film, TV, journalism and fiction. His most acclaimed creations, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Real Thing, Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia and Shakespeare in Love, remain as fresh and moving as when they entranced their first audiences. 

Drawing heavily from Roman Catholic theology and philosophy, Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is a long narrative poem divided into three parts: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The text and its imaginative vision of the afterlife is a masterpiece representing Dante’s journey from darkness to error to the final ascent to God in Paradise. Author and literary critic Piero Boitani is a Dante scholar and is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the Sapienza University in Rome. Academic and author Claudio Giunta teaches Italian Literature at the University of Trento in Italy. He is an expert in medieval literature, the poetry of Dante and his contemporaries and pedagogy of the humanities. Together they discuss the significance of the Divine Comedy and its verses and celebrate the life and writing of this master of words on the 700th anniversary of his death. In conversation with the Ambassador to Italy in India, H.E. Vincenzo de Luca.

A book charting an exceptional life and career, Unscripted by screenwriter, director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi takes us on an extravagant journey through the life, mind, method and madness of perhaps one of the greatest filmmakers Bollywood has seen today. Over the past three decades, Chopra has seen it all, from putting together low budget student films to establishing the largest production house within the Indian film industry, he has presented the biggest blockbusters of the era while also introducing the audience to a sparkling list of actors who he took under his wing and nurtured to stardom. In conversation with Vani Tripathi Tikoo,  they dive into a session on Chopra's life and work and a friendship spanning decades.