Jaipur Bytes

Writer, politician and public intellectual Shashi Tharoor is the award-winning author of over 20 books of fiction and non-fiction. His predilection for long words has also created a sub- genre of #Tharoorisms. On #JLFLondonAtBL2020, Tharoor speaks with author & journalist James Crabtree of his latest book ‘Tharoorosaurus’ and shares some whimsical anecdotes behind his vocabulary.

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

Award-winning foreign correspondent Christina Lamb has worked extensively in war-torn areas and combat zones for over 30 years. She speaks to fellow journalist Taran N. Khan about her latest book ‘Our Bodies, Their Battlefield’, a groundbreaking examination of how women experience sexual abuse in modern conflicts.

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

Deepa Anappara’s debut novel ‘Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line’ journeys to the heart of childhood and painful loss of innocence. In conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts and the founder-trustee of Salaam Balaak Trust, she discusses the impact of poverty and religious violence on the education of children. 

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

The award-winning Vidya Balan and author and screenplay writer Nayanika Mahtani discuss their latest film on the mathematical genius, the late Shakuntala Devi. In conversation Vani Tripathi Tikoo. This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFLondonAtBL2020.

Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Man Booker Prize-winning ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ follows the journey of an interconnected group of 12 black women in a quest for love, hope and home spanning across the legacy of contemporary and colonial Britain. In conversation with writer Anjum Hasan, she discusses the idea of womxnhood, culture, class, politics and race coursing through her iconic writings.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020.

Elizabeth Gilbert, Leila Slimani, Avni Doshi, John Lanchester and Howard Jacobson in conversation with Damian Barr.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020.

Travel writing is one of the most ancient forms of literature but does it have any relevance in the age of the internet, globalisation and Google Maps? Travel writers Katie Hickman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Peter Hessler, Howard Jacobson and Suketu Mehta discuss the genre and read from their work with William Dalrymple.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020.

Writer and TIME editor-at-large Anand Giridharadas takes on the privileged classes in his scorching new book, the bestselling Winners Take All. It investigates the global elite’s efforts to ‘change the world’ except in ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. This searing critique of modern plutocrats who seek to do more good but never less harm is described as a call to action for elites and everyday citizens alike. A session that offers transformative perspectives to complex societal problems. In conversation with Åsne Seierstad.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020.

How does one capture the life of a woman in writing? How different is the feminine biography from that of a man? Biographers Bettany Hughes, Benjamin Moser, Jung Chang, Lindsey Hilsum and Hallie Rubenhold discuss the difficulty of pinning to paper the lives of women to paper in conversation with Anita Anand.

A live session from #JaipurLitFest2020.

China’s mammoth Belt and Road initiative, straddling almost 70 countries, is an infrastructure project of staggering complexity. Alongside writers and diplomats Manoj Joshi, Shyam Saran, Sujeev Shakya and Bruno Maçães, a Portugese politician, former Minister of European Affairs and author of Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order, discusses its ambitions and implications as it tracks new trade and energy routes, with particular emphasis on its feasibility and implications in India and South Asia.