Report without news from Jaipur Literature Festival January the 18th, 2014. By: Biswadeep Ghosh Source: Sahara Samay History is repeating itself. At the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), it is action time on day two. Day two. If you aren’t accustomed to having more spice than ingredients in your food, stay away from the spicy chaat being sold in a stall outside the Front Lawns at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Each spoonful leads to an explosion of heat inside the mouth. I had abandoned it midway on day one, much to the amusement of a few Westerners who seemed to be loving every bite of the local fast food delicacy. While leaving the stall gingerly after finishing another cup of Diggipur ki chai, I saw them smiling at me. Look at him, poor chap, brought up on spice but still couldn’t finish his plate of chaat, that sort of smile. If they could polish off the entire plate which they did, well, good for them. But the big question is, have they managed to leave their hotel rooms and return to the fest today? I don’t know, although the demographic pattern hasn’t shown any perceptible change. So I guess they ought to be there. All is quiet on the Shashi Tharoor front. But the show goes on. One lady whose store has been selling hugely overpriced outfits among other things – such as ordinary looking sleeveless khadi jackets for eight and a half grands, the sort of price tag that will attract very few – seemed very unhappy yesterday. She isn’t beaming today either. Ma’am, I was tempted to suggest, maybe you could bring down the prices to make sure that the goods flew off your store? But, suggesting something of that sort would have been exceptionally impolite. I preferred to keep my garrulous trap shut. Digressing a bit, here is some news for those whom purchasing a few things is part of the must-do list. Are you sure you aren’t conscious about carrying something back home from the JLF and nowhere else? If so, do you have the time to look around in the city of Jaipur? If not, this is what you can do. Once you enter the lane that leads to the Diggi Palace, look towards the left till you spot a bylane. The lane is privately owned; hence, there is no traffic that will prevent you from walking inside without interruptions. Inside the lane is a store selling Lipton tea, soft drinks and aerated water. Slightly ahead is a second store which you cannot miss. It sells warm jackets which will be useful in the winter, other ethnic outfits that may not be classy but offer some decent options for ladies nonetheless (you need to search very carefully though) and necklaces made of beads and similar stuff for 150, 250 and 350 bucks. Uncomplicated pricing, and kind to the middle class ears. Considering that you must shell out 250 bucks to buy a tiny bowl of rice/noodles and Chicken Manchurian inside the venue, you can check out what this store sells: even if you buy something for the fashion-conscious young girl who helps you with your household work or a neighbour from your hometown whom you resent but who has requested you to get something for her from Jaipur. Cut to the JLF. Featuring more than 200 authors including Nobel Laureates Dr. Amartya Sen and Harold Varmus, representation in 14 Indian languages and the presence of JLF Music Stage which has started hosting live music shows, the five-day-long mega event is moving forward. What remains unchanged – and predictably so – is the ambience. My moment of the day in this report without news so far: the sight of a Tina Fey lookalike who bought a necklace with semi-precious stones for five grands half an hour earlier. To my untrained eyes, it looked seriously ugly, with numerous stones dangling from here and there creating too much noise after the lady wore it and moved a foot left followed by a foot right to ensure that her evidently displeased husband heard the jingle of her acquisition. “Thank you, thank you, thank you darling,” she erupted in joy. “Hee hee, it looks nice,” her husband replied. Totally hee hee, I thought as I left. saharasamay/nation-news/opinion/676546353/report-without-news-from-jaipur-literature-festival.html
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 10:45:45 +0000
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