Here's the list of our 2023 sessions. The sessions for the upcoming edition will be announced shortly!

Sometimes religious outsider and social disaster, sometimes celebrity preacher and establishment darling, John Donne was incapable of being just one thing. In his myriad lives, Donne was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, a priest, an MP, and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language. Along the way, he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, was imprisoned for marrying a sixteen-year-old girl without her father’s consent; struggled to feed a family of ten children; and was often ill and in pain. He was a man who suffered from black surges of misery, yet expressed in his verse many breathtaking impressions of electric joy and love. In conversation with Nandini Das, Katherine Rundell , the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize 2022, speaks of her sparkling biography of John Donne: the poet of love, sex, and death.

Booker prize winner Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, is an inspirational account of her life and career as she rebelled against the mainstream and fought over several decades to bring her creative work into the world. The powerful narrative takes us through her life while examining contemporary conversations around race, class, feminism, sexuality, and aging. In a session moderated by Nandini Nair, Evaristo presents her reimagined memoir and an essential manual for creativity, activism, and reinvention.

Two stellar literary luminaries from the firmament of Hindi Literature discuss the trajectory of their creative life and read from their recent work. The iconic novelist Alka Saraogi , whose Kali-Katha via Bypass won the Sahitya Akademi Award, will speak of her recent book Gandhi and Sarladevi Chaudhrani: Barah Adhyay and her translations of women authors in Terah Halafnaame. The acclaimed poet and novelist Anamika, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award for Tokri men Digant, will talk of her recent work, including Trin Dhari Oat, Aaina Saaz and the recent collections of poems, Band Rasto ka Safar and Working Women’s Hostel. In a session of readings and conversations, the two pathbreakers of modern Hindi literature will reflect on their own work with writer and journalist Nishtha Gautam. Both their latest books will be unveiled at the end of the session.  

As fault lines emerge within democracies across the world, an engaged panel examines the crisis at its root through the fundamentals of what democratic practices stand for and the challenges they bring forth. Academic Mukulika Banerjee's book Cultivating Democracy, provides a compelling ethnographic analysis of the relationship between formal political institutions and everyday citizenship in rural India. Navin B. Chawla is the former Chief Election Commissioner of India and the author of several books including, Every Vote Counts. Academic and writer Ronojoy Sen’s latest book, House of the People: Parliament and the Making of Indian Democracy, provides insights into the Indian parliament and the current status of our democracy. Yamini Aiyar is the President and chief executive of the Centre for Policy Research. Together they discuss the political and electoral process, the paradoxes of democracy, and its triumphs and discontents.

Bibek Debroy is an eminent scholar and translator who had made a number of previously difficult to access Sanskrit texts available to readers in English. Apart from his erudite and vastly prolific body of work, he is also an economist of repute and the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. He talks about the intricate layers of wisdom and learning contained in the Puranas, with special reference to his latest rendering of the Brahma Puranas in English translation.

A sacred hymn to Shakti, the feminine divine, Saundarya Lahari, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century, has been translated from Sanskrit to English by Mani Rao with a refreshing fluency. Introducing the subject, Rao reflects on the esoteric as well as the erotic representations of the goddess and links that with a socio-cultural understanding of gender. The original verses, when recited correctly along with prescribed rituals, are said to contain mysterious and liberating power. How would modern readers respond to the words, the metaphors and the meanings in today’s context? Rao explores this and other themes in conversation with art curator, author and scholar Alka Pande.

Immortalising love and romance for a new generation of young readers, author and screenwriter Durjoy Datta’s immersive novels reinterpret love for our troubled times, ranging, as he says, from the initial rush of meeting someone new to the slow burn that comes with time. His presence as an author as well as a doting dad and husband has become a part of his readers’ daily lives, both through his books and social media. His latest book, When I Am With You, is a relationship rollercoaster, with an entanglement of aspirations, secrets, and romances; as plans go wrong, love saves the day. In conversation with Kiran Manral, author of Once Upon A Crush, Datta discusses the ever-evolving concept of love and its exploration in his books.

Sprawling across a quarter of the world's land mass and claiming nearly seven hundred million people, Britain's empire was the largest in human history. In her illuminating and authoritative book Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire, Caroline Elkins reveals an evolutionary and racialised doctrine that espoused an unrelenting deployment of violence to secure and preserve British imperial interests. Elkins outlines how ideological foundations of violence were rooted in Victorian calls for punishing indigenous peoples who resisted subjugation, and how over time, this treatment became increasingly systematised. In conversation with Shashi Tharoor, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Elkins explodes long-held myths and sheds disturbing new light on the empire's role in shaping the world today.

From Mughal Painting to Ananda Coomaraswamy, from Nainsukh to the role of Akbar as a patron of art, from Indian elephant art to Jaina art and the Indian bronze art among others, in his latest book, Conversations, B.N. Goswamy, one of the most eminent art historians of our times, opens a window to the artworks that define our sensibilities. Comprehensive and deeply engaging, this session will be an accessible and authoritative primer to art in India and South Asia. Introduced by art historian Yashaswini Chandra.

The golden age of Hindi cinema, the foundation of Bollywood that was laid in 1955, was a journey led, among others, by the Hinduja brothers. In his book Bollywood Ki Buniyad, film and theatre critic and cultural journalist Ajit Rai retraces the story of Bollywood, and how it was shaped across the decades. Over twelve hundred Hindi films were screened and received resonance and visibility through the efforts of the Hinduja brothers. Bollywood Ki Buniyad tells their untold stories as they made their way around the world. In conversation with journalist Laxmi Prasad Pant, the State Editor of Dainik Bhaskar for Rajasthan, Rai analyses the cultural journey that Hindi films took around the globe with the Hinduja brothers at their helm, and revives the lost history of Bollywood and some early markers in its path to success.

Author Namita Gokhale and translators Pushpesh Pant and Prabhat Ranjan in conversation with Publisher Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal. Launch by panellists.
Jaipurnama is the vibrant Hindi translation of Festival Director Namita Gokhale’s evocative insider novel. Set against the backdrop of the Jaipur Literature Festival, it takes us into the minds and hearts of the readers and writers who throng the magical annual gathering .

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is indisputably one of the greatest figures of modern Indian history. Politician and writer Shashi Tharoor's latest biography, Ambedkar: A Life, traces the arc of his life while analysing the multiple battles he fought in both political and intellectual spheres. Ambedkarite activist and rapper Sumit Samos turns to the writings and legacies of BR Ambedkar and others such as Jyotiba Phule to tap into a vibrant stream of anti-caste epistemologies that served as inspiration for Babasaheb. In conversation with Pragya Tiwari, they discuss Babasaheb's life and journey along with his determination to present India with a Constitution ingrained with individual rights and modern concepts of social justice.

How do you grasp another life and pin it to a page? What does it take to immerse yourself completely into someone else’s story, to comb through history and bring it alive? Biographers of luminaries and figures as illustrious as Patrick Leigh Fermor, John Donne, Swami Vivekananda, James, Duke of Monmouth and Sophia Duleep Singh, come together in a panel to discuss what it means to bring these great personae to life, compellingly and authentically, and the challenges they face in doing so. In a conversation with Anita Anand.

Ruth Ozeki, the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, has a special quality of creating a space for her characters to shine. Told with compassion, Book of Form and Emptiness is the story of Benny Oh who suddenly finds himself amidst talking objects, and with a mother who has a hoarding problem, his life grows more and more clamorous. Their language is alien to him but Benny can gauge their emotions and it guides him to a delightful mix of characters that teach him how to pay attention to the most important questions and voices in his life. In conversation with writer and journalist Bee Rowlatt, Ozeki adds to our understanding of grief, growing up and our relationships with the things that surround us.

Moving across millennia, Anthony Sattin's latest book Nomads explores the transformative and often bloody relationship between settled and mobile societies. Often overlooked in history, the story of the umbilical connections between these two very different ways of living presents a radical new view of human civilisation. From the Neolithic Revolution to the twenty-first century via the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the great nomadic empires of the Arabs and Mongols, the Mughals and the development of the Silk Road, nomads have been a perpetual counterbalance to the empires created by the power of human cities. Ilse Köhler-Rollefson's Hoofprints is a timely, powerful but also incredibly lyrical book about nomadic pastoralism and how traditional herding cultures are not a thing of the past but a regenerative model for the future. Connecting us to mythology and the records of antiquity, Sattin and Köhler-Rollefson, in conversation with historian Yashaswini Chandra, explain why we leave home and why we like to return again.

Avinuo Kire presents fantasy and Naga folklore in her book Where the Cobbled Path Leads which centres around a child’s grief upon losing her mother. In the magical world of spirits, both friendly as well as adversarial, eleven-year-old Vime discovers coping mechanisms for sorrow and finds solace in an alternate realm. Exploring Nagaland’s picturesque landscape, Kire’s novel carries the power of oral narratives and the sophistication of a complex plot that uncovers social iniquities. In conversation with author Prajwal Parajuly.

A generational saga of the ‘the Rothschilds of the East’,The Global Merchants: The Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty,tells the story of Jewish Baghdadi Sassoons who amassed great wealth through finance and trade. One of the richest families for over two hundred years, they were chief treasurers to the pashas of Baghdad and Basra until they were forced to flee. They slowly rebuilt their empire with trade of cotton and opium in India and set up textile mills in China, Japan, Paris and London. They found their way in the system by becoming members of British parliament and buying Britain’s leading newspapers, including The Sunday Times and The Observer. In 1887, they fused with the empire of the Rothschilds, creating a Jewish monopoly on the commerce and banking sector. In conversation with Moin Mir, Joseph Sassoon unpacks the riveting history of the Sassoons against the backdrop of the Ottoman Empire, across Europe and Great Britain, at its peak.

Statues are one of the most visible and controversial forms of historical storytelling. In 2020, statues and monuments personifying histories of slavery, colonialism, and genocide were vandalized and torn down in an extraordinary wave of global iconoclasm. Robert E. Lee was graffitied in Virginia, Columbus was beheaded in Massachusetts, and King Leopold II was set on fire in Antwerp. As these iconic figures continue to fall, the backlash against what's perceived as historical erasure is vigorous and swift, raising the question of whether monuments chart the history they represent, or serve as political statements about the moments in which they were created. This house of distinguished historians looks at why they were put up; the stories they were supposed to tell; why those stories were challenged; and how they were removed to a museum of colonialism.

A Country Called Childhood by author and film star Deepti Naval is both a memoir and a captivating account of her girlhood in Amritsar in the 50s and 60s. Breaking into the innocence and security of a wholesome family and neighborhood comes the eye-opening experience of the Indo-Pak war of 1965 when trenches are dug in Amritsar and siren sounds mean running into them. The memoir has a charming honesty and is visually rich, as one may expect from a famous actor known for her roles in Chashme Buddoor and Angoor, among others. In conversation with philanthropist and entrepreneur Surina Narula.

The brooding atmospherics and pervading unease that suffuse noir and crime fiction are markers of the deeper fears of comfortable societies. An engrossing session has three accomplished practitioners of the dark craft - Kjell Ola Dahl, Tanuj Solanki and Bulbul Sharma in conversation with Kanishka Gupta. Norwegian writer Dahl, winner of the Brage and Riverton Prizes, is the author of the The Oslo Detective Series, psychological thrillers which examine police procedurals. Award-winning writer Solanki’s deep interest in the crime genre finds expression in his recent novel Manjhi’s Mayhem. Artist and author Sharma has written a series of noir novels, often set around the hills of Himachal, which include Murder in Shimla and Murder in the Happy Home for Aged. In conversation with literary agent and publishing commentator Kanishka Gupta, they discuss the motifs and methods of the genre, and the perspectives on society and its tensions that it unlocks. Jaipur Noir Series

Richard Blurton’s new book, India: a History in Objects, is a product of thirty-two years at the British Museum. During this time, scholarship, aesthetics and expectations have changed substantially. His new history, using objects as well as the more usual texts, gives a voice to populations without written history, as well as providing a different and aesthetically pleasing way into an understanding of Indian history. His text begins 1.5 million years ago and ends with the work of living artists from all the countries of South Asia.

Rajasthan’s rich oral and minstrel traditions are today bolstered by a vast range of writing in various dialects of the region, and also in Hindi. Novels and poetry in contemporary idiom complement folklore and epics as the writers value tradition but also strive towards innovations. Touching this vast repertoire of literature and culture in Rajasthan, Chandra Parkash Deval engages in a conversation with Malchand Tiwari, presenting the insider-view on the changes taking shape.

How does one capture the life of a woman in a piece of writing? How different is the narrative when written from the point of view of a woman? The female gaze is a shift in perspective, a way of seeing how women are portrayed through the eyes of a woman and represented as subjects having agency. Authors Emily Perkins, Eugenia Kuznetsova, Ana Filomena Amaral and Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin discuss the socio-cultural and political implications of writing with a feminine gaze in conversation with Saskya Jain.

Travel writing is among the most ancient forms of literature. It allows invaluable social, cultural and political insight. It can signify personal journeys and growth, the intricate histories of places and peoples, and even the power and limits of the mind. Edmund De Waal, Anna Della Subin and Anthony Sattin discuss their work, inspirations and choice genre with writer, historian and Festival Co-Director, William Dalrymple.

A session of engrossing insider stories told by two prominent law enforcers with literary flair and deep insight. Ajay Pal Lamba and Sunil Sharma, writers with a background in the Indian Police Service, speak with Kartikeya Sharma about their varied experiences and how they transferred them through fact and fiction in their books.

Journalist and anchor Saurabh Dwivedi speaks of the interplay between word , voice , text, moving images ,and evolving digital media and how it impacts the stories we read, hear, tell and access.

Though Geetanjali Shree’s novel in Hindi, Ret Samadhi, was published in 2018, the glare of publicity fell on her with the Booker Prize for the English translation Tomb of Sand by Daisy Rockwell in 2022. The tale is of an octogenarian woman who rises from deep depression to fly in the face of convention and break across borders and boundaries. This session in Hindi focuses on the original novel-- its experimental storytelling, its innovative digressions, and its viewpoint on the Partition through an octogenarian protagonist. Does a language bestow a special slant to a narrative that might get lost in translation? In conversation with author Tanuj Solanki, Shree and Rockwell discuss the nuances of language, translation, prizes and fame.

The divine right of kings propounds that a monarch is only answerable to gods and earthly authorities cannot hold them accountable. But what happens when the king is executed for treason? Acclaimed historian Anna Keay’s Restless as Republic brings to light the most experimental and extraordinary decade in the history of Britain. Following the execution of Charles I, the British monarchy was abolished and the people became sovereigns of the land. The book covers the corridors of power to the common fields of Britain investigating what happens when a conservative society attempts rebellion. In this session, in conversation with Katherine Rundell, Anna Keay explores the various aspects of this historical decade and how it shaped the British Isles.

One of the cruel ironies of the climate crisis lies in the paradox of how those who have done the least to bring it about are the greatest victims and sufferers. An expert panel critically examines the way forward post COP27 and the fundamental questions of accountability across and regardless of borders while questioning issues of sustainable development, climate progress, climate justice and the path ahead.

A series of multivocal poetry readings where different languages, rhythms and styles converge in a joyous celebration of imaginative possibility.

Pakshee is a six-piece outfit based out of New Delhi that brings together a unique blend of music that falls under the umbrella of World Music. The band came together with a vision to connect diverse tastes in music ranging from Jazz, Funk, Pop and Rock to create a concoction of exotic harmonies and infectious rhythms. This shared outlook was neatly bound together by Hindustani and Carnatic vocals with Hindi and Malayalam as the medium of expression. The main aim of the band is to create tunes that are completely out of the box and are an authentic fusion of the diversity of musicians that make Pakshee. The band has so far released two singles and one song collaboration that have been widely appreciated by the audience. 

Contemporary electronic music production has served to score the memories of a generation here in India, but with one element strangely absent – voice and vernacular. As Lifafa, Suryakant Sawhney has spent five years exploring uncharted terrain in this part of the world through electronic music that not only speaks in sonics but also foregrounds words and meaning. Via an ongoing exploration of Hindi and Urdu, a constant refinement of his production techniques, and his instinctive take on melody and cadence, this music – spiritual and sensual, familiar and alien – has caught the attention of audiences not just in urban, Anglicised India, but in less obvious corners of this country, and beyond. Undefined and yet familiar, it presents a compelling insight into what the future of music from this region could be.

How is democracy to be nurtured and sustained? Once, when the answers - civil liberties, free press, individual rights, electoral competition, free market - were often considered obvious, democracy was not only an unstoppable force but an inevitable end. But as has been demonstrated recently, democracy can face profound challenges even where it has deep roots – forcing us to consider the question about it anew. In conversation with author Tripurdaman Singh, politician and writer Shashi Tharoor discusses the complexities of nurturing democratic practices in a world torn by war, pandemics, climate change and unrest.

Philanthropist and writer Sudha Murty is an inspirational figure who has brought culturally oriented children’s literature to the centre stage of discussion. Her simple yet profound stories are based on folklore and life wisdom showing nature and human beings belonging to a common ecosystem. Understanding the old and adapting to the new, Murty presents a pragmatic worldview that is nevertheless based on compassion and empathy in conversation with Mandira Nayar.

Though the ocean covers more than two-thirds of our planet, produces roughly half of the oxygen we breathe, and has sequestered over 40% of the carbon dioxide emitted since the dawn of the industrial revolution, its contributions to ameliorating the global climate crisis is regularly overlooked; the full text of the Paris Climate Accord includes the word ‘ocean’ exactly once. We tend to think of the warming, acidifying, rising ocean as a victim of climate change when in fact it’s poised to be a hero, with natural systems that help undo the damage human activity has caused.

When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I's first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best, and, to the Mughals, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified 'Great Britain' under the Stuart monarchy. Meanwhile, the court he entered in India was wealthy and cultured, and its dominion was widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires in the world. Nandini Das's fascinating history of Roe's four years in India offers an insider's view of Britain in the making, a country whose imperial seeds were just being sown. In conversation with Festival Co-Director and historian William Dalrymple, Das unravels the most important encounters in the history of colonialism.

In 1921, an ash-smeared Sanyasi appeared in Bengal and was soon assumed to be a prince long assumed dead. Academic and translator Aruna Chakravarti's latest novel, The Mendicant Prince, follows the intriguing story of the 'Bhawal Sanyasi' creating the emotional and psychological backstory to the court case that could never establish the ‘truth’ about the claim. In conversation with writer and translator Radha Chakravarty, she discusses this fascinating tale of dual identity and a case that permanently altered the course of the Bhawal zamindari's history.

Hindi, spoken in several countries in the world today, has acquired diverse repertoires deriving from cultural and linguistic interactions with the ambient environment. A large diaspora has made possible the simultaneous growth of Hindi as a spoken, written and translated language, rich in the production of literature, music and cinema in particular. Oscar Pujol, Director, Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi, and Adam Burakowski, Ambassador of Poland to India, bring glimpses of the popularity of Hindi in Europe. Abhay K, author and Indian diplomat, moderates the session introducing his own experiences.

Dhanak, a collection of poems by poet and lyricist Jan Nisar Akhtar(Javed Akhtar’s father), has been selected by Shabana Azmi and translated from Urdu by Sumantra Ghoshal. Daaera, a collection of poems by Kaifi Azmi(Shabana Azmi’s father), selected by Javed Akhtar and translated from Urdu by Mir Ali Hussain, are multilingual anthologies that showcase twenty-five nazms each of the iconic poets. Written in Nastaliq and Devanagari scripts, the books are a tribute by Javed Akhtar, iconic poet, lyricist and screenwriter, and Azmi, acclaimed actor and social activist, to the poetic genius of their parents. In conversation with writer, critic and literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil, Akhtar discusses the two-book set of Dhanak, meaning ‘rainbow’, and Daeera, ‘circle’, which contain poetry that is evocative, colourful, and captivating.

In Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped our History, award-winning investigative journalist Vidya Krishnan traces the social impact of the haunting disease, mapping its journey over a hundred years from the slums of 19th-century New York to modern Mumbai. The book examines the development of different cures – both folk and modern – and the ways in which the disease and the attempts to curb its spread have mingled with issues of racism, greed and politics.In conversation with the vascular surgeon and writer Ambarish Satwik, Krishnan speaks of the emergence of the disease while also examining authoritarian governments, philanthropy and medical apartheid.

In her much-anticipated forthcoming book Peasants, Maryam Aslany argues that the biggest story of the twenty-first century is the crisis of the global countryside.  In this session, she joins agriculture experts Surinder S. Jodhka and Mukulika Banerjee to discuss the world's largest constituency: the two billion peasants who produce one-third of the global food supply.  Expect to have all your basic assumptions - about ecology, progress and the future - debunked.

Award-winning author of Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis and Sunil Dutt and Jallianwala Bagh: The Real Story, Kishwar Desai, charts the life and career of India’s first international superstar in The Longest Kiss: The Life and Times of Devika Rani. Based on personal letters and documents, the book narrates her journey through the creation of Bombay Talkies, the country’s first professional studio, her marriages to Himanshu Rai and Svetoslav Roerich, and the struggle of being a woman in the entirely male dominated world of Indian cinema. In conversation with Nirupama Kotru, Desai brings to light her intensely private, controversial and enigmatic life and death.

Ishq or ‘Love’ is a core emotion in our lives, and writer/blogger Era Tak has mastered the art of creating riveting narratives with her short story collections Raat Paheli, Kuch Panne Ishq and novels Love Drug, Gustakh Ishq and Murti. Being a filmmaker and painter too, her imagery is strong and grasp of suspense delightfully acute. Her next endeavour is a thriller, maybe a novel or a film script. An avid blogger, Tak belongs to a young generation of writers in Hindi who boldly explore new territories and yet mark their continuities with the old. Tak’s energy and verve have attracted a devoted following on social media. In conversation with journalist and publisher Vaishali Mathur, the session will focus on contemporary concepts of Ishq or Love.

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In conversation with author Janice Pariat, Wainwright Prize-winning biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake’s vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the “Wood Wide Web,” to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision.

Nobel Prize winner and celebrated writer Abdulrazak Gurnah fled Zanzibar as a teenager following the Revolution of 1964. His striking and formidable works include Memory of Departure, Pilgrims Way, Dottie, Paradise, By the Sea, Desertion, and his most recent, Afterlives, which examines the German colonial force in East Africa and the lives of Tanganyikans - as they, work, grieve, and love - in the darkening shadow of war. British publishing legend Alexandra Pringle is in conversation with the brilliant Abdulrazak Gurnah; a session on a life in writing.

Celebrated international lawyer Sarosh Zaiwalla's memoir Honour Bound: Adventures of an Indian Lawyer in the English Courts, traces his journey to England at a time when diversity had not taken root in the British legal circles while also looking at his work as the head of a groundbreaking law firm. Zaiwalla is the founder of Zaiwalla & Co. Solicitors, one of England's leading law firms. In this fascinating narrative he gives us a glimpse into the corridors of power that shaped the political history of both India and the United Kingdom. In conversation with Mohit Satyanand.

There are numerous institutions looking into the use or protection of the sea worldwide. These include multinational organisations like the United Nations and, of course, national governments themselves. The fragmentation of responsibilities makes it harder to ensure that use of the sea is entirely sustainable. A panel of geopolitical experts overview the existing deep-sea governance arrangements, addressing the logistical challenges inherent in monitoring resource exploitation, and the need to protect one of Earth’s last true frontiers.

Author Christopher Kloeble’s book, The Museum of the World, translated from German by Rekha Kamath Rajan, explores the charms and infinite complexities of the Indian subcontinent through the eyes of its orphan hero, Bartholomew, who travels with German scientists across the country in the mid 19th century. Examining the nuances of the European colonial project in India, the tale follows their expedition through the region and is based on a true story of one of the biggest expeditions of the 19th century. In conversation with writer Tripurdaman Singh.

Entrepreneur and writer Amrish Kumar's debut novel, Gods of Willow: A Coming of Age Innings, encapsulates the many shades of Indian life – cricket, religion, love, dislocation, ethics and values. Using cricket as a metaphor, he brings alive a kaleidoscope of characters in a coming-of-age story of love, hope and the search for self.

Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power, edited by Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy and C. Raja Mohan, examines the past, present and future of India and its policy choices. An eminent array of thinkers reflect on the path ahead as India seeks to break through developmental challenges and transform into its true potential as a key player in global politics.

Celebrated screenplay writer, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar and filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabir's latest book, Talking Life, is the final edition in the trilogy Talking Films and Talking Songs. The book features an intimate conversation rooted in childhood pleasures, youthful rebellions and mature relationships. The engaging narrative weaves together Javed Saab's enduring link with films, poetry, lyric, theatre and beyond. The book will be unveiled at the end of this session.

Mukesh Bansal founded Myntra and Cult.Fit, two of the most iconic brands to have revolutionised Indian fashion and health respectively. His latest book Hacking Health demystifies science and explores nutrition, fitness, immunity, weight management and mental health. In this conversation with editor-in-chief of Penguin Random House India, Manasi Subramaniam, he talks about his personal experiences and draws from ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science, while debunking fad diets and wellness myths, to help people make smart choices in pursuit of good health.

India’s relations with Chin​a has seen numerous highs and lows​. From the war of 1962 to the peace maintained by negotiations in the 90s leading up to recent turmoil and unsettlement, journalist and author Manoj Joshi, in Understanding the India-China Border: The Enduring Threat of War in the High Himalayas traces the brutal circumstances of the LAC and the impact of its “fuzziness”. Taking off from the 2020 Galwan clash, the book narrates the history of Sino-Indian interactions on the border. In conversation with former Foreign Secretaries Vijay Gokhale, former Ambassador to China, and Shyam Saran, former Ambassador to Myanmar, Indonesia and Nepal, Joshi discusses the rising tensions at the unresolved LAC, and what that means for the region, with journalist and foreign policy expert Suhasini Haidar.

A vibrant session for young readers by a panel of outstanding children’s and YA writers. Together  with Arvind Kalia, they speak of why and how they write and the secrets of storytelling.

Writer and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra's debut book, Remnants of a Separation is a human history of the monumental event of the Partition of India, told by unearthing the stories lying latent in ordinary objects that survivors had carried with them across the newly made border. Her recent, In the Language of Remembering, brings together conversations recorded over many years with generations of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and their respective diaspora. It looks at how Partition memory is preserved and bequeathed, and its consequences disseminated and manifested within family, community and nation. In conversation with the author of Partition Voices, Kavita Puri, Malhotra reveals how the Partition is not yet an event of the past and its legacy is threaded into the daily lives of subsequent generations.

In Slow is Beautiful, award-winning designer, self-taught painter, TEDx speaker and design educator, Ahlawat Gunjan takes the reader by their hand on a journey of reflection and mindfulness. With sixty easy-to-use prompts, the book unlocks a chance to reconnect with the lost artist in you, to slow down and breathe as form, colour and composition work their spell under Gunjan’s guidance. Exploring ink and watercolour paintings inspired by nature which have been both created and curated by Gunjan himself, the artist is allowed to take each step meditatively, embracing the process as they learn how to draw, paint, create and accept their mistakes.

Gulzar Saheb delights his fans and followers with the unique gift of his recent anthology, A Poem A Day. The celebrated lyricist, poet and author's book is a unique amalgamation of 365 poems across continents and cultures. As a tribute to the local languages and dialects, the poems that appear in English have also been transcreated by Gulzar Saheb in Hindustani, resulting in a bilingual masterpiece offering a kaleidoscopic view of history, human experience and poetic expression. In conversation with writer, critic and literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil, he discusses the power of poetry and the importance of the written word.

Himalaya is one of the world's most extraordinary geophysical, historical, environmental and social regions. More rugged and elevated than any other zone on earth, it embraces all of Tibet, six of the world's eight major mountain ranges and nearly all its highest peaks. It contains around 50,000 glaciers and the most extensive permafrost outside the polar regions. Over an area nearly as big as Europe, the population is scattered, often nomadic and always sparse. Many languages are spoken, some are written and few are related. Religious and political affiliations are equally diverse. Borders are disputed, while jealous neighbours shy away from a common strategy for protecting an environment in which desert meets rainforest and temperatures can fluctuate between 30 and -30°C in the course of a single day. In conversation with academic Yashaswini Chandra, historian John Keay introduces us to the myriad mysteries of this vast, confounding and utterly fascinating corner of the planet, and makes the case that it is one of our most essential and endangered wonders.

Diplomat and author Navtej Sarna’s latest novel Crimson Spring brings to life the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 through the eyes of ordinary individuals - soldiers, farmers, householders, dreamers and rebels of Punjab, men and women whose linked destinies impel them inexorably towards a horrific atrocity that changes their lives forever. Set against the epic backdrop of India's freedom struggle, World War 1, and the Ghadar movement, Crimson Spring is an intricate tapestry of known history and its imagined layers, a richly textured and detailed exploration of not only a barbarous act but also the indomitable spirit of sacrifice and heroism in early twentieth century Punjab. In conversation with Kishwar Desai, Navtej Sarna will unravel the literary, historical and cultural nuances of his storytelling.

Our coasts are large, vast wildernesses that witness the mystical pageantry of life. They have given us monsters and myths. And the marine lifeforms of these zones are capable of superpowers of the kind that comic book characters can only dream of. Superpowers on the Shore by Sejal Mehta is a dazzling, assured look at some of the creatures with whom we share our world. In conversation with Nandini Nair, Mehta discusses the secrets of our oceans.

Writer and historian Shrabani Basu’s latest book, The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer, explores Arthur Conan Doyle’s attempts at proving the innocence of a young lawyer’s wrongful conviction. Son of the first Parsee Vicar in Britain in the early 1900s, George Edalji, and his family, were often subject to racism and discrimination. Basu masterfully depicts an eye-opening account of racial injustice in the pre-war era. In conversation with writer Tanuj Solanki, Basu unravels this bizarre tale of Conan Doyle as a champion of justice and the perils of being ‘foreign’ in a nation built on empire.

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a famed oncologist, biologist and celebrated Pulitzer prize-winning author. His most recent book, The Song of the Cell, examines the basic autonomous unit that makes up all organisms. Steeped in scientific research and visual metaphors of cell systems, Mukherjee's words create a lucid and vivid picture of the discovery of cells and our understanding of them. In conversation with Festival Co-Director and historian William Dalrymple, Mukherjee presents a panoramic saga that combines "memoir, history and science" as it attempts to answer the questions of what it means to be alive.

The scars left by the traumatic events of the Partition of India and Pakistan continue to run deep, pulsing through collective memory. Politician and former journalist Rajeev Shukla, in his book Scars of 1947: Real Partition Stories, collects stories of families that rebuilt themselves following the horrors they faced. Translating the Punjabi novel Hymns in Blood, which includes narratives from the Partition of a village near Rawalpindi, former Ambassador Navdeep Suri, speaks of the trials and triumphs of the human spirit. Writer Kishwar Desai, Chair of the Arts and Culture Heritage Trust, launched the Partition Museum, a confluence of personal memories and research that becomes a pillar of resilience. In conversation with artist, writer and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra, Shukla, Suri and Desai discuss the pain of the remembrance of Partition, and the role of its memory in the path towards healing.

Celebrated art critic and curator Gayatri Sinha's latest edited books Points of View: Defining Moment of Photograph in India and The Archival Gaze: A Timeline of Photography in India 1840s-2020 take a deep dive into the technological changes and aesthetic movements in photography across the Indian subcontinent. Focusing on archival and visual elements, the collections provide a much-needed kaleidoscopic lens on photography in colonial and post-colonial India. Introduced by celebrated historian BN Goswamy.

Anthropologist Ravina Aggarwal's latest book, Searching for the Songbird, is a story for young readers interweaving the serenity of the hills juxtaposed with the unsettling realities of crime and social conditions. The disappearance of Kastura 'the Songbird' leads a group of young adults into a web of curiosities, new friendships and harmony with nature. In conversation with Puneeta Roy.

Writer, medical student and poet Kinshuk Gupta's book, Yeh Dil Hai Ki Chordarwaja, is a pioneering Hindi collection on gender diversity. In conversation with publisher Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal, Gupta discusses multilayered narratives and the reverberations of gender, politics and society manifested through it.

Writer, publisher and festival director Namita Gokhale’s life has been woven around books—her own and those written by others. From young romance in her early novel Paro: Dreams of Passion, to the latest The Blind Matriarch set in Covid times, the trajectory of her work touches an astonishing range. In addition, her innovative concepts seeded the Jaipur Literature Festival and many other forums which centre-staged books as a cultural priority. Where does Gokhale’s energy and vision come from? Things to Leave Behind, which won her the Sahitya Akademi award, suggests a personal allegiance to Kumaon but that too is only one among many literary journeys. In conversation with journalist Mandira Nayar, Gokhale speaks of her vibrant creativity and her advocacy for Indian literature.

The universality of Shakespeare’s plays and the staple human sensibilities that they grapple with have impacted the literature of the world. Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities, has been inspired by the pervasive influence of Shakespeare, and says it involves “no release but simply life expressed in crystalline truth”. Academic and author Baran Farooqi specialises in Shakespearean drama and gender studies. Her article, ‘Nothing Is, But What Is Not’, is a part of the anthology, Shakespeare and the Art of Lying. Writer Preti Taneja’s novel, We That Are Young, is a modern take on Shakespeare’s classic tragedy King Lear. Writer Nandini Das is the professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture at the University of Oxford and a specialist in Shakespeare studies. Together, the panellists explore Shakespeare’s adaptability and the influence of his work on contemporary literature that ranges across cultures and media.

In Poems from the Sikh Sacred Tradition, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, a foremost expert on Sikhism, has given us a fresh, new translation of Guru Nanak's classic poems for the twenty-first century. Singh presents a selection of spiritual lyrics rooted in the Guru's pluralistic vision and central values of equality, inclusivity and civic action. In conversation with celebrated author and translator Navtej Sarna, she discusses the core values that shaped both the translations and the original text that form the groundwork of the Sikh world view.

A series of multivocal poetry readings where different languages, rhythms and styles converge in a joyous celebration of imaginative possibility.

Seven extraordinary artistes come together to celebrate the rich traditional heritage of Indian folk music through Rhythms of India. The ensemble features the award-winning Konnakol maestro BC Manjunath; the legendary nagada player hailing from the Pushkar Sangeet Gharana Nathu Lal Solanki; a distinguished percussionist from South India known for his traditional style of playing Indian Classical music with a blend of modern techniques S G Pramath Kiran; music director, composer, and percussionist Praveen Rao; an Indian drummer, educator and composer Darshan Doshi; an American/Dutch flautist and composer Ned McGowan,and singer, flautist, composer and songwriter Varijashree Venugopal. In a pan-Indian collaboration, the ensemble will showcase the rhythmic traditions of India in all its glory.

Formed in New Delhi around 2010 by Suryakant Sawhney, Peter Cat Recording Co. is a group that has mutated over time, shedding members and accruing more, evolving with each album- from gypsy jazz to psychedelic cabaret, ballroom waltzes to epic space disco, and bossa supernova to uneasy listening. The story of Peter Cat Recording Co. has unfolded across multiple continents, a cast of creators and perhaps, more than anything, an unwavering vision to be a band from India that will challenge just what music from the region can be. In broadening their listener base to North America and Europe, they have presented a canonical reference point to both Indian and international fans.

China and India have for centuries been the two greatest economic powers of the world, and in the 21st century their joint superpower status is likely to return. But while their histories and civilisations have traditionally been closely intertwined, today they are almost strangers to each other, and their relations bejewelled by misunderstandings and military tensions at the border. Three of India's most distinguished observers of China peer into the past and look into the future with historian and Festival Director, William Dalrymple

Maali Almeida has only seven moons to contact his two loved ones and guide them to a stash of photographs that will change the fate of Sri Lanka. A war photographer, gambler and closet gay, Maali is exposed to the fleeting nature of life by his sudden death and wishes for his photographs to be a legacy for his country. In a race against time, Maali reaches out to his loved ones in an attempt to expose the visceral brutality of war and conflict in Sri Lanka. In a session with Nandini Nair, Booker Prize winning author Shehan Karunatilaka delves into his latest tale of pathos, humour and satire and the grave dangers of collective amnesia.

Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world. It gathers its vast and expressive vocabulary from the areas in which it has flourished across India. It has travelled elsewhere through the language of migrants and adapted to the local vocabulary. Everywhere, the interplay with regional dialects and local sensibilities has yielded resonant variants of Hindi. Translation activity has also increased multifold. Consequently, Hindi’s rich diversity is thriving in both its oral and textual aspects. This range of voice and experience is evident in the works of writers who explore a variety of themes and language experiments. The distinctive nuances of Hindi across northern and central India, through fiction and poetry, films and folktales, mass media and myth—all of this and more enter the discussion with Anamika, Geetanjali Shree, Nand Bhardwaj, Pushpesh Pant, and Yatindra Mishra in conversation.

A session which explores the nuances of 'ageing' while facing the reality of ageism which includes discrimination in employment, healthcare and financial circumstances. Professor Dame Carol Black is the Chair of Ageing Better and an Expert Advisor on Health and Work to NHS England and Public Health England. Together with Mathew Cherian, the CEO of Helpage India, Nidhi Chawla and Reshmi Chakraborty, authors of Rethink Ageing: Lessons in Ageing from the Older and Bolder Generation and Asad Lalljee, they discuss and challenge the inequalities and stigma around the autumn of life.

Pioneers of Progress, a graphic novel series, published by Amar Chitra Katha, the first of which follows the life of the pioneering brothers- Ardeshir, Pirojsha and Naval Godrej - and their journey of creating the 'Godrej' brand over the decades. Diving into their quest of building on the idea of 'Make In India', the graphic narrative weaves together their entrepreneurial spirit and contributions to society at large. Art historian, environmentalist and writer Pheroza Godrej speaks to Richard Blurton on the iconic story of her family and its

Mysterious as the sky and deep as the ocean, this is a session about short stories clustered around the idea of “blue”. Anukrti Upadhyay in The Blue Women imagines surreal situations about people who have unusual experiences with animate and inanimate beings; Anu Singh Chaudhury’s The Blue Scarf, translated from Hindi by Kamayani Sharma, unlocks secrets of today’s complicated relationships. Vignettes of urban life and its contrast with old-world values, new ways of understanding the body and expressing its desires, feminism that is confident, not strident –these are some of the themes that speak through the sharp and remarkable tales. In conversation with Udayan Mitra, the two writers discuss their work and the sophistication that the short story form has acquired in Indian languages while giving us a glimpse of contemporary and small-town India.

The Dawn of Everything provides an extraordinary perspective of human history and social evolution, challenging our most fundamental assumptions to reveal a broader scope for human emancipation. Authors David Graeber and David Wengrow study the origins of predominant theories of primitive ancestors, barbarianism, human instinct, the origin of states and civilisations and their ties to the conflict between European society and indigenous discourse. In conversation with winner of the 2021 PEN Hessell Tiltman Prize, Rebecca Wragg Sykes, David Wengrow discusses the conceptual shackles and the possibilities that emerge from their removal.

Filmmaker Onir, writing along with his sister, Irene Dhar Malik, lays bare his riveting and inspiring path to success in his memoir. Untangling his struggles and victories, right from his days in Bhutan, watching films as just a young fan with a dream.

Mathematician and novelist Manil Suri's latest book, The Big Bang of Numbers: How to Build the Universe Using Only Math, embarks on a mathematical origin story spanning the universe. An inspired and insightful journey through the fundamental mathematical concepts that form the cornerstones of our existence, Suri's visionary work takes us on a riveting journey to infinity and beyond. In conversation with mathematician and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Marcus Du Sautoy.

Academic and writer Amia Srinivasan’s revolutionary debut text, The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century, questions the ways in which we discuss or avoid the problems and politics of sex. Examining the complexities and interconnections between sex, consent, gender, class, race and power, the stunning narrative unravels the nuances of discrimination and preference, pornography and freedom, rape and racial injustice, to name a few. In conversation with Bee Rowlatt, Srinivasan discusses these urgent political debates and what it means to be free.

Translating Rabindranath Tagore is both a challenge and an ecstasy for which reason his works have found new renditions in English ever so often. Radha Chakravarty, a seasoned translator, whose anthology The Essential Tagore received much acclaim, has recently published Tagore's last novel Char Adhyay (1934) as Four Chapters introducing a contemporary idiom. Rosinka Chaudhuri, a cultural historian, has translated and edited Letters from a Young Poet by Rabindranath Tagore and written extensively about Tagore’s poetry, placing him in the context of Bengal’s emerging cosmopolitanism. The translators will be in conversation with author and critic Malashri Lal. Radha Chakravarty’s latest novel will be launched at the end of this session.

Academic and author Urmimala Sarkar Munsi's recent monograph, Uday Shankar and His Transcultural Experimentations, explores the journey of the famed Indian dancer and choreographer popularly called the Ambassador of Indian culture. Uday Shankar created a fusion style of dance, merging European techniques to Indian classical dance in the first half of the 20th century. In conversation with curator Myna Mukherjee, Sarkar Munsi discusses the life of the maestro and his contribution in amalgamating modernity into Indian dance.

As the marvels of technological advancement across the world are faced with a series of crises, a celebrated panel comes together to examine the morality and ethical underpinnings of human dependance on machines and AI. Academic and writer Toby Walsh's recent book, Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI, takes an urgent look at the increasing human reliance on robotics and the future of AI as a force for good, not evil. Tech entrepreneur and writer Anirudh Suri's recent book, The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destiny of Nations, explores the era of 'digital colonialism' and technology's role in shaping our values and the trajectory of the modern era. Avinash Pandey is the CEO of ABP Network. He is a core member of the Digital News Publishers Association and a former Director of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. In conversation with journalist Praveen Swami, they discuss the paradox of the benefits of tech and AI in the face of unequal access, digital upheaval and changing geopolitical and economic systems.

Renowned ceramicist Edmund de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit his historic family’s small and exquisite collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke. Entranced by their beauty and mystery, he decided to trace their strange history and in turn unravelled the roots of his Jewish heritage. His search took him across generations and continents - from 19th-century Paris to Nazi-occupied Vienna to Japan - the netsuke’s original but not final home. In his unusually quiet studio during the lockdown of 2020, de Waal began writing a series of unanswered letters to the Count Moïse de Camondo, a long-dead distant relation, about his family’s history and lavish collection of French eighteenth-century art, delving into the archives again to uncover a story of assimilation, memory, displacement and art.

A book about transitions and departures, eloquent in its acceptance of transience and unshelving in the face of mortality, Icelight, by poet, art critic and cultural theorist, Ranjit Hoskote, clutches onto remnants from the previous lives of people and places in the face of ecological catastrophe. The poems include voices that stand at the edge of life and epiphany, in constant questioning as they place themselves in relation to the cosmos. In conversation with writer Prajwal Parajuly, the author of The Gurkha’s Daughter, Hoskote discusses the non-sovereign ‘I’ that shifts through a world that assumes new contours or goes up in flames, and the robustness offered by hope in volatile lands. The cover of Icelight will be unveiled at the end of this session.

Journalist and writer Kavita Puri's book, Partition Voices: Untold British Stories, masterfully blends history, biography and contemporary reportage to present an account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. Writer Manreet Sodhi Someshwar's recent novels Lahore and Hyderabad, books one and two of The Partition Trilogy, in which political luminaries share stage with ordinary citizens, are an insightful portrayal of the events and exigencies that led to the Partition, whilst also uncovering the forgotten story of the accession of Princely States. In conversation with former diplomat and writer Navdeep Suri, they discuss the inspirations and roots of their narratives along with the cultural and historical significance of the theme.

Tristram Hunt is a historian, broadcaster and current Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum. His recent biography, The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain, follows the journey of the greatest English potter who ever lived. Josiah Wedgwood masterfully revolutionised the production of ceramics in Georgian Britain by weaving together technology with design, manufacturing efficiency and retail flair. Bringing together Wedgwood's notebooks, letters and the words of his contemporaries, Tristram Hunt paints a rich portrait of the charismatic but contradictory man who made Georgian Britain the most stylish country in the world. In conversation with Anita Anand.

Mystics and Sceptics is an extraordinary anthology that travels the sacred geography and spiritual landscape of the Himalaya to search for the masters and gurus who are a part of its living legacy. Edited by Namita Gokhale, it presents an inspirational spectrum of perspectives and themes. A panel of key contributors speak about their quests and journeys​ and get together to launch the book.​

Where does fiction come from? What is the process of its creation? How do you make up characters and situations that are believable? And why should the reader care? At Jaipur Literature Festival 2023, four of the world’s acclaimed novelists, Shehan Karunatilaka, Ruth Ozeki, Amit Chaudhari and Deepti Kapoor, share their insights on the art of creating a novel with Alexandra Pringle.

What does it take to reimagine the future? What does the new world order look like? What are some of the meaningful steps that have already been taken? What's going to change -- and what's not going to change? As the lines blur between technology, democracy, economics and geopolitics, and we enter a new phase of hyperconnected reality, this panel of thought leaders address the state of the world, and of the people in it.

In Hard Times, journalists and analysts Praveen Swami, Manoj Joshi and Nishtha Gautam, specialists on national security and strategic affairs, broach the crucial need for a national security strategy for India’s hard times, and the necessity to focus on its principal priority – raising its people out of their debilitating poverty. In conversation with academic, journalist and foreign policy analyst, C Raja Mohan, they consider India’s major challenges and concerns in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the current world economic crisis, and the ways in which they can be addressed.

Gulzar Saheb and Yatindra Mishra speak with Anu Singh Choudhary about the extraordinary life of the legend that was Lata Mangeshkar. Gulzar Saheb has had a long creative association with Lata ji. Yatindra Mishra creates a fascinating portrait of a legend with a singular passion for excellence in music, in his book, originally published in Hindi as ‘Lata: Sur Gatha’, translated into English by Ira Pande which won the coveted Swarna Kamal award. The book will be launched at the end of this session.

In a session of readings and conversations, Meena Kandasamy takes us along a journey navigating dimensions of politics and gender, the self and the other. Winner of the 2022 Hermann Kesten Prize and recently inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Kandasamy's latest is a translation of the third part of the ancient text Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar. In conversation with Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief of Penguin Random House India, Kandasamy discusses her work as a translator, poet and feminist.

Poet-diplomat Abhay K. presents the range and sophistication of Bihari literature in this first comprehensive anthology of writing from eleven languages of the region. Beginning at 600 BC and touching on the twenty-first century, the selection covers every conceivable form of poetry and prose and leads to a realisation that Bihar’s treasures have been largely unknown and unexplored. Sahitya Akademi winning poet, academic and novelist Anamika, who has contributed to the anthology, joins Abhay K. as they pay a warm tribute to Bihar, its cultural and literary legacy. In conversation with Akshaya Mukul.

Khalid Jawed's landmark Urdu classic translated by Baran Farooqi in English as The Paradise of Food is the winner of the 2022 JCB Prize for Literature. Celebrated for its experimental form and savage and dark honesty, the narrative follows the journey of a middle class Muslim family over a span of fifty years with the kitchen at the core of the text. In conversation with Pragya Tiwari, Jawed and Farooqi dive into this saga of food, lust, loss and vulnerabilities.

A woman’s work is never done. Indian women’s participation in the workforce is decreasing steadily, even as figures rise in the rest of the world. A deep discussion on women and work, with anecdotal insights and perspectives, to analyse current realities and ponder how to understand, respect and revive the role of women in the economic sphere. A panel of women from diverse backgrounds discuss the causes and consequences of the roadblocks that have come up in the way of a working woman’s working life in the past, present and future.

The continuity of cultural ties and bonds across South Asia resonates deeply through literary connectivities. Writers Tshering Tashi from Bhutan, Ashok Ferrey from Sri Lanka and Prajwal Parajuly from Sikkim discuss the invisible threads of belonging woven across languages, cultures, and political borders with journalist Suhasini Haidar. Tashi is a writer, historian and Director of Bhutan Echoes, Drukyul’s Literature Festival. Ferrey is an indefatigable chronicler of the lives of contemporary Sri Lankans, and winner of the Gratiaen Prize, 2021. Prajwal Parajuly, author of The Gurkha’s Daughter and Land Where I Flee, has Nepal-Sikkim roots and has won awards and accolades around the world. Together, they discuss their distinct literary identities and narratives, and the impact of location and geography on their words and perspectives.

Journalist P. Sainath's recent book, The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom, introduces us to the ordinary men, women and children who formed the foundation of the independence movement. Sainath is founder-editor of the People's Archive of Rural India (PARI). His book delves into the grassroots of the movement while also examining their struggle for freedom well after 1947.

A story of the majesty of family empires and the terrible betrayals that can bring them crashing down, writer and literary translator Tiffany Tsao’s The Majesties is a tale that includes exorbitant wealth and poison in equal measure. The book narrates the tragedy of two Chinese-Indonesian sisters, one lost in a coma, the sole survivor of the other’s attempt to poison the whole dynasty. In conversation with Manasi Subramaniam, editor-in-chief at Penguin Random House India, Tsao invites us on an evocative tale that uncovers the dark and haunting secrets that lie hidden under worlds of luxury.

A session that invokes the spirit of the mother tongue, evoking memory, heritage and legacy, where Archana Mirajkar, Saaz Aggarwal and Rita Kothari discuss cultural and linguistic roots that inform their work.

Writer and translator Archana Mirajkar writes in both English and Marathi. Her recent book Swayamsiddha tells the stories of rebellious women from the Mahabharata. She hosts a YouTube series titled ‘Granthayatra ‘ that showcases Marathi Literature.

Saaz Aggarwal is an author, editor, biographer and oral historian who has curated Sindhi Tapestry and other works on the culture and identity of Sindh and the Sindhi diaspora. Rita Kothari straddles many languages, translates and also writes on the issues related to the mother tongue. Together, the three participants provide a unique flavour of their mother tongues and the literary culture and social traditions they embody.

Celebrated writer Amish's latest addition to his Ram Chandra series, War of Lanka, brings together the narratives of Ram, Sita and Raavan in an epic tale of Dharma, light, victory, fear and love. In conversation with author Kiran Manral, Amish takes us through the roots of this grand tale, its socio-cultural ethos and its everlasting message.

Santanu Das’s India, Empire, and First World War Culture recovers the sensuous experience of combatants, non-combatants and civilians from undivided India in the 1914–1918 conflict and their socio-cultural, visual, and literary worlds. Das draws on a variety of fresh, unusual sources - objects, images, rumours, street pamphlets, letters, diaries, sound recordings, folk songs, testimonies, poetry, essays, and fiction - to produce the first cultural and literary history, moving from recruitment tactics in villages through sepoy traces and feelings in battlefields, hospitals, and POW camps to post-war reflections on Europe and empire. Combining archival excavation in different countries across several continents with investigative readings of Gandhi, Kipling, Iqbal, Naidu, Nazrul, Tagore, and Anand, Das unravels the worlds of sepoys and labourers, men and women, nationalists, artists, and intellectuals, trying to make sense of home and the world in times of war. Author and former diplomat Navtej Sarna’s several works of fiction and non-fiction include The Exile - a novel based on the life of Maharaja Duleep Singh, Indians at Herod's Gate and the short story collection Winter Evenings. His recent historical novel, Crimson Spring, brings to life the horrors of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 as well as the experience of Punjabi soldiers during the First World War. In conversation with broadcaster and historian David Olusoga

The late Alyque Padamsee's parting gift to his fellow Indians, Let Me Hijack Your Mind, is a unique book inviting us to rethink our deep-rooted ideas on love, leadership, education and more. A written quest for a more content life and a reimagined society, the narrative urges us to throw out the old and embrace new ways of approaching life outside the trifecta of greed, power and money. In conversation with Asad Lalljee, Alyque's daughter Raell Padamsee and co-author Vandana Saxena Poria, discuss the ideas behind this book meant to throw everybody off balance!

Celebrated Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan and writer Geetika Kalha's recent book, Kathak Lok: Temple, Tradition and History, is a deeply researched text exploring the pre-Chirstian era roots of the dance form and its role in preserving Dharma. Their upcoming book is Mythology and Indian Classical Dances. Writer and dance critic Arshiya Sethi's co-authored book, Non-Gharanedaar Pt Mohanrao Kallianpurkar: The Paviour of Kathak, reflects on the life and contribution of the often neglected maestro. The detailed narrative sheds light on his groundbreaking work in providing a pedagogical and performance outline for an art form that is historically open-ended and was orally transmitted. In conversation with academic and writer Urmimala Sarkar Munsi, they take us on a rhythmic journey through the complexities and literary themes behind the famous dance form.

How do you remember more and forget less?
How can you earn more and become more creative just by moving house?
Is there a shortcut to learning a musical instrument?

Writer, academic and mathematician extraordinaire Marcus du Sautoy’s recent book, Thinking Better: The Art of the Shortcut, is a thought-provoking sociological and mathematical celebration of the art of the shortcut. Rooted in 2,000 years of data, du Sautoy’s guide explores how maths lets us do more with less and attempts to solve the age-old question of hard work truly being the only key to success. In conversation with Jerry Pinto, he offers a shortcut explanation on how shortcuts can change the world.

Academic and writer Tarun Khanna’s co-authored book, Making Meritocracy: Lessons from China and India, from Antiquity to the Present, takes a considered look at the making of meritocracy - historically, philosophically, and practically - in two of the world’s oldest civilisations. Focusing on how contemporary policy makers, educators, and private-sector practitioners seek to promote meritocracy in present times, the book provides a rich lesson for countries across the world. Together with Mohit Satyanand, Khanna evaluates merit and equity to cast new light on some of the most urgent social and political questions.

The great cave complexes of India, from Ajanta and Ellora, to Bandhavgarh and Aurangabad contain some of the greatest masterpieces of early Indian art. Pia Brancaccio, Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Drexel University, has focused on the Buddhist caves of Aurangabad and the Hindu and Jain Cave Temples in the Deccan in her research. Nayanjot Lahiri is a historian and archaeologist of ancient India and a Professor of History at Ashoka University. Her recent work has contested the claim of the Archaeological Survey of India around the origins of the Bandhavgarh caves in Madhya Pradesh. Anirudh Kanisetti's book Lords of the Deccan, has closely examined the rise and fall of major dynasties in Southern India while also looking at the mark they left on the art and architecture of the region. In conversation with historian and art historian William Dalrymple, they discuss the significance of these caves and the milieu they represent.

Shadow and Light is the contemporary-classical duo of Anindo Bose and Pavithra Chari. With the sole focus on creating original music, they have written and independently released three studio albums to critical acclaim. Their original song ‘Dua’ features in the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s Shuruaat, nominated for the Grammy – Best Global Album and their debut as composers in the web series ‘Dharavi Bank’ on MX Player was released in November 2022. With varied musical influences, the duo fuse genres of Hindustani Classical, Contemporary, Jazz, Pop, Electronica and Soul to create cinematic soundscapes and compositions in Hindi, English and Tamil.

Kabir Cafe is a neo-folk fusion band that plays the poetry of the 15th-century Indian mystic – Kabir, in a substrate of Indian Folk Music, mixed with contemporary genres of Rock, Reggae, Pop, and Carnatic music. They have played in 800+ shows and have toured 11 countries. Their song ‘Fakiri’ has been featured in the Bollywood movie Hindi Medium, and ‘Hoshiyar Rehna’ is the theme song of the Bollywood movie Badshaho. Their songs ‘Kya Lene Aaya’ and ‘Mat Kar Maya’ were featured in Sony Liv – Web Series, SCAM 1992: HARSHAD MEHTA STORY. One of the top 3 Folk-Fusion/Indie bands in India, The Kabir Cafe is empanelled into the prestigious ICCR and has been featured on BBC World Service’s ‘The Arts Hour’.

Between 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. Many regard this savage civil war as the most influential event of the modern era. Terror begat terror, which in turn led to even greater cruelty with man's inhumanity to man, woman and child. The struggle became a world war by proxy as Churchill deployed weaponry and troops from the British empire, while armed forces from the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Poland and Czechoslovakia played rival parts. Using the most up-to-date scholarship and archival research, Antony Beevor, author of the acclaimed international bestseller Stalingrad, assembles the complete picture in a gripping narrative that conveys the conflict through the eyes of everyone - from the worker on the streets of Petrograd to the cavalry officer on the battlefield and the woman doctor in an improvised hospital. In conversation with bestselling writer and historian, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Beevor examines Russia, the years of revolution and civil war.

Coastal states and island communities have sought sustainable ways to boost their economic resilience while placing an emphasis on conserving their ecosystems and biodiversity. This timely session seeks to examine the role that the blue economy plays in reducing economic inequalities, promoting a comprehensive approach to building resilience, and the adoption of innovative financial structures to underpin conservation efforts all over the world.

Suraj Yengde's explosive book, Caste Matters, challenges deep-seated beliefs about caste and unpacks its many layers. Describing his lived experiences, he brings to light the immovable glass ceiling that exists for Dalits in politics, bureaucracy and the judiciary while providing an unflinching account of the internal caste divisions within the community itself. In conversation with academic, writer and sociologist Surinder Singh Jodhka, Yengde reveals how caste crushes human creativity and is disturbingly similar to other forms of oppression, such as race, class and gender.

The royal courts of India conjures up a vision of splendour and magnificence. John Zubrzycki’s books, The Last Nizam and The House of Jaipur, present the real and perceived worlds of the two contrasting royal courts of Jaipur and Hyderabad. In conversation with writer Moin Mir, Zubrzycki examines the extraordinary culture of princely India and provides a deeper understanding of kingship and power in India.

Author, curator and scholar Alka Pande’s four-part book series on the Kama traditions traverses the erotic and sacred. The titles, The Adulterer and Kama, The Nayika and Kama: She Takes Her Pleasure, Yoga and Kama: The Acrobatics of Love, and Al Fresco Kama: Love Under The Open Sky, present doorways leading the reader to explore the confluence of the sexual and the spiritual in Indian cultural tradition and an invitation to consider its place in contemporary Indian society.

Celebrated writer and academic Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel, Independence, is a moving tale of three sisters and their individual yet intertwined experience of the Partition of 1947. Moving fluidly across the roots of love, loss, family and legacy, Divakaruni presents us with a heart wrenching family saga in the backdrop of national upheaval. Divakaruni will be in conversation with Aanchal Malhotra. The novel will be launched at the end of this session by Sudha Murty.

The digital world is to be mastered, not abandoned. Technology-friendly writers Nandan Nilekani and Tanuj Bhojwani induct readers into the secret of using electronic devices for their benefit without losing either mental peace or physical fitness. The information flow of what inundates our screens, and if that can be controlled in a way that it becomes a key to success in a mindful/‘bitful’ sort of way, is what this compelling book by two people who have successfully harnessed the power of technology to accomplish social good, conveys. The writers will be in conversation with Anirudh Suri.

The present- an exciting and turbulent time to be alive and aware. Technology and the synthesis of the sciences allow us to interpret our world from the sub-atomic to the edge of the universe. Yet human nature, greed, and hubris continue to destroy the fragile balance of our planet. A crucial session that addresses geopolitics, the burdens of history, and the need for cooperation between governments, continents, and cultures.

Pioneers of modernism in Hindi literature, Nirmal Verma and Agyeya, were both in contact with European literary traditions in the 1940s and 50s but decided to chart their own innovations in their mother tongue. Nirmal Verma’s first novel, Ve Din, captures his student days in Prague and the beginnings of self-questioning. Agyeya travelled to Japan and later to Europe and America, always experimenting with new forms of writing. Nai Kahani is the gift of Verma, and Nai Kavita is Agyeya’s legacy. Akshay Mukul and Vineet Gill will discuss how these stalwarts changed the direction of Hindi literature in conversation with Pragya Tiwari.

Italian author Marco Moneta presents a fascinating portrait of the Mughal Court through the eyes of the Venetian traveller Nicolò Manucci, who spent more than seventy years in India. Arriving as a teenager with neither connections nor a designation, Manucci seemed to live by his wits and seized opportunities as they came. From being a military man in Dara Shikoh’s army to becoming a self-taught physician during Aurangzeb’s regime, he was a man seeking an understanding of the fraught relations between the Mughals and their subjects. In the process, he travelled widely and wrote copiously. Marco Moneta’s account of the intrepid traveller opens a new dimension to the European perception of India in the sixteenth century. In discussion with historian Rima Hooja, the pages of less known Mughal history are revealed.

International director of Asian Art Christie, Géraldine Lenain’s French novel Le Dernier Maharaja d Indore (The Last Maharaja of Indore) explores the intriguing life and aesthetic journey of Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar-II of Indore. Based on conversations with local historians and academics, Lenain brings together a behind the scenes look into the elegance and lifestyle of the Maharaja and his tryst with modernity.

The momentum of the beginning and the sense of an ending define the circumference of a story. A panel of accomplished writers read from and context beginnings and endings in the structure of their work.

All economic and financial activities take place across time. Interest is often described as the “price of money,” but it is better called the “price of time”- time is scarce, time has value, interest is the time value of money. The story of capitalism is thus the story of interest- the price that individuals, companies and nations pay to borrow money. In The Price of Time, Edward Chancellor traces the history of interest from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the global credit booms of the twenty-first century. In conversation with writer and economist Sanjeev Sanyal, Chancellor demystifies the puzzles of interest rates, as the global financial system edges closer to yet another crisis.

The 2013 Sahitya Akademi Young Writer awardee Janice Pariat delivers a fascinating tale of four vibrant characters who undertake profoundly transformative journeys. Intermixing science, literature and philosophy, her latest novel Everything the Light Touches is an exploration of the sublime network that connects humanity in ways we can never truly comprehend. Throughout the tale, Pariat diversifies the concept of permanence in an inherently fleeting existence, revealing the everyday duality of seeing and perceiving life. In conversation with Anish Gawande, Pariat peels the many layers of her storytelling and shares how she found a language for a natural world longing to be heard.

Author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani presents selections from her speeches, columns and opinion pieces in the path-breaking book Samaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar - A Citizen First Approach. Based on her vast experience as a civil society leader, she believes that the three institutional pillars should function harmoniously in the mutual interest of national development. Giving real-life examples and thoughtful suggestions, she creates a context for responsible citizenship that places faith in education, equity and justice. As the founder of Arghyam, a foundation for sustainable water and sanitation, and the co-founder of Pratham Books, a non-profit enabling access to books to all children, Rohini Nilekani combines both philosophy and praxis in envisaging a better India.

The clinical photograph. The bastard child of the studio portrait. Portraiture of pathology, morbid anatomy and the physically anomalous. The story of the photograph as an object lesson in clinical medicine. A dog and pony show by Ambarish Satwik, vascular surgeon and writer. Alka Pande is an art curator, author and scholar. A session concluding Alka responding to Ambarish’s presentation at the end.

Legendary spymaster A.S. Dulat’s engrossing memoir, A Life in the Shadows, is written with style, substance and rare aplomb. Following his journey from the time he was a young intelligence officer to the smoke and mirror world of strategic intelligence and espionage , it provides inside perspectives on national and geopolitical realities. A fascinating session of insights and analysis with Mandira Nayar.

Blending science, religion, and politics, Swami Vivekananda inspired the likes of Freud, Gandhi, and Tagore. At the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, he fascinated audiences with teachings from Hinduism, Western esoteric spirituality, physics, and the sciences of the mind, in the process, advocating a more inclusive conception of religion and expounding the evils of colonialism. At home, he challenged the notion that religion was antithetical to nationalist goals, arguing that Hinduism was intimately connected with Indian identity. Ruth Harris’ Guru to the World offers an arresting biography, showing how Vivekananda’s thought spawned a global anticolonial movement and became a touchstone of Hindu nationalist politics a century after his death. In conversation with Hindol Sengupta, author of The Modern Monk: What Vivekananda Means to Us Today, Wolfson History Prize-winning author Ruth Harris traces Vivekananda’s transformation from the son of a Calcutta-based attorney into a saffron-robed ascetic.

Translation is not only across languages but across images, experiences and emotions. Daisy Rockwell paints, writes and translates, Rita Kothari is interested in multiple identities, Tiffany Tsao has a multi-hyphenated legacy from three continents. Each is a gifted translator. In conversation with author and literary editor Kanishk Gupta, the intricate process and aesthetics of cultural translation is discussed in candid detail.

A geographical area, not a political entity, the steppe connects the western and eastern parts of the Eurasian landmass. As such, it is always open, subject to constant movement between Asia and Europe. Warwick Ball's latest The Eurasian Steppe: People, Movement, Ideas tells the story of that movement from prehistory to the present. From nomadic peoples to conquering empires, from tales of Amazon women to art nouveau, and from golden grave goods to the formation of countries that still exist today, Ball shows how the steppe has continually shaped Europe’s destiny and how ultimately, the steppe and the movement of people across it are so crucial that they question the very idea of ‘Europe’ as a separate cultural and historical construct. In this session, Ball will be in conversation with Anthony Sattin.

A session that explores the reality and legacy of the British Empire. Sathnam Sanghera’s latest book, Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain, is a brilliant commentary on the painful history large parts of the world share. Sanghera’s narrative focuses on the importance of accepting Britain’s imperial past in order to understand its present and future. In conversation with Emily Benn, Sanghera explores why the existence of the British Empire is often 'forgotten' in Modern Britain and underscores the importance of confronting a deeply troubled past.

The graphic novel interweaves the visual and the written word. Chhotu: A Tale of Partition and Love by Varud Gupta and Ayushi Rastogi is an endearing story of childhood love and youthful innocence set in a time of unprecedented violence and chaos. Amar Chitra Katha has brought comics and graphic novels to the Indian audience for over half a decade with a focus on religious epics, historical figures, biographies, folktales and cultural stories. With Preeti Vyas, the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, they discuss the ways in which Indian publishers, and authors are reimagining the context, references and illustrations for today’s generation while evaluating the challenges of the graphic art form in the face of other mediums of content consumption.

K Satchidanandan takes us into the heart of his poetic sensibility and philosophy and reads from some of his landmark poetry, including his iconic ‘Stammer’.

A fascinating mix of music, action and secret trysts, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's story reads almost like a movie script. Celebrated author Sathya Saran's latest work, Breath of Gold, takes us on a whirlwind journey through the life of the Indian music director and classical flautist. From his days as a wrestler, to his time in the Indian film industry, covering his reminiscent journey as a student of Annapura Devi, this enthralling narrative gives us a once in a lifetime look into the music and memory behind this iconic man. In conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy, Chaurasia and Saran go down memory lane.

Ashwin Sanghi delivers yet another nail-biting thriller, this time addressing the fraught and little known history of Zoroastrianism. Small in number and variously persecuted, the Parsi community has held on to its religion peacefully. But are they free from the ancient ties with Iran? Traversing through time and geography, Sanghi presents a scientist in the USA, and his historian wife, abducted to Ayatollah’s Iran to decipher the power of a potent and mysterious relic. The gripping narrative visits countries and terrains with sparkling histories and hidden messages and also gives us a glimpse into the impact of religious separatism. In conversation with Manjiri Prabhu.

Lord Meghnad Desai, academic, Padma Bhushan awardee and former Labour politician, takes a critical, introspective look at the bodies of thought that have driven economics across the world. In his recent book The Poverty Of Political Economy: How Economics Abandoned the Poor, Desai asks imperative questions about the reinvention of policies and their formation, insisting that humanity return to the discipline of economics. In conversation with academic Shailendra Raj Mehta, a specialist in microeconomic theory, Desai discusses the contributions of economics in politics and where they fall short.

Moin Mir’s latest historical novel, The Lost Fragrance of Infinity, is an inspirational story about the rebuilding of a young craftsman's life conveyed through metaphor and symbolism adapted from Sufi poetry and philosophy to modern storytelling. It is a story of love, friendship and the celebration of the diversity of people and ideas. In conversation with historian Rana Safvi, Mir talks about his book and gives a much-deserved voice to Sufism and its contributions to mysticism, mathematics, art, spirituality and science.

Award-winning novelist and scholar Ananda Devi, born in Mauritius, is a prominent figure of Indian Ocean literature. Winner of the Prix Femina des lycéens and named ‘Officier des arts et des lettres’ by the French Government, Devi’s work involves multiple linguistic and cultural confluences that run, as she says, through “an under-current in the flow of [her] words and sentences”. Choosing to write in French, her novels and short stories also incorporate Creole and Hindi. Her recent collection of poetry, Quand la nuit consent à me parler, translated by Kazim Ali as When the Night Agrees to Speak to Me, is both boundless and electric. In conversation with Prajwal Parajuly, author of The Gurkha’s Daughter, Devi discusses the themes of her work, and the resistance to boundaries that is imperative to literature.

Art historian and curator Katy Hessel is pioneering a corrective to dismantle the long reign of men in the art scene. The Story of Art Without Men, in conjunction with her blog titled ‘The Great Women Artists’, revives the legacy of women artists from 1500 to the 21st century encapsulating focal points in art history from dadaism to civil rights and antiracism. In conversation with Xavier Bray, Hessel discusses the historical documentation of art and her attempts at dismantling patriarchy within the art world.

When British Caribbean slavery was abolished across most of the British Empire in 1833, it was not the newly liberated who received compensation, but the tens of thousands of enslavers who were paid millions of pounds in government money. The descendants of some of those slave owners are among the wealthiest and most powerful people in Britain today. In conversation with author of Empireland Sathnam Sanghera, Alex Renton, author of Blood Legacy: Reckoning With a Family’s Story of Slavery, delves into the story of his own family’s history as slave and plantation owners and questions how much we owe it to the present to understand the legacy of the past

Celebrated writer, poet and novelist Jerry Pinto’s latest work, The Education of Yuri, follows the troubled journey of young Yuri as he grapples with friendships across class barriers, and contends with emotions of romance and sexuality. Set in Mumbai, and acutely conscious of the cultural mix in a college group, the novel looks sharply yet empathetically at young people at the crossroads of confusing choices. On one hand is the lure of politics, idealism and poetry, and on other is the reality of a society divided by caste and class. Jerry Pinto’s novel about the interface of despair and hope in a modernising India opens up questions about identity politics, individual talent and democratic opportunity. In conversation with writer and poet Janice Pariat.

The story of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, is traced in historian Hindol Sengupta’s new book, Sing, Dance and Pray: The Inspirational Story of Srila Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of ISKCON. The book sketches the moving account of Srila Prabhupada’s mission to introduce the ancient teachings of Vedic India to mainstream America and spread the ‘Hare Krishna Movement’. In conversation with author and academic Makarand R. Paranjape, Hindol Sengupta discusses the inspirational life of the Swami and the worldwide confederation of more than 100 temples, ashrams and cultural centres that the movement has fuelled.

Writer, historian and translator Rana Safvi’s Tears of the Begums, translated from the original Urdu by Khwaja Hasan Nizami, collates stories from the aftermath of the uprising of 1857. The book includes twenty-nine devastating accounts of the newly dethroned royals in their search for safety and survival after Bahadur Shah Zafar’s departure from the Red Fort, and the ruin of the Mughal empire. In documenting the recollections of the survivors, Nizami speaks of horrific turns taken by history and the haunting memories of past glory. In conversation with singer and writer Vidya Shash, Safvi explores the poignant narratives in this historical archive, and discusses the nuances of translation, while treading the liminal spaces between history and fiction.

Writer, historian and translator Rana Safvi’s Tears of the Begums, translated from the original Urdu by Khwaja Hasan Nizami, collates stories from the aftermath of the uprising of 1857. The book includes twenty-nine devastating accounts of the newly dethroned royals in their search for safety and survival after Bahadur Shah Zafar’s departure from the Red Fort, and the ruin of the Mughal empire. In documenting the recollections of the survivors, Nizami speaks of horrific turns taken by history and the haunting memories of past glory. In conversation with singer and writer Vidya Shah, Safvi explores the poignant narratives in this historical archive, and discusses the nuances of translation, while treading the liminal spaces between history and fiction.

Author of Spy Princess: The Story of Noor Inayat Khan, Shrabani Basu and author of Lonely Courage, Rick Stroud, discuss the eventful life of Noor Inaayat Khan, the descendant of Tipu Sultan, who was the only Asian secret agent in Europe in World War II, and the first woman wireless operator to be flown into occupied France during the War.

Luke Harding’s Invasion is a compelling chronicle of the war that changed everything. For this breathtaking work of reportage, he spent months reporting on the ground during the build-up to the conflict and afterwards; his book tells of the initial days of shock and panic, the grim reality of this ongoing war, and the unheard human stories behind the headlines. Invasion also offers insightful portraits of the war’s two key personalities. One, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is an actor-turned-president who rallied support on a global stage. The other, Vladimir Putin, is a dictator who dwells in a strange and unreachable realm. In conversation with Simon Sebag Montefiore, Harding examines the ideological, religious and personal reasons behind Putin’s decision to invade while confronting a crucial question- which side will prevail in this terrible war?

In Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won its Freedom, economist and historian Sanjeev Sanyal goes beyond the conventional stereotypes of India's non-violent freedom movement to explore the radical parallel struggle against the British Raj. Looking deeply at the generation that participated in this revolutionary struggle for freedom, Sanyal interweaves a narrative of global drama, espionage networks, assassinations and intense heroism.

As genres conflate and overlap, human stories are reaching out through a variety of themes and styles. A panel of writers with very different subjects, techniques and tones of voice speak of why they chose their particular literary forms to tell their tales. Across the conventional categories of fiction and non-fiction, they discuss their experiments with language and literary conventions.

As genres conflate and overlap, human stories are reaching out through a variety of themes and styles. A panel of writers with very different subjects, techniques and tones of voice speak of why they chose their particular literary forms to tell their tales. Across the conventional categories of fiction and non-fiction, they discuss their experiments with language and literary conventions.

A series of multivocal poetry readings where different languages, rhythms and styles converge in a joyous celebration of imaginative possibility.

Historian, television presenter and author Simon Sebag Montefiore's latest work, The World: A Family History of Humanity, chronicles the world’s great dynasties across human history through palace intrigues, love affairs, and family lives. Linking themes of war, migration, plague, religion and technology, Montefiore brings forth powerful families and their role in shaping world history across millennia. In conversation with author and academic Tripurdaman Singh, Sebag Montefiore's moving epic takes us on a fascinating journey from cavemen to Putin, from Indira Gandhi to Margaret Thatcher and Barack Obama to Volodymyr Zelensky.

Writer, critic and scholar Anna Della Subin's latest work, Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine, is a provocative history of race, empire and myth, told through the stories of men who have been worshipped as gods. An intricate look into the interplay between power and powerlessness, colonialism and nationalism, terror and transcendence, Subin’s fascinating work presents a new way of understanding the history of the modern world. In conversation with art historian and curator Katy Hessel, Subin traces the colonial desire for divinity, its links to race, and questions the relationship between tyranny, violence and godliness.

Countless Indian women have, since the nineteenth century, fought for and won equal rights in multiple areas. On paper, it would appear that the circumstances and situations for a woman of the twenty-first century have vastly improved. However, in reality, the demands of capitalism and the persistence of patriarchy have meant that they continue to lead lives that are hard and unequal. A session that discusses the challenges faced by women in contemporary India.

The Empire podcast started in August, went straight to no.1 and now has more than 1 million downloads every month. Characterised by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand’s easy camaraderie and contrasting personas, the podcast looks at how empires rise, why they fall and how they have shaped the world around us today. In discussion with Bee Rowlatt, Dalrymple and Anand discuss why people everywhere are suddenly so interested in the business of the Empire.

The Right to Dissent is enshrined in the Constitution of India . To question, to challenge, and to hold accountable the forces that guide India, is the right and responsibility of citizens. Yet dissent is increasingly associated with caveats and  fear . Parliamentarians Priyanka Chaturvedi and Jawhar Sircar in conversation with author and academic Tripudaman Singh discuss the right to dissent, or the entitlement to disagree, as a fundamental of a thinking nation.

In a fascinating tale of places, people and histories, celebrated writer Amit Chaudhuri puts words to the feeling of being lost and found in philosophical dilemmas. In his latest work Sojourn, an unnamed protagonist comes to Berlin as a visiting professor. As he drowns in the cacophony of the city, lines are blurred between the past and present, solitude and companionship. Told with musical prowess and literary dexterity, Chaudhuri’s Sojourn is a narrative that pushes our understanding of narrative techniques. In conversation with fellow writer and poet Janice Pariat, Chaudhuri discusses the endless possibilities and perspectives in his work.

The Million Missions Report, launched in the 75th year of India's Independence, measures the contribution of the Indian nonprofit sector. Dedicated to India's estimated three-million charitable and non-profit organisations, the report examines their contribution, good practices and innovations that have evolved over the years. The report, being compiled from primary and secondary data by GuideStar, Dasra, Art X and SSER, will be a benchmark to measure progress towards SDG goals.

Perhaps the most enthusiastic proponent of the importance of arts and humanities, Martin Puchner brings together a delightful history of humankind in his latest book, Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop. In an attempt to document cultural crescendos from ancient Greece to a time capsule left on the moon, the book alludes to fundamental questions about identity, community and existence. Along with Anna Della Subin, Puchner elucidates the role of art in the propagation of knowledge and cultural discourses.

Chigozie Obioma’s insights into Nigerian culture, languages, conflicts and tenuous resolutions have presented multiple dimensions to an ancient land taken over by brutal colonialism. His prize-winning novels The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities reflect the sociocultural realities of his country even as the people strive to build a free nation in the midst of divisiveness and differences. His essay ‘Pride and Punishment’ is a compelling statement on the beauty and complexity of Nigerian heritage. In conversation with Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Random House India, Obioma discusses his upcoming book and the narratives that have formed his writing life.

Somewhere Among the Stars by Adi Varuni chronicles a woman's quest for love and truth across lifetimes and dimensions. Partho is a celebrated writer, poet and teacher of Vedanta who writes under the pen name of Adi Varuni. In conversation with writer and medical practitioner Pariksith Singh, he discusses his latest work and the adventures of consciousness interwoven with Vedanta and Yoga.

Vauhini Vara’s debut novel, The Immortal King Rao, is an ambitious exploration of legacy, innovation, and identity, a disquieting mirror of present realities. Rife with societal upheaval, capitalist satire, digital alienation and surveillance, and the impending climate crisis, the novel deftly braids together divergent timelines and planes of existence, each bound by a distinct moral fabric. King Rao gives his daughter Athena access to his memories, through which she unveils his life in this threefold account - as a Dalit boy in his ancestral home, as an adolescent in America with unparalleled tech genius, and old age, absconding from the mainland to raise Athena, a last attempt at preserving his legacy.

Legends and stories are woven into the fabric of Jaipur yet it is now, simultaneously, a cosmopolitan city attracting writers, designers and hoteliers from around the world. Through novels, poetry, music and art, the spirit of this city of dreams takes myriad forms. Three writers, linked to Rajasthan, explore the corpus of folklore, silenced history and muted traditions that startle us with their unexpected trajectories. Manisha Kulshreshtha, Anukrti Upadhyay and Tripti Pandey, in conversation with Malashri Lal, speak of a city that invokes romantic memories and also embraces a vibrant modernity.