Visitors to the British Library today were greeted by festive bunting and the rich colourful fabrics of India as ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival transformed the building both inside and out to host a weekend of discussions on topics from migration to Bollywood, Queen Victoria and Abdul to the Kohinoor, and the East India Company.
ZEE JLF@The British Library is one of the first major events in the UK as part of the India-UK Year of Culture in 2017, which showcases the cultural diversity of India in the UK.
The morning began with the Inaugural Address titled Freedom to Dream in which the directors of the Festival alongside the High Commissioner of India and representatives of the British Library and ZEE Network welcomed audiences to this, the first ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival at the British Library.
Director of Teamwork Arts, Sanjoy K Roy noted the important role writers have always played in society, citing 2001: Space Odyssey, and George Orwell’s dystopian vision of Big Brother, 1984: ‘Authors help us to divine the future, they are very much part of our world.’
Festival co-director Namita Gokhale welcomed ‘friends of literature’ and described the festival as a place of ‘genuine, spontaneous, democratic human interaction’. She also thanked ‘the rich treasure of the British Library’ for providing many of the session cues, from the Beatles’ Rishikesh archives, to rare Indian artefacts. Her co-director, author William Dalrymple quipped that literature festivals had ‘replaced fashion shows and polo matches as a default weekend filler.’ He said he was ‘very excited to bring the festival to the British Library,’ since it was ‘the nearest thing I’ve ever had for an office’.
Mr YK Sinha, His Excellency, the High Commissioner of India in London said he was ‘very happy’ to be on his first visit to the British Library, since his army officer father had done research on a scholarship here, about an Indian freedom fighter in 1857, who was still winning battles aged 80: ‘a fitting story for 70 years of Indian independence.’ He observed that Indian culture has always transcended borders, and the festival keeps that tradition alive, both in and outside India. Jamie Andrews, Head of Culture and Learning at British Library observed that ‘it could not be a better year for us to start hosting the festival,’ with 2017 marking 70 years of Indian Independence, and the India-UK Year of Culture.
Neeraj Dhingra, CEO Europe for ZEE Network said ZEE was ‘very honoured to be partnering with the Jaipur Literature Festival and Teamwork.’ describing the festival as ‘the key event in the calendar for everyone interested in literature’.
In today’s sessions Karan Johar, one of Bollywood’s most famous directors, laid bare his soul in his memoir An Unsuitable Boy. In a thrilling conversation with director Rachel Dwyer at ZEE JLF@The British Library,he opened up even more about his work and his life.
The iconic director emphasised the need for films in Indian cinema to stay creatively brave despite the economic pressures of the modern film industry: ‘We celebrate every emotion with a song, we heighten emotion, we are melodramatic, but the soul that we represent is rare, and it’s rare worldwide. The moment that we are apologetic about it, it’s going to bite us. We need to go back to larger than life cinema. We need to go back to the era where filmmakers took big risks. We have got to bring abandon back.’
In a fitting celebration of 70 years of India-UK relations, Philip Norman, biographer of the iconic UK band, The Beatles, and Indian journalist Ajoy Bose, researcher of The Beatles’ years in India, got together for a riveting session, to discuss the magic and mystery of the band’s experience in India.
Bose pointed out the irony that the younger generation of Indians embrace The Beatles as symbols of modern western culture, while rejecting their own traditional values, whereas The Beatles repudiated their own culture to embrace the ancient values of India. Philip Norman suggested that George Harrison was perhaps the most inherently spiritual of the four, and because they were all very close, when he started meditation, all of them started meditation. Whilst most of the songs were written by the creative relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the Indian connection gave George a power point in his relationship with the band.
Shrabani Basu’s Victoria and Abdul: The True Story Of The Queen’s Closest Confidant is based on the previously unknown correspondence between Queen Victoria and her manservant Abdul.
In conversation with Oscar-winning director Stephen Frears she explored the relationship that changed British foreign policy in India and scandalised contemporary society, captured in the astonishing archive of letters and papers that writer and journalist Basu found in the British Library collection, and Abdul’s personal archive and diary discovered with one part of his family in Karachi. Victoria was a passionate letter-writer and Abdul’s input, advice and sometime bias can be seen in her correspondence from this time, as well as the dislike of Abdul by her staff and advisers in theirs.
In The Genetics of Skin evolutionary biologist and skin cancer expert Sharad Paul told the audience that taking up tango could help in the battle against dementia. The doctor and author of The Genetics of Health and Skin: A Biography, said that dance may be a useful way of keeping the illness at bay.
He also described a study he was involved in with young people in their 20s and 30s that suggested increased Vitamin C intake could help them keep off the pounds 20 or 30 years down the line. “We know that you can eat certain foods (to) make you fitter and healthier – they turn on the good genes.”
In terms of Vitamin D, Dr Paul said many people suffered a deficiency because they are so worried about getting a tan or skin cancer. He explained that to get enough Vitamin D we need to expose 20 per cent of our bodies to the sun for about 20 minutes daily: “that’s a T-shirt and shorts” but in reality “most people just expose their hands.” He advised people to have a blood test if they plan to take supplements, but they are not necessary if they are eating Vitamin D rich foods instead.
The day continues with sessions on the Kohinoor, Indian Politics, Mughal Art, Poetry and a performance on the music stage this evening by Delhi-based electro-folk group Kabir Café.
ZEE JLF@British Library continues tomorrow with more of the 70 eminent authors and thinkers from across the globe who are gathering to explore the ‘Ideas of India’ with sessions including; prominent writers and thinkers Arundhathi Subramaniam, Mihir S. Sharma, Namita Gokhale, Prajwal Parajuly and Meghnad Desai discussing theirindividual perceptions of what Ideas of India means to them, writer and historianRoy Moxhamand Indian MP Shashi Tharoordebating colonialism’s claims of benefit and development in The Theft of the Raj: The British Empire in India. Sunny Singh, co-founder of the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour in conversation with Laura Susijn, and Wei Ming Kam discussing the challenges of a dominant monocultural literary landscape in Jhalak: Glimpses of Diversity.
Festival co-director, writer and publisher Namita Gokhale will be in conversation with panellists; Tahmima Anam, Sarvat Hasin, Amit Chaudhuri and Kunal Basu as they share their insights on the art of the novel in The Reading Room: Shaping the Novel. Panellists including Indian MPs Swapan Dasgupta and Shashi Tharoor discuss the enduring mystery of India’s fascination with P.G. Wodehouse one of the most popular English language writers in India alongside many more events which make up a packed programme of literary debate and social dialogue.
ZEE JLF@The British Library is the first of five cultural strands which form part of the India – UK Year of Culture in 2017, celebrating the deep cultural ties and exchange between the two nations in what is a year of great significance for the world’s largest democracy. The year-long programme also includes India@Edinburgh in August, The Independence Gala@Southbank Centre in October, a season of Dance & Theatre and the UK Premiere of the Bharat Symphony by Dr L. Subramaniam and the London Symphony Orchestra in November.
2017 marks the fourth London edition of the Festival, which is rooted in the Pink City of Jaipur, India. Held every January, this year commemorated the 10th anniversary of the flagship event.
