Jaipur Literary Fest Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), well attended by the crème de la crème of the literary world, is also surprisingly accessible to students on a shoestring budget. Free entry to the festival is possibly one of the most important factors that draws throngs to the festival.

If you’re attending JLF this year, here’s how you can have a good time in the Pink City, flout your jholas and nehru jackets (while at JLF, it may be nice to play the part of an intellectual), and laugh at intelligent wisecracks, all on a student budget.

Transport

If you’re feeling extravagant, you may want to take the double-decker train from Delhi to Jaipur, simply because a double-decker train sounds like fun. However, if you’re looking to cut down on the cost, a non-AC sleeper will suffice. Alternatively, an RSRTC bus ticket will cost you around the same amount as a non-AC sleeper.

Accommodation

The fact that Rajasthan attracts a huge number of tourists every year, even from abroad, gives us the added advantage of a good array of hostels for backpackers. These hostels offer dorms (mixed bed dorms/female only) at rates that don’t burn holes in your not-too-deep pocket. Most come equipped with lockers, a kitchen, and some graffiti on the walls to boot. Bathrooms are to be shared. Some also offer single rooms with twin beds, but that will work out to be more expensive than a bed in a dorm. You can do without air conditioning in Jaipur in January, if an AC room is out of your budget.

You may want to orient yourself around the Diggi Palace (Shivaji Marg) keeping in mind that you will be spending most of your time there. The closer you are, the less you will have to pay on transport to and from the festival venue. Here are some options you could consider. Rates may vary depending on whether you choose a mixed bed dorm or a female only dorm.

Backpacker Panda

Rs. 349-Rs. 599 per bed, per night

Opp. Om Tower, MI Road, Jaipur-302001

1.5 kms (5 minutes) from Diggi Palace

Le Pension Backpackers’ Guest House

Rs. 300-Rs. 350 per bed, per night

K-94, behind dana pani restaurant Kishan Nagar, Kishan Nagar, Shyam Nagar, Jaipur-302019

7.7 kms (16 minutes) from Diggi Palace

Zostel Jaipur

Rs. 500-Rs. 600 per bed, per night

First Floor, 85-A, Rajamal Ka Talab, ICICIi Bank Building, Chandi ki Taksal, Opposite Tourist Police Station, Jaipur- 302002

Crashpad

Rs.200-Rs. 300 per bed, per night

B-20, Shiv Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur- 302016

4.5 km (12 minutes) from Diggi Palace

Roadhouse Hostel

Rs. 499-Rs. 569 per bed, per night

D-76, Shiv Heera Path, Chomu House Circle, C Scheme, Prithviraj Road, Jaipur-302001

2 kms (5 minutes) from Diggi Palace

Doodle Rack

Rs. 379 per bed, per night

33, Civil Lines Road, Suraj Nagar, Civil Lines, Jaipur-302006

4.6 kms (11 minutes) from Diggi Palace

Food

You will find several stalls within the festival venue, at different prices, ensuring that you need not step outside the venue or miss important speakers in the process. You may also sample the street food in Jaipur (read kachoris, parathas, lal maas). MI Road in particular, has a couple of places that remain open from early in the morning to late at night, if you’re staying around the area and are looking for a bite to eat.

To know more about Jaipur Litfest 2017, read – https://dubeat.com/2016/12/jaipur-literature-festival-a-literary-wonder/

Image Credits: Abhinaya Harigovind

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Top Picks

Four Festivals To Attend This Winter

By DU Beat November 17, 2015

The Festival or “Fest” culture is an integral part of college life and something no one should miss out on. Other than the DU fests we all know and love here is a list of five festivals that we think everyone should try and attend this winter or at least once during the course of their college lives:

Jaipur Literature Festival

The Jaipur Literature Festival is one of the largest literary festivals in the world and not to mention one of the most exciting and intellectually stimulating. The 5-day extravaganza includes talks on numerous topics by world-renowned authors and speakers, book signings, concerts etc. Some of the speakers who have already confirmed their presence such as Barkha Dutt, Shobhaa De, Stephen Fry, Rohit Gandhi are sure to make this year’s JLF as exhilarating and enthralling as it always is.

Image Credits: Creative Jobs
Sunburn Festival

Entering its 9^th year the Sunburn Festival held in the last week of December is one of the most awaited events of the calendar for a majority of music fans. With over a 120 artists and 5 different stages this year’s festival is sure to be their best festival yet with international sensations such as Martin Garrix and David Guetta gracing the occasion. With over 3 lakh attendees last year, the organizers have made arrangements to ensure that this year’s festival is bigger, better and an experience like no other.
Mood Indigo

Regarded as one of the finest college events in the country, IIT Bombay’s annual festival Mood Indigo attracts students from across the country every year. With a footfall of over 1 lakh every year, nearly 200 events and participation by over 1500 colleges, Mood Indigo is known for its elating atmosphere having hosted renowned artists such as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, RD Burman and many more over the years. Here’s a round up of the events last year and here’s a list of the star guests and pro nights.

Unmaad

In a city known for its music and culture organizing a college fest that does justice to the same is no easy task. Yet IIM Bangalore tries and makes its annual fest Unmaad bigger and better each year making it one of the biggest B-School Fests in India today. Scheduled to be held in the last week of January it is the perfect getaway from the harsh Delhi winter and platform for musicians, actors, debaters and fashion enthusiasts to showcase their talents.

With numerous other collegiate and non-collegiate festivals due to be held in the months to come, all of us can surely expect a fun filled winter!

Featured Image Credits: Sunburn

Shraman Ghosh
[email protected]

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Events

Jaipur Literature Festival- Day 1 and 2

By Siddhi Goel January 29, 2013

I am a student of literature and I happened to be at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2013. People are quick to comment that since I’m a literature student I’ll obviously attend this fest. However, neither do all literature students attend the festival, nor do literature students form a sizeable majority of the audience. It would be a naïve and myopic approach to take and let’s just say that a love for reading is reason enough to be there.

The Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 is the biggest literature festival in the region of Asia- Pacific and every year it brings together the brightest minds in the field of art, on one platform.

Day 1-

Day 1 began with an introduction by the festival director William Dalrymple, when he noted how the festival has grown over the years. Citing an example, he mentioned that the first time they’d organized the fest in 2005, only 14 people had turned up, out of which 10 were lost Japanese tourists looking for Amer fort. Today, the fest attracts a massive crowd of over a lac.

Dalrymple’s introduction was followed by a keynote address by legendary writer Mahashweta Devi, titled “O to live again”. Her magnetic aura left an impact on all. His Holiness Dalai Lama held a session titled “Kinships of Faiths:Finding the middle way”, in which he very cheekily admitted that even he found religious stories boring in his childhood and it was only later when he understood Budhdhist Philosophy, did he find peace. He maintains that he is a pupil of the Nalanda tradition of teaching and owes a lot to India in this respect. Another highlight of the day was Javed Akhtar talking of Ismat Chughtai and Annie, two stalwarts of Urdu literature. He strongly urged the audience to learn Urdu and explore its literature.

Day 2-

The highly acclaimed book “The Origins of sex” by Faramerz Dabhoivala was discussed by the author and William Dalrymple at the Google Mughal Tent. Fara, as everyone fondly calls him, was an instant hit with the crowd, his pleasing demeanour worked its charm on everyone and the audience listened enraptured as he narrated the central themes of his book. “Sex and Sensibility”, a session taken by acclaimed lyricist Prasoon Joshi and actress cum activist Shabana Azmi, was also quite a crowd puller. In the light of the recent gang rape case and Honey Singh’s obscene lyrics, they discussed the role of cinema in inculcating perverted ideologies. They cited that examples found in Indian mythology such as Ram being the ideal husband and Sita being the silent sufferer are still engrained in the Indian psyche. In a culture where the abuses are hurled not at the person but the person’s mother and sister, we need some serious re-thinking.

The Day 1 and Day 2 were truly enriching and offered great insights.

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