Jaipur Literary Festival Day 4

Michael Rezendes and Suki Kim 

Amber Fort reflected in its moat

Sarangi maestro Ustad Kamal Sabri

Listening to the music

The Amber Fort is beyond beautiful

Day 4 of the Jaipur Literary Festival was a Sunday. That meant schools are closed, and the festival is even more crowded with students who don’t have to been in class. We have been here many times and we know how to navigate the crowds. We saw all of the panels that we were interested in.

The first session we attended was entitled “Manhunt – the search for Osama Bin Laden”. It featured a great panel of reporters. Peter Bergen is a mainstay on CNN. He is famous for actually interviewing Osama pre-911. He is an authority on Al-Qaeda, there were several other writers who have all written about Al-Qaeda.

The big question is: Did Pakistan know that Bin Laden was hiding for 5 years in Abbottabad, Pakistan? It was the consensus of all of the panelists that the Pakistan Government did NOT know he was there. I was very surprised that all of these dogged reporters agreed. They say that a lot of documents were captured and have come out about OBL in Abbottabad, and there has been nothing to suggest the Pakistan government knew. They all say if any facts came out suggesting or proving Pakistan knew of his location, they would be happy to change their mind. There is just no evidence to support the theory Pakistan knew.

The next panel was entitled “Piercing the Veil of Secrecy”. It presented both interesting stories and a moral dilemma. Michael Rezendes and Suki Kim are both investigative reporters. Suki risked her life going undercover to report on North Korea. She lived there for 6 months. To do this she had to lie to everyone. No one knew she was a reporter, except for 3 people in South Korea. She knew if she was caught she would either be executed or sentenced to life imprisonment in a gulag. The courage she displayed is amazing. She is a dramatic speaker and has an amazing story to tell. The name of her book about North Korea (She is the ONLY person who has ever done this) is: Without You, There IsNo Us: UndercoverAmong the Sons of North Korea's Elite.

Michael Rezendes was one of the key reporters on The Post Globe’s Spotlight team, that uncovered the widespread child abuse by the Catholic Church in Boston. In the movie he was played by Mark Ruffalo. The movie, Spotlight, is true to what happened. Marty Baron (now the editor of The Washington Post) on the first day of work at The Boston Globe, did see an article in the paper that was about a trial of a priest. The article said the facts were sealed and the truth would never come out. He turned to the Spotlight team and told them to find the truth. Although not in personal danger like Suki, Michael and the team's dozens of articles about church abuse, proved that it not only wasn’t isolated but was in fact, widespread and known to the Bishop. It has had profound repercussions in the Catholic Church throughout the world. It also has resulted in thousands of victims getting both financial settlements. Even more touching many of the victims have been able to come to terms with what happened to them. Many of them felt guilty when in fact they were innocent victims. 

The next session was a great. It was entitled Vita and Virginia: the True Love Story behind Orlando. I have never read Virginia Wolf or Vita Sackville-West. I have a vague memory of the movie Orlando. Briefly, Vita came from an exceptionally wealthy family but being a woman, under British law, the family estate didn’t go to her. Virginia and Vita became lovers. They were both married. Vita had many female lovers. She married Harold Nicolson. They had an open marriage and Harold had many male lovers. Vita and Harold had two children: Juliet Nicolson and Adam Nicolson. Juliet and Adam were on the panel discussing their grandmother Vita. It was quite a story they had to tell about Grandma and Virginia. Apparently after some years Vita and Virginia stopped having sex but remained very close. Out of this tangle of emotions and sex was born the seminal book by Virginia: Orlando. From the passages they read, I doubt if I will read the book, but we will re-watch the movie.

We next went to a session entitled the “People Next Door”. It was about the neighboring countries bordering India: Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, etc. All of these countries have demographic issues, with a large portion of their population under the age of 25. They need to create jobs for their youths and have higher economic growth. All of them are basically ignored by India as it is chiefly concerned with Pakistan. The hope of the session panelists was that India would become more of a leader when it came to these countries. All saw the rise of China and its apparent successful economic model as a challenge to the entire region.

The last session we attended was about Cities past and future. Different authors from various cities spoke about their respective cities. We found the story about Calcutta very funny. The author Kushanava Choudhury was brought to the United States as a young boy. After getting his education in the US, he decided to return to India and live in Calcutta. Calcutta has for years been thought of as a dying city. Everywhere he goes in Calcutta, people ask him, what he did wrong in America that he had to come to Calcutta. No one could believe he voluntarily decided to leave America to live in Calcutta.

At the end of the day Vijay drove us up the magnificent Amber Fort. High above the city of Jaipur it is brilliantly illuminated at night. The fort is huge and is reflected in its surrounding moat. Inside the fort we climbed to the highest level where the structure was beautifully lit with colored lights. There were chairs, but also mattresses and pillows. The Jaipur Literary Festival had arranged all this to present an outdoor concert for its delegates. Sarangi maestro Ustad Kamal Sabri, performed for us, as we reclined on the matresses. It was sublime. I recorded a short video to give you a taste of the night. I want to hear more of Ustad Kamal Sabri! After the concert we returned to the hotel for dinner.

You can play the video here.

Jaipur Literary Festival Day 3

The Travel Panel 

Appetizers

Dinner

Let’s stipulate that a literary festival doesn’t lend itself to interesting pictures! So there aren’t many.

We really enjoyed today’s sessions. I expected it to be very crowded, it was, but not quite as bad as I expected. I got into every session that I wanted to attend. I think because we are veterans of the Jaipur Literary Festival (this is our 7^th), we know how to navigate through the throngs of people.

The first session was on “Hitler and His Times” the two panelist were an interesting contrast. The first author Norman Ohler wrote, Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich. The book explores how basically Hitler became a drug addict. Germans had discovered Heroin, Crystal Meth and several other powerful drugs. Hitler became addicted to these drugs that were administered by his doctor. The actions that Hitler took cannot be dismissed as a drug induced, he had spelled out long before his drug addiction what his evil plans were. None the less, according to the author, he was definitely an addict. The other author on the panel was Anna Funder, who has written about both the East German Stasi and an interesting novel based upon true events about Nazi resisters.

I then caught the ending of Amy Tam’s session, she is quite an accomplished story teller. The audience loved her.

I went to Charbagh (one of the venues) to attend the Travel Writers panel. This is an annual panel with different writers each year. We love to travel and it is always fun to attend this session. The writers simply read for about 10 minutes from one of their travel related books. I was totally enthralled by an author I had never heard of: Robert Dessaix. He read a passage from his new book: “The Pleasures of Leisure”, that I could totally relate to. It was wonderful. I immediately bought the book. This represents one of the joys of attending a Literary Festival. You come across books that you would never have otherwise known about.

The next session was entitled “Armed and Dangerous”. Two authors we like - Manu Joseph and Amitava Kumar were in dialogue. They were witty and interesting as they discussed their novels and views about writing fiction that is based upon real happenings. They were both very droll and funny.

The next session Prisoner of Conscious, had Ma Thida discussing her harrowing time imprisoned in Burma. A surgeon by training she felt she had a higher obligation to help her country. She almost died in prison. When you actually hear a person's testimony of the horrors they endured to achieve justice it is overwhelming. One reflects upon what you would do in a similar situation and what extraordinary courage some people possess.

The next session was an interesting session on Nordic Temperament. They had representatives from the various Nordic countries – Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, etc. Bottom line, they are happy. They don’t complain. The feel the happiness stems from a basic trust in governmental institutions and a national feeling of equality. The family is not key, as it is India. The government provides for them. The main problem they face is immigration and how to deal with it. They need a more younger population to support the aging population, but worry that immigrants, which they need, are not being accepted by their population and integrating into the existing society.

There was a brief book launch of a book of photography where all of the pictures were taken with an iPhone. It is a very clever idea for a book of photography.

The final session was on South East Asia. The book Blood and Silk looks at the SE Asia countries such as Thailand, Burma, Malesia, Singapore, Indonesia, Viet Nam, etc. The author is very pessimistic about their future. Democracy everywhere is on the decline. Religious intolerance, mainly pushed by Saudi Arabian money, is rampant. Only Viet Nam is a success, with a Communist government delivering to its people, much as China has, security and prosperity. The cost to the people is an authoritarian government.

Upon returning back to the Rambagh, we met Richard for drinks at the Polo Lounge. It was then off, once again by Uber to my new favorite Vegetarian Restaurant:  Meraaki Kitchens. It was an excellent day.

Jaipur Literary Festival Day 2

Foreign Correspondents Panel

William Dalrymple and Hamid Karzai

Republic Day Looks like Christmas!

Wine from Aman with Richard Whish

Rice Pulao and Chicken Butter Masala

Today was Republic Day in India. The civic buildings are all decorated just like it was Christmas. The schools are closed, there are marching bands. This is a big day! It is also a dry day. No liquor is served. However, if you have a foreign passport and staying at hotel you can purchase liquor. Needless to say, we stayed at the hotel for dinner!

Today was an even better day than yesterday at the Jaipur Literary Festival. The weather cooperated, it was quite warm. We really enjoyed the sessions that we attended. It was much more crowded because schools are closed for Republic Day. Almost half-million people will attend this event. Some of the sessions have Bollywood stars. That causes an incredible surge of people, especially the young, coming to see their film heroes. Indians are used to be packed tight, for us it is part ordeal and part amazement. The producers of the Festival try very hard to control the crowds, but it is a futile attempt. If there was a genuine emergency, it would be a stampede. Oh well!

The first session we attended was great. It was entitled “The Empire Strikes Back”. It was moderated by Pico Iyer. The topic was centered on non-British writers from post-colonial nations. These story tellers are faced with the issue of writing in English rather than their native language. They also face the issue of a culture where now people easily take offense and can amplify their criticism via social networks. One writer said it well: he is Indian-American but locates himself in the hyphen.

The next session was one the Lit Festival does every year. It is a panel of Foreign Correspondents. It was fascinating. Peter Bergan who interviewed Osama  Bin Laden was on it, as was Jeffery Gettlemen of The New York Times and Suki Kim who went undercover in North Korea. These reporters all risk their lives to try and bring the truth to us. One of the most interesting discussions was by Jeffery Gettlemen who described the horrific experience of interviewing a victim of Burmese madness. As the women described what happened to her and her family, he realized he could offer her no assistance. All he could do was record her story in hopes of motivating others to assist. You could tell how tortured he was by this situation. He felt, it was not his role to lend aid but rather his was to serve a higher purpose of getting the word out. He is scarred by the experience.

They discussed the problem and necessity of being imbedded in wartime. You can’t be in the middle of a conflict, you will be killed. You need to choose a side. Only the military can protect you in the middle of a war.

In discussions of the training of terrorists, Bergan predicted that there would no longer be terrorist training camps that can be bombed, but rather there will be virtual training camps on the internet available where ever a would-be terrorist lives. This is very scary!

The next session was William Dalrymple interviewing the former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai is very engaging. His English is perfect, his wit is evident, his clothes and ever-present cape are immaculate. He is extremely self-confident and a great interviewee. He blames Pakistan and the US for much that have gone wrong. He is a significant player on the sub-continent. He is one of those people who can really hold an audience. When he speaks there is no doubt in his voice. The Afghanistan people have never been conquered. Interestingly he liked George Bush better than Barack Obama. He related Bush to a Royal figure and Obama to a teacher.

I am fascinated by Stepwells. Although they might exist in other countries, I have only seen them in India. These architectural creations are carved out of the earth and are fabulously elaborate.

Here is an example.

When I come across one I take a picture and send the coordinates to a mapping site for stepwells. We are used to looking up in the sky to see architecture. These ancient constructions are built below the surface of the earth, one must look down to see them. We attended a panel on them. The content of the lecture was interesting. The person speaking was terrible. It was enlightening in spite of the speaker.

The final session for the day was entitled This is Not America. It is taken from the title of a book by the author: Alan Friedman. He is an writer for many newspapers, including the New York Times. He despises Trump and what  he is doing to America. The other panelist and the moderator were less alarmed by him. The Indian on the panel, basically says: “So what, Trump is a US problem to sort out”, India will do what is India’s best interest. The Australian correspondent felt his proposed military buildup is good for Australia and said that some things Trump does is good and somethings (especially the tweets) are bad. Neither the Indian nor the Australian particularly cared about what Trump is doing inside America to American Values. We totally agreed with Alan Freedman and immediately bought his book!

We returned from the Jaipur Literary Festival to our hotel and where we were met by Richard Whish a friend we had met at the Taj in Bombay. He joined us for drinks on our deck. Cathy and I then had dinner at the dining room here at The Rambagh. 

Jaipur Literary Festival Day 1

Dancers at opening sessions

On Violence, Maya Jassanoff on right

Painted Tuk-Tuk

Spice Court Restaurant

Cocktails and Dessert, Rambagh

Butter Scotch Liquor, who knew?

Day one of the Jaipur Literary Festival started with opening ceremonies that included singing, dancing, lighting of symbolic flames, etc.

The Key Note Speech was by Pico Iyer. His speech centered on how reading transcends artificial borders and allows one to imagine how others experience life. He strongly disagrees with the current sentiments about cultural appropriation. As a writer he feels he should be allowed to assume different cultural identities, and it is a great value for him to imagine himself as say a Chinese woman and write from her perspective. Wish our president would read anything except twitter. Actually, if I am wishing, I wish our president wasn’t president.

We then went to a panel entitled: On Violence. We didn’t like some of the panelist who were trying to put an ancient religious cast on the use of violence. They were overly narrow in their view, we were blown away by Maya Jassanoff, a Harvard Professor, who is brilliant and a facile speaker. She has the ability to weave together arguments and take a broader view.

Her basic arguments were cogent and stimulating. She has a new book out that has rave reviews: The Dawn Watch, a biography of Joseph Conrad that is stepping off point for her to discuss colonialism and other subjects. Read the review linked above, the book sounds amazing.

We heard an amazing interview with Suki Kim. She is the ONLY reporter who has gone undercover in North Korea. She showed us videos and slides of the school where she taught the students of the North Korean elite English. Being there was a ruse for her, so that she could learn about the horrors of North Korea. It is worse then you can imagine. Think of the entire country as one big prison. The people basically have become zombies worshiping the Dear Leader. It was an amazing act of courage for her to do this. If discovered she would have been executed. Her book is: Without You, There Is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea's Elite.

This was followed by lunch and then we went to another panel that Maya was on. We have become Maya groupies! We then experienced a very sad lecture. The subject was on Women in the Resistance in France in World War 2. The subject of the book is fascinating and the true-life spy stories of the gallant women is inspiring. The author was a pedantic English Professor who has no ability to relate to his audience. It’s a shame he droned on about an interesting topic, boring everyone.

We attended one final panel. To try and bridge the language gap of the audience (a probably small percentage don’t speak English) the discussion was half in English, half in India. On the surface this sounds like a good idea, but English only speakers were at a disadvantage, Hindi only speakers were at a disadvantage, the only people who could truly understand were bilingual Hindi-English members of the audience. That is however a large percentage in India among literate people who would be attending this event. We found this ineffective for us and left.

After returning to The Rambagh Palace, we went to Spice Court for Indian Food. We took Uber both ways, it is very easy to use in India, with one twist: you can order a tuk-tuk Uber! We had drinks and dessert outside (the weather in Jaipur this year is warmer than last year). I saw Butter Scotch Liqueur on the drink menu. I asked for a sample because I had never knew it existed. It tasted just like butterscotch. Note to self: it would be perfect over ice-cream! I declined ordering it after sampling it and had my usual 10-year-old Talisker Scotch. It was then off to bed for us.

Nahargarh Fort Sculpture Garden

eRichshaws 

Stepwell at the Fort

Ambassador Sculpture

Cathy got her angel wings

My favorite Shrine

We will be safe!

Polo, easier to understand than Cricket!

Dinner at the Rambagh

Dinner at the Rambagh

We then left the hotel an Vijay drove us to Nahargarh Fort, one of the three massive stone Forts guarding Jaipur. You get there driving on a winding well maintained mountain road, navigating switch back after switchback. We had previously been to the fort, but this time we were going to visit the newly opened outdoor sculpture garden. I stopped to admire the beautiful stepwell. I am fascinated by these stepwells, and when I see an obscure one I take a photo and send to an organization that is trying to plot all of the stepwells in India.

The sculptures are modern in design. They are strategically placed throughout the palace which is empty of all other furniture. They have done a fabulous job of documenting the meaning of the sculptures. Only after reading the plaque on the wall do you understand the artists intentions.

I loved the “Ambassador Car”. The Ambassador is quintessential Indian car. Practically indestructible on the terrible roads of India when the car was manufactured. The roads are much better now, and the Ambassadors are no longer made. Unless you read the plaque you would have no idea that this is not an Ambassador but an exact reproduction done in modern Aluminum.

Vijay pointed out that they are now replacing gas driven Tuk-Tuks with eRickshaws that run on electricity. That is great for the environment. We went shopping at a couple of shops but didn’t purchase anything. There had been a credit card mixup and I had someone else's credit card instead of mine. I was tempted to charge jewelry to the other persons credit card but decided better of it. Luckily the person who had my credit card was staying at the same hotel and we were able to exchange them.

We then drove to the venue for the Jaipur Literary Festival. It was coming together. We obtained our credentials, cruised the bookstore and returned to the hotel. Along the way on the Hotel’s Polo field a game was in progress. Vijay stopped the car and we watched it for a bit. It is easier to understand than cricket!

We had drinks at the hotel and then ate a delicious Indian meal outdoors. It was cool but enjoyable. They served one of my favorite dishes: Spinach and Corn. I have only seen it on the menu at the Rambagh. We always order it!