Jaipur Diary – In Martin Amis’s Melancholic Company
On porn, aging and writing. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Writing fiction in the eighties was a loner’s job. “No profiles, no photo sessions, no book tours,” said London-based author Martin Amis in the session ‘Writing the 1980s’,…
Jaipur Diary – What the F!
Irvine Welsh’s ‘fuck’ fixation. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] His was the last and the shortest session in the Jaipur Literature Festival. His was also the only session in which questions ran out before the stipulated one-hour time….
Jaipur Diary – Mama, Don’t Preach
Listening to Sex & the City writer Candice Bushnell. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] She came, laughed, growled, flailed her arms, groped for words and gave relationship tips. The high-heeled and perfectly manicured Candice Bushnell, the author of…
Jaipur Diary – 1947, A Love Story
The great historical romance. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was pulp romance meeting the Partition. History was sexed up at the session in Mughal Tent, in which TV host Karan Thapar chatted with Alex von Tunzelmann, the…
Jaipiur Diary – The Battle of 1857
The surprise package. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The surprise winner of the Jaipur marathon was a plump woman. At 10 am, Mughal tent in Diggi Palace hotel was slotted for authors William Dalrymple and Mahmood Farooqui. The…
Jaipur Diary – Long Queue for JM Coetzee
The big draw. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] A great crowd collected to hear JM Coetzee, one of the two Nobel laureates attending the Jaipur Literature Festival (the other is Orhan Pamuk). A reclusive South African author who…
Jaipur Diary – Orhan Pamuk’s Girlfriend Kiran Desai on Mother Anita
Her mama’s girl. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Instead of talking about boyfriend Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish writer who too is attending the Jaipur Literature Festival, novelist Kiran Desai talked – in great detail – about her mother,…
Jaipur Diary – Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
The anti-Mao couple. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mao was as big a draw as Orhan Pamuk in the Jaipur Literature Festival. The ‘Vodafone’ Front Lawn in Diggi Palace Hotel – the venue – was full as Jung…
Jaipur Diary – Author Spotting in the Lit Fest
Look at them. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has a paunch. Novelist Kiran Desai has slender legs. Travel writer Rory Stewart is super tall. Jon Lee Anderson is a bear. Vikram Seth is so…
Jaipur Diary – Alex’s Adventure with Zero
Hanging out in the Lit Fest. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was unlucky. At 10 am, Alex Bellos, the author of Alex’s Adventures in Numberland, was one of the first writers to have a session in the…
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