Create literature to guide young generation: Rajasthan CM at Jaipur Literature Festival

Jaipur, Jan 15 (PTI) Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday urged writers and authors to create such literature that gives a feeling of pride to the young generation and guide them.

"I want to say to writers that what you write should be meaningful and should guide the new generation. You should write literature that makes our young generation feel proud after reading it," he said at the inaugural ceremony of Jaipur Literature Festival at Hotel Clarks Amer here.

The 19th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival boasts a lineup of 350 speakers and an expansive programme that spans a wide range of topics from fiction, poetry, and history to art, science, mathematics, medicine, and mental health.

The festival will also delve into pressing global themes such as climate action, business, geopolitics and conflict, gender, translation, cinema, race, and identity -- all unified by the timeless power of storytelling.

Delivering the keynote address, Sharma said that literature has always played a crucial role in every era.

"Whether it was to inspire the freedom fighters during the independence movement or to challenge the dictatorial regime during the Emergency, or to boost the morale of soldiers on the border during wars, literature has always played a crucial role," he said.

Sharma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged to gift a book in programmes instead of a bouquet.

"A book is not just meant to be read, but it provides a perspective for understanding life," he said.

He said that Rajasthan is not only the land of palaces; it is also the land of literature and art.

Pointing to the problem of pollution and the need for environmental protection, Sharma added that Indian culture provides the knowledge of protecting the environment.

"Our ancestors worshipped mountains, trees and rivers because they are a part of our culture. We have to protect this heritage," he said.

Sharma said that the solution to the problem the whole world is facing is there in Indian culture.

The opening of JLF unfolded in traditional splendour, with conch shells, pulsating nagada beats by renowned Rajasthani percussionist Nathulal Solanki and his team, and a vibrant procession of life-sized puppet horses, camels, and colourful Rajasthani figures.

Festival co-director William Dalrymple reflected on the journey from its modest beginnings in 2006.

The inaugural session at Diggi Palace’s Darbar Hall, he recalled, had just 25 attendees -- before a busload of Chinese tourists, having mistaken the venue for Amer Fort, accidentally turned it into a full house.

“Rajasthan turned out to be the perfect place to launch a festival,” he said, with a thundering applause from the audience.

Last year, the festival recorded over three lakh footfalls.

Co-director Namita Gokhale outlined the rich fare ahead -- from global literary luminaries to conversations spanning AI, the eerie, fiction and non-fiction -- while Sanjoy Roy reminded the audience that the festival’s magic lies as much with its listeners as its speakers, in the shared energy between the stage and the crowd.

“I saying this that it's not just about the speakers and this amazing program but it's also about all of you, our audiences, who come together from across the world and across India.  “And the magic is created in the space between the stage and the audience, and in that air, that ephemeral sense of something else,” he added.

Roy also announced about the festival plans to travel to four cities in Ireland next year. It is currently held in nine cities across the world.

The five-day festival will host more than 350 celebrated authors and scholars including Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, Chess legend Vishwanathan Anand, British actor and author Stephen Fry and former diplomat-writer Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Sahitya Akademi Award-winner Anuradha Roy, veteran film critic Bhawana Somaaya, and celebrated authors Manu Joseph, Ruchir Joshi, and KR Meera.

The festival will come to an end on January 19. PTI SDA MG MAH MAH