This was my second visit to Jaipur’s vibrant festival of literature. What brought me back a second time? In short, its colorful outdoor venue and upbeat vibe. It actually feels like a festival! Also, the fest’s big-name authors are another draw for me.

At last year’s event, I was thrilled to see Jumpha Lahiri, as well as Jonathon Frazen, Cheryl Strayed, and Reza Aslan. This year I saw Paul Theroux and William Dalrymple. V.P. Naipul was also there, but sadly, Elizabeth Gilbert cancelled due to health reasons.

Both this year and last, I traveled with my Dubai-based book club for the event. Last year we were six women and this year we were ten! It’s a wonderful thing to travel with a group of friends who share a common interest—in this case, a love of books.

About the Jaipur Lit Fest

Considered the “Pink City” and the gateway to Rajasthan, the flamboyant city of Jaipur hosts the fest. The mostly-outdoor event is set in the Diggi Palace Hotel. With greenery, colorful tents, intricate interiors, and structures draped with bunting, the event has a truly festive feel. With an ambiance like that, people are chatty and it’s a great place to interact with fellow readers.

The largest free literary festival in the world, the Jaipur Lit Festival features both international and South Asian writers, including Booker and Pulitzer Prize winners and many celebrated Indian authors. The program includes talks, discussions, panels, debates, and music.

With a diverse showcase of writers, this year’s festival was a celebration of freedom of expression, religious tolerance, and diversity of thought—and occurring at a time when India faces various cultural and religious challenges.

I attended a variety of panels including “Writing Resistance: Of Battles and Skirmishes,” presented by UN Women as part of the Women Uninterrupted series (below).

I also attended the panel, “Matters of Faith,” which reflected the religious diversity of India (below).

Wanderlust and the Art of Travel Writing

However, my favorite panel was “Wanderlust and the Art of Travel Writing.” Reading from their travel memoirs, the writers included Charles Glass, Paul Theroux, William Dalrymple, Brigid Keenan, Sam Miller and Samanth Subramanian (below).

What a delight to see Paul Theroux! After reading so many of his travel memoirs and novels over the years, I was excited to see him on various panels, including this one where he read from his upcoming memoir about traveling stateside (below).

At the time of the lit fest, our book club was reading White Mughals by the India-based historian William Dalrymple, so it was a lot of fun seeing him, too. Along with Namita Gokhale, Dalrymple is one of the directors and founders of the festival. A prolific writer, Dalrymple was an animated reader as he read from his travel memoir From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East (below).

Of course, there were books to buy. This year the festival book store was sponsored by Amazon India, which meant (sadly) that there were fewer books for sale and more devices. I hope next year they bring back more actual books to the fest—as books are the soul of any literary event.

The event also had food outlets, stalls for shopping, including those wonderful Jaipur textiles, and my favorite—the tea wallahs selling masala chai in little clay cups.

To find out more about this event, see the Lit Fest webpage or read my post from last year. I’m looking forward to next year’s festival, and I hope to be there for the full four days and I hope Elizabeth Gilbert makes it next time!

Question: What are your favorite literature festivals around the world? 

As I prepare for a second trip to India, I’m reflecting back on memories from my last trip when five friends and I toured the “golden triangle”: Jaipur, Agra and Delhi. We visited palaces, forts, tombs, markets mosques, and temples.

Here are a few of my favorite photos—which unfortunately can’t quite capture the awe I felt.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and known as the “Pink City” of India. Above is the iconic Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the Winds.

The Jaipur Festival of Literature was our primary purpose in Jaipur. We were six women from a Dubai-based book club, ready see Jhumpa Lahira, Reza Aslan, Cheryl Strayed and more. Here is my post on the Jaipur Lit Fest 2014.

Jaipur offered much to see, including the gorgeous Amber fort.

The ideal way to visit the Amber Fort is by elephant.

Next we drove overland to Agra to see the Taj Mahal—without a doubt, the most beautiful building in the world.

We stayed at the Oberi Hotel, which is possibly the most exquisite hotel I’ll ever stay in. This was the view from my balcony. Yes, that’s the Taj Mahal.

I took hundreds of photos. Here’s one of me sitting on the so-called “Diana Seat” where Lady Diana famously posed. I’m trying to channel Lady Di. Is it working?

Delhi is the capital of India, where we experienced the bustle and color of Old Delhi, pictured above, as well as stately New Delhi.

We stayed at the Imperial Hotel, which had a colonial, art deco, Raj-era vibe—basically amazing.

We toured the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India

The Jama Masjid holds 25,000 worshipers for Friday Prayer and towers over Old Delhi.

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial was simple but poignant.

The Qutb Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world. (You have to see it to fully appreciate it.) The complex where it stands dates from the onset of Islamic rule in India.

Above is a detail from the first mosque in India.

Admittedly ours was a pampered tour of India. However, we did visit Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi where we shopped and rode rickshaws.

During this trip we traveled by bus from Jaipur to Agra and from Agra to Delhi. We saw sights of countryside, people, little towns and shops like this.

Question: What were your favorite sights of India?