Dalai Lama to attend Jaipur literary fest

And who better than the Dalai Lama to throw open this discussion.

The Tibetan spiritual leader will grace the festival this year and will share with the attendees his pearls of wisdom and philosophy.

The five-day literary event will discuss through a series of sessions this year the influence of Buddhism on philosophy and literature and how writers view the influence of this ancient religion on their writings.

The festival that hogged much attention last year due to Salman Rushdie's planned visit - that ultimately did not materialise - is scheduled to take place from January 24 to January 28 at its regular venue, the Diggi Palace.

Besides a long list of national and international authors, an added attraction this time will be the Dalai Lama, the festival organisers announced today.

"Literature has played a major role in my life," the spiritual leader said.

"Since childhood, reading has been of great importance to me and I am often reminded of the immense kindness of the scholars of the past who translated a vast array of Buddhist literature into Tibetan.

"I look forward to attending the Jaipur Literature Festival and meeting people writing and reading today," he said on his plans to attend the literary jamboree.

Organisers said the Dalai Lama's visit adds a special touch to one of the festival's focus themes of this year