Festival director Namita Gokhale comes out with book on JLF

Offering insights into what it takes to put together an event like the Jaipur Literature Festival year after year, is writer Namita Gokhale's new book "Jaipur Journals", which was launched at the 13th edition of JLF here.

Set against the backdrop of the vibrant, multi-lingual festival, which is touted to be the largest free literary event in the world, the book chronicles the inspirations and heartbreaks of being a writer.

It was launched by author and politician Shashi Tharoor, who has been a regular at the literary festival, and also finds a mention in a "charming scene" in the book.

Gokhale said the idea of writing the book came from an American friend, who had never been to the festival.

She spoke of her favourite character in the book called Rudrani Rana, and of a delightful burglar who, inspired by veteran lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar, becomes a poet.

"'Jaipur Journals' is a celebration of the festival of writers, of participants, of the audience. The book has fascinating characters woven into it," Tharoor said.

Like the festival, "Jaipur Journals" too is a mixed bag of tales told from multiple perspectives.

The "funny, pacy, meta-fictional" novel searches the inspiration and heartbreaks of the loneliest of the tribes - the writers.

The Congress leader said he first heard of Gokhale in the BBC World series discussing her first book "Paro: Dreams of Passion" and hoped that she continued to write.

Gokhale has written 18 books, both fiction and non-fiction, since then, and her acclaimed debut novel, published in 1984, has remained a cult classic. It has also been issued in a double edition with its sequel "Priya".