JLF 2020 featured stalwarts across literature, art, cinema and science

JLF 2020 featured stalwarts across literature, art, cinema and science

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts that the future of the world's urban population will be concentrated in India, China and Nigeria, which together will account for 35% of this projected growth until 2050. It is indicated that the highest rate of growth will be in India. Are we prepared for this? Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and author of The Path Ahead: Transformative Ideas for India and Branding India, speaking at another session said,"A rising India is not a rising Indian government... government interventions can't be the sole basis for response to challenges". Sharing his thoughts at this session titled"The Skyline of the Urban Future" presented by Paras Buildtech, lNavroz Dubash from the Centre for Policy Research said,"When we talk about urbanisation, we have to make sure our imaginations need to move beyond the big cities and also think about the mid-sized cities and census towns, because these require very different solutions. In China, half the national budget is spent on cities, in India it's only 3%. Most of our resources in India go to rural development schemes."

In a spirited conversation at the most opportune occasion of 71st Republic Day, NEXA held an engrossing session on 'The Democracy Index' featuring Sachin Pilot and Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Namita Bhandare. The session deliberated on the current state of Indian democracy, and the role of citizens and political parties in the days to come. "It's time to reclaim our republic by reclaiming the values that hold our nation together," commented Rajdeep Sardesai.

Kashmir: Of Barbed Wires and Almond Blossoms was a session that explored the paradoxes and polarities that define the region in the context of the human, the personal and the political. Poet, teacher and academic Asiya Zahoor has written articles and poems on issues of the politics of place, diaspora, the literature of exile and Muslim identity. Journalist and Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation Manoj Joshi has written extensively on issues relating to Siachen, Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and terrorism in Kashmir and Punjab. Padma Shri Amitabh Mattoo is Professor of Disarmament Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne. He was previously an Advisor to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Chair of the Jammu and Kashmir Knowledge Initiative. Together, they speak of Kashmir, its past, its troubled present and its uncertain future. An audience member from Ladakh stated, in response to the moderator's question on the sentiments that the people of Ladakh had after their land was made into a Union Territory. She said: "It has always been a demand of the people of Ladakh that Ladakh be made a Union Territory...but, and there is a big 'but' here... we are also concerned about the influx of immigrants into Ladakh...we are really concerned about the fragile environment! Ladakh cannot take more people than it already has!"

At the session "Nationalism, Populism and the Fate of the World" Columbian author Simon Schama said, "Much of the nationalist fury against cosmopolitanism is dependent on the notion that someone is taking something away from us- a sense of loss, a sense of theft.We must be equipped to make the distinction between nasty nationalism and a sense of pride towards the nation."

The day ended at the Ambar Fort with breath-taking performances as a part of the Heritage Evening. The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival presented A Majestic Evening at Ambar Fort as part of the ongoing literary extravaganza. Among the performances for the evening were "Les Souffleurs" or The Whisperers, an artistic group created by Olivier Comte, who enthralled audiences with a unique production where they whispered poetic secrets into their ears, using a hollow cane. Known across the world for their 'Poetic Commandos', in which they whisper literary, philosophical and poetic secrets into the ears of passers-by through long hollow canes, the artists have worked across the world with texts in various languages including- Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, Turkish, Romanian, Japanese and English. Nine of the 'whisperers' delighted audiences with a specially curated performance titled Jaan, an artistic exploration of India through selected texts of Indian poets. They are supported by Institute of Frances and Embassy of France. The evening, supported by the Department of Archaeology & Museum, Rajasthan Tourism featured diverse performances including Gaba, A Fashion Showcase celebrating conscious and sustainable living, East Marries West - A Legacy in tribute to the late Pandit Ravi Shankar and Kathak Parampara by Pandit Rajendra Gangani and the Gangani Project.

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