Delhi: The much-anticipated 19th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival opened today at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur, bringing together some of the most influential voices from literature, politics, media, and culture across India and the world. Presented by Vedanta and produced by Teamwork Arts, the Festival will run till 19th January 2026, continuing its legacy as a vibrant platform for dialogue, debate, and the free exchange of ideas. The opening day set the tone for five days of thought-provoking conversations, powerful storytelling, and meaningful engagement with contemporary issues.
In the traditional beginning of the Festival Morning Music, supported by Infosys Foundation, Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath and Rithvik Raja led a five-piece Carnatic music ensemble that blended classical rigour with quiet imagination. With Sayee Rakshith on violin, Praveen Sparsh on mridangam, and Skanda Manjunath on ghatam, the meditative performance created a calm, immersive tone for the day’s dialogue and discovery.
The opening day featured a keynote address by Banu Mushtaq, followed by inaugural addresses by writers and Festival Co-directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, and Festival Producer Sanjoy K. Roy. A traditional lamp-lighting ceremony marked an auspicious start in the presence of Rajasthan’s Hon’ble Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Deputy Chief Ministers Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa. Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, reflected on the Festival’s journey from Diggi Palace to its current global presence across nine cities, highlighting its engagement with contemporary themes such as artificial intelligence. Festival Co-director and author Namita Gokhale welcomed the audience, acknowledging writers from across India and the world, representing diverse languages and literary traditions. In his Keynote address, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Bhajan Lal Sharma, spoke about Rajasthan’s rich cultural heritage, noting, “The Jaipur Literature Festival is not merely an event; it is a celebration of ideas, a confluence of words, and a bridge of dialogue between cultures.”
Gokhale added, “In this bright sunshine, in the month of Magh, when fluttering kites reach for freedom as our minds do, the Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 carries the spontaneity and spunk that mark every edition. We have whimsy, opinions, counter opinions…every year brings its own magic, yet the spirit remains unchanged, a joyous curiosity.” Historian and Festival Co-director, William Dalrymple, in his address, emphasised how the festival has grown enormously in the past 19 years,
and said: “There is a reason why this Festival has taken root in quite the spectacular fashion that it has…sometimes half a million people turn up to hear writers speak about books.”
The opening session featured International Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq in conversation with Moutushi Mukherjee. Mustaq emphasised writing as an act of survival and resistance in societies marked by inequality and erasure. Framing literature as inseparable from life, she noted that her accolades, including the International Booker Prize 2025, reinforce her social responsibility. She advised young writers: “Don’t just plan writing, start writing. Write, Write, and Write.”
Legendary poet, lyricist, and public intellectual Javed Akhtar drew packed audiences in Javed Akhtar: Points of View, in conversation with Warisha Farasat, sharing the changes in post-independent cultures, the middle class in India, and the role of writers and poets in society. To the young minds present in the audience, he said that there will always be people in the world who are better than you. His guiding words of encouragement urged them to look within themselves for inspiration instead of competing with others.
In a session where global histories and shared futures formed the focus of Coexistence: How Arabs and Jews Can Live Together, featuring historians Ussama Makdisi, Noa Avishag Schnall, and Avi Shlaim, in conversation with William Sieghart, the panelists offered perspectives on memory, reconciliation, and coexistence.
Among other highlight sessions was The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, where Booker Prize-winning author Kiran Desai was in conversation with Nandini Nair. Desai spoke about her Booker shortlisted novel, offering rare insight into her writing life, creative discipline, and the emotional core of the book. The session moved fluidly between craft, memory, and the many meanings of loneliness that shape Desai’s fiction.
The Festival also hosted The Undying Light: India’s Futures, featuring diplomat and author Gopalkrishna Gandhi in conversation with Narayani Basu, offering a deeply reflective exploration of India’s moral imagination, democracy, and the road ahead. At a session on his new remarkable memoir, ‘The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India,’ Gandhi commented on how he committed himself to truth and honesty through the course of writing. Speaking of his associations with esteemed personalities such as M.S. Subbulakshmi, a most sensitive singer, Gandhi talked about how she personified sorrow and sublimity on stage, the former that was part of her life and the latter that she brought through her music. The Festival also witnessed notable FIRST EDITION book launches. A Statesman and a Seeker: The Life and Legacy of Dr Karan Singh by Harbans Singh was launched by Namita Gokhale, William Dalrymple, and Sanjoy K. Roy, followed by a conversation between Dr Karan Singh and Harbans Singh, moderated by Ravi Singh.
Another much-anticipated launch was The Art of Being Fabulous by Shalini Passi, who was in conversation with Ruchika Mehta, offering reflections on creativity, self-expression, and contemporary culture. In Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu, media pioneer and MTV co-founder Tom Freston spoke with journalist Saad Mohseni, sharing insights from a life shaped by global media, cultural exchange, and storytelling across borders, Freston recounted stories from the iconic “I want my MTV” campaign with David Bowie, his experience owning a clothing business in India and Afghanistan, launching Comedy Central, and even creating advertising for a toilet paper company.
Issues of credibility and truth in the digital age were addressed in The Seven Rules of Trust, where Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, was in conversation with journalist Anita Anand, discussing transparency, accountability, and the evolving nature of information. Wales discussed the role of social media algorithms in amplifying hostility by promoting aggressive and emotionally charged content, framing political disagreement as a moral threat rather than a democratic difference. Despite these challenges, he expressed cautious optimism, emphasising that societies have historically managed ideological differences through compromise when systems are perceived as fair.
Day 2 of the world’s most iconic celebration of words and perspectives will feature sessions on Lightning Kid, featuring Viswanathan Anand in conversation with Rahul Bhattacharya, and A Bit of Fry, with Stephen Fry in conversation with Anish Gawande. The forthcoming days will be an exhilarating space for inspiration and debate in the heart of the Pink City, where the world has gathered to carry forward the spirit of books, camaraderie and cultural connection.
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