Spectacle around the Written Word

The rising number and scale of literature festivals in the country shows that while they may or may not make great business, their popularity is unmistakable

- Ankita Mookherjee

 

India’s tryst with literary gatherings can be traced back to ancient times when people gathered to listen to discourses by learned peers. So, it was only a matter of time before someone sniffed the potential of literature festivals in the country. The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) marked the beginning of the era of literary gatherings in India with its debut in 2006.

Now a literary extravaganza, JLF had quite a modest beginning with participation of about 18 writers and 100 attendees. While the footfall runs into six-digit figures now, the festival also has a significant digital presence, with over 25 million digital views in 2023, as per the JLF website.

JLF may not be representative of all literature festivals in the country—few can claim to be anywhere close to it—but it did pave the way for others. Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Ahmedabad and several other places have already been hosting their own literature festivals.

Over the years, literature festivals have transformed themselves as spaces that offer an enhanced sensory experience, rich with possibilities of dialogues, tête-a-tête with glitterati and Instagrammable settings, unlike the usual book fairs which are primarily focused on sales. “Book fairs are organised with the primary objective of sales, showcasing the widest range of books for distributors, students and wholesalers to make purchases. Literature festivals revolve around starting a dialogue and showcasing the literary prowess. They showcase an author and celebrate their work, scaling up the way in which they are conversing about their ideas,” says Pallavi  Narayan, divisional lead for corporate communications at publishing house Penguin Random House India. Book fairs these day     ons and discussions around their books, but literature fests offer something else, she adds.