Jaipur BookMark 2020
Inaugural Day Deep Dives Into Publishing Industry Trends
Bejewelled and turbaned, with characteristic flourish, vibrant Rajasthani musicians escorted guests arriving at the Durbar Hall, Diggi Palace to the inaugural event of Jaipur BookMark 2020. The auspicious sound of the conch shell heralded the opening even as H. E Jakob Frydenlund, Ambassador of Norway, Namita Gokhale and Neeta Gupta, Co-Directors of Jaipur BookMark, Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and Producer of Jaipur BookMark, Urvashi Butalia and Aditi Maheshawri Goyal lit the ceremonial lamp to open the festival.
Remarking on the lucky quality of the number 7, Jaipur BookMark Co-director Neeta Gupta welcomed all speakers and guests to the 7th edition of the Jaipur BookMark.
Jaipur BookMark Co-director Namita Gokhale highlighted the fact that the publishing industry and book trade have always been at core of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival from the time of its inception 13 years ago and that Jaipur BookMark was established to give particular focus to this key idea. In his inaugural address, Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director Teamwork Arts and Producer Jaipur BookMark, discussed the ways in which literature and translations make other languages accessible. The future of publishing, as he sees it, lies in translations, in bringing to readers stories that we wouldn’t have access to otherwise. This acquires even more significance in this era of migration and movement, when stories that root us help us reconnect and rediscover. Ambassador Jakob Frydenlund discussed the issues of promoting small languages in a big world and the importance of translations, not just to English but to other languages as well. Reflecting on the similar sound of the Norwegian word “sammen (together) and the Hindi word “samman” (respect), Frydenlund said JBM was an event that brought people together with respect.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY…
- Keynote Address by Jo Lendle on publishing for the 2020 decade
- Discussions on booksellers, children’s publishing, digital publishing, translations and cross-border literature
- Launch of the Hindi translation of 12 contemporary plays by Norwegian playrwright Ibsen, translated by Astri Ghosh
- Vani Distinguished Translator Award 2020 was presented by the Vani Foundation to writer, translator and literary historian Dr. Rakshanda Jalil
Photocaption –
Image 1 – From Session – Translating National Narratives – Nita Gupta, Arun Maheshwari, Namita Gokhale, Rakhshanda Jalil, Oskar Pujol, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Sundeep Bhutoria (R to L)
Image 2 – From Session – The Heart of a Bookstore – Rick Simonson, Priyanka Malhotra, Arsen Kashkashian, Shuchi Saraswat and Jeff Deutsch, and Shuchi (L to R)
