JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2020

H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India announces India, guest of honour at the Paris book fair 2020 and the winners of the Romain Rolland Book Prize for literary translation 

 The Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, today announced that, as part of a reciprocal invitation, India is the guest of honour this year at Livre Paris (Paris Book Fair), while France will be the guest of honour at the New Delhi World Book Fair, January (2022). India was the Guest Country in Paris in 2002 and 2007 as well.

Leading and emerging Indian authors will be invited to Paris to meet readers, while publishing industry professional will consolidate the cooperation between France and India in this area during networking events.

H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, said ‘having India as a guest of Honour at Livre Paris is a great opportunity to bring our minds closer and understand each other better. The fair will give a boost to the translations and publications of Indian books by French publishers and to the dynamic network between the French and Indian publishing industries.”

Announcing the winner of the Romain Rolland Book Prize, awarding every year the best translation of a French title into any Indian language, including English,  H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain said, ‘Three years into the existence of the Romain Rolland Book Prize, we have seen some talented translators and publishers awarded for their works. This year, we received 7 titles including fiction and a comic series. I am glad to announce that out of the four short-listed works, the Franco-Indian jury selected this year: the first three albums of the Astérix series: Asterix and the Golden Sickle, Asterix and the Goths and Asterix the Gladiator, translated into Hindi by Dipa Chaudhuri and Puneet Gupta and published by Om Books. I understand that the translation of Asterix was not easy, the names of the characters being products of word play with references to French terms. The translators have indeed done an exceptional work of contextualising some of these names while staying true to its original meaning. It is amazing to see such a part of French heritage, a glimpse into the history of the country from where the language originates, now being available to Hindi readers.’

The announcement was made in presence of Jean-Claude Perrier, advisor on India to the SNE (Syndicat National de l’Edition Française, organisers of the Paris book fair),  Vera MichalskiHoffman, Publisher and President of the BIEF (International Bureau of French Publishers).

H.E. Emmanuel Lenain, along with Leila Slimani, novelist and French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal emissary for Francophone Affairs, conferred the prize on the translator and publisher in a special ceremony at Jaipur Book Mark.

Livre  Paris

The Paris Book Fair will take place from 20-23 March. It is both a popular fair, open to the larger public, with talks and book signing sessions, as well as a major meeting place for book and writing professionals. A truly international event, around 50 countries are represented. Last year, over 160 000 people visited the fair. 3900 authors and 34000 professionals were present.

Indian presence at the fair: 

• Around 30 Indian authors representing all linguistic regions of India are expected
• About 15 Indian publishers will participate in the 2 professional days on 18th and 19th March organised by the BIEF (International Bureau of French Publishers)
• Around 20 new Indian titles will be translated into French for the occasion and 15 books will get into reprint

Jean-Claude Perrier, literary advisor on the French side, is also planning to include debates on:

• The India of tomorrow : economy / development / ecology/climate
• Writing / Re-writing India’s history
• Indian Cities, inhabitable megacities? Special issue of French Revue Critique
• Tagore : a national monument (on the occasion of the publication of a Quarto/Gallimard of his works)  • Translation and adaptation of the Mahabharata (particularly to theatre/opera and comic books)
• The great Indian novel in the presence of the authors and / or their translators.

The fair will have a gastronomy and literature stand, on the initiative of Ms Priti Paul, Apeejay Group, sponsor of the Romain Rolland Prize and other literary and cultural events.

An Indian Moment

Livre Paris will be a special ‘Indian moment’ in France, with cultural and lecture side-programmes in libraries, bookshops and cultural landmarks in Paris and other cities in France. This Indian moment will go on after the Fair and will feature, among others:

• The festival of travel writing ‘Etonnants Voyageurs’, on the last weekend of May 2020, with at least half a dozen Indian guest authors
• ARSMONDO INDE: the festival organise by Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg will invite Indian authors invited from India and the UK

Organisation The National Book Trust (NBT) is the partner on the Indian side, and the SNE-REED (the French Publishers Association (SNE) along with its logistic partner REED) is the organiser on the French side.  The Indian Pavilion will be designed by the NID (National Institute of Design), Ahmedabad.

The curator is Jean-Claude Perrier, literary adviser for India, in coordination with the attaché for books at the French Institute in India, Christine Cornet.

The Romain Rolland Book Prize The Romain Rolland Book Prize aims at awarding the best translation of a French title into any Indian language, including English. The Indo-French jury takes into account the quality of the translation and the publication itself. The prize aims at encouraging and rewarding the efforts made by Indian publishers to bring the best of Francophone literature and thought, in all its diversity, to the Indian readership.

Launched during the 2018 Zee Jaipur Literature Festival as an annual event, the Prize is supported by Priti Paul through the Apeejay Trust. The award consists of an invitation to the Paris Book Fair

2019 in March for the publisher of the work and an invitation for the translator to attend a onemonth residency in France.

This year, the long list included, other than English titles, 1 Malayalam, 1 Tamil, 2 Hindi, and 1 Bengali title. The short list selected:   The first three albums of the Astérix series translated in Hindi by Dipa Chaudhuri & Puneet Gupta and published by OM Books  Chanson Douce , translated in Bengali by Trinanjan Chakraborty and published by Patra Bharati  Corps desirable, translated in Tamil by S.A. Vengada Soupraya Nayagar and published by Kalachuvadu Publications  Malentendu à Moscou, translated in Malayalam by Prabha R Chattergy and published by Green Books

This year’s winner

The translators: Dipa Chaudhuri, translator & Chief Editor at Om Books International & Puneet Gupta, translator, author and advertising professional   The publisher: Om Books International (OBI), a 60-year-old company, is one of the largest Englishlanguage trade publishers in the Indian subcontinent and has been a leading force in the Indian publishing and retail industry for several years. With 1600 titles in print, and several more in the pipeline, Om Books International has co-editions of its titles in over 28 languages.

The jury: For the third edition of the Romain Rolland Book Prize, the distinguished jury was composed of Annie Montaut, Michèle Albaret-Maatsch, Renuka Georges, Nalini Tampi, Sindhuja Veeraragavan and Chinmoy Guha.

Previous editions 

For its first edition, the award winning title was Main Gumshuda by Patrick Modiano (the publisher was Pranav Johri, from Rajpal and Sons, the translation of Rue des boutiques obscures into Hindi was by Monica Singh. In 2019, the Prize went to La vie d’un homme inconnu,  (The Life of an Unknown Man) by Andrei Makine, published in India by Kalachuvadu and translated into Tamil by S.R. Kichenamourty.

The Romain Rolland Prize is one of the actions of the French Institute in India in support of translations of French books in India. Another action includes the PAP (Publication Assistance Programme) Tagore. The French Institute in India also runs a special programme of training for translators.

It was an unusual interaction of FICCI Ladies Organisation’s (FLO) members with famous comedian Sunil Grover,favorite of millions across the world..
For the first time in history, the auditorium was filled with constant laughter and claps instead of formal and serious industry interactions. “A very good change and we should continue with it more often as it not only proved to be a stress buster but also allowed members to interact on a more social and friendly way”, said Harjinder Kaur Talwar, President, FLO.

 

Sharing his successful journey, Sunil Grover said, I am lucky to be doing what I love and being paid for it. And I love to do characters, be it a male or female, that’s immaterial”.

Sunil said he was delighted to be called out for the event and thanked FLO President, Harjinder Kaur Talwar. The auditorium was filled with women members of all age and they were all seen laughing their lungs out on Sunil Grover’s jokes. While interacting With the members, he commented, “I feel I am 50 percent of you” and the hall burst out laughing. It was indeed a unique evening at FLO.

Present among them were Abha Dalmia, Neena Malhotra, Mukta Jain, Priyanka Malhotra, Archna Luthra, etc

A musical odyssey of variety, discovery and collaboration

Venue-Hotel Clarks Amer

Jaipur Music Stage celebrates the world of music with exciting collaborations between diverse artistes transcending borders, genres and prejudices. The Festival has become one of Jaipur’s landmark music destinations, which was evidenced by the huge crowds that thronged to the Festival. The Jaipur Music Stage runs parallel to the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival and is the place to in the after-hours of the literary carnival. And judging by the number of music-lovers who visited the Jaipur Music Stage last night, news about its musical word has spread.

The gates opened as the sun went down, and the gorgeous lawns of the Hotel Clarks Amer were filled with the energy of hundreds of people who had come to rock out to the tunes of the exciting lineup of musicians. This year, the focus is on exploring unique sounds as well as allowing the audience the opportunity to experience new genres of music from India and around the world.

Highlights

• Celebrating the world of music, the Jaipur Music Stage kicked-off in style
• Performance by Rajasthan Josh -a world music band featuring traditional folk musicians who are renowned for their passionate and energetic performances
• Day 1 of the Jaipur Music Stage got underway with scintillating performances from Grammy winner Ricky Kej and folk musicians The Rajasthan Josh Qawwali Experience
• The Night Bazaar had on display an array of goodies for everyone to take home

The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival entered its 13^th year on a chilly Jaipur morning today with all of its characteristic joie de vivre intact. Early risers flocked to grab seats at the NEXA Front Lawn of the Diggi Palace Hotel, which itself was dressed in its colourful best and reverberated with heady beats from dhaaks and nagadas with its extravagant way of presentation, and listened to their favourite speakers – icons, writers and performers. Attendees were welcomed by much fanfare as life-sized puppets paved the way to the NEXA Front Lawn.

Gandhi’s message was showcased by renowned puppeteer, Dadi Pudumjee as he presented an excerpt from his celebrated production, ‘Images of Truth’.  The Mumbai-based classical vocalist, Nirali Kartik took the stage by storm with Raga Gurjari Todi. She sang two bandish – Meri Akhiyaan Lage and Bhor Bhayee, followed by Mero Allah Meherbaan in Raga Bhairav – one of the masterpieces of the Legendary Pt. Jasraj Ji.

Music led the way to the inaugural session of the iconic Festival’s 13^th edition which was graced by the Honourable Chied Minister, Key Note Speakers Marcus du Sautoy and Shubha Mudgaln and Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple.

At the inaugural, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot said, “I was the Chief Minister when the festival began and so I’ve seen it from its first year. Namita Gokhale, Sanjoy K. Roy and William Dalrymple have done an exceptional job at curating the Jaipur Literature Festival which has put Jaipur on the world map”

The session after the inaugural took us to the world of theatre in New York City of the 1940s, a story of showgirls, playboys, actresses and dancers. Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest novel, City of Girls, has a set of wanton and promiscuous young women who behave with incredible sexual recklessness and reap its consequences. The Guardian thinks of the book to be an “eloquently persuasive treatise on the judgment and punishment of women, and a heartfelt call to reclaim female sexual agency”.

The Festival’s first day focused on sessions which explored a woman’s right to be free of every societal stereotype including sexual freedom and finding her identity in non-conventional lifestyles. When Franco-Moroccan novelist, Leila Slimani, author of the powerfully unconventional Adèle, was in conversation with the art-writer and curator, Avni Doshi, she stated tellingly that some women want to be just objects! “All my books are fairy-tales!’’ said Slimani as she talked about the French title of her book: Dans le jardin de l’ogre (A Doll in an Ogre’s Garden).  “Adèle wants to be an object, a doll.” A doll who wants men to tell her what to do. Slimani said that this book was written out of the fascination that she has towards the phenomenon of addiction. Adèle is addicted to sex and her husband, who is a doctor, thinks of her as a patient with a scope of being cured. He holds onto this hope since he loves her so much; he knows there is a mystery behind her, but he chooses not to face it.

One of India’s highest selling English fiction authors, Ashwin Sanghi, launched his book The Vault of Vishnu through Sonali Bendre Behl at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2020. Keeping in line with his exciting amalgamation of myth and history, Ashwin unveiled the book as the sixth addition in his Bharat series.

To Brexit or to not? This crucial question which can alter the trajectory of Europe’s history has currently gripped Britain’s economy in a chokehold. Unlike all the high politics that usually surrounds the discourse on Brexit, Fintan O’ Toole, an award-winning Irish journalist chose a departure from the usual Brexit narrative in the session, and did not shy away from throwing in a few humorous punches. In a frank conversation with well-known journalist Suhasini Haider he chose to focus on a cultural as well as historical analysis of Brexit, and the very real vulnerabilities that the decision to go along with it posits.  Suhasini began the discussion with a set of unsettling questions. “What drove the UK to tear itself apart?” “Will the world ever be the same post-Brexit?” “What on earth do prawn-flavoured chips have to do with the price of eggs?” As she asked these, as the audience laughed in agreement. Fintan O’ Toole helped break down the narrative that has consciously served as a political justification in favour of the move. He believes that most people do not understand the ways in which it can play out. He quipped that “Brexit is like the revolt of an imaginary oppression and the only thing you can get out of it, is imaginary freedom.”

In a session titled “Food for Thought: Gastronomy and Literature” at Jaipur BookMark, the B2B section of the Festival, renowned food & and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey said,” There’s no such thing as curry – no Indian will know what you’re talking about if you use that word.”  The word kills the individuality of every unique dish and flavour from different parts of India, according to her. She said she resisted the word for 30 years, but publishers wanted books about curry, so she eventually had to give in.

In another session at Jaipur BookMark, public librarian Aspen Walker referred to her work with the Boulder Colorado library to outline some ideas for what a library should do. The Boulder Colorado library functions not only as a collection of books but also as a space for exhibitions, cultural activities and social interactions. She quoted library science expert S.R. Ranganathan to say that “libraries are a growing organism”. According to her, the cells of this organism are the people who visit it. Thus, the library must always attempt to reach out to people and involve them in its activities. Modern libraries indeed do face multifaceted challenges. University of Chicago Press Director Alan Thomas described the library at the University of Chicago as a very important physical space where people do not just come to read. They come for coffee dates, seminars and to gaze at artwork. Despite the library being an important part of the cultural life at the university, Thomas said that it is increasingly “endangered by private forces” in the publishing industry.

The fifth edition of this prestigious “Mahakavi KanhaiyaLal Sethia Award for Poetry” has been awarded to Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, a well-known name to readers of contemporary literature. The award was presented to Mehrotra by Hon.Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. This is Sethiaji’s 100th Birth Centenary Year.

In the session “Darjeeling Express: Of Food and Friendship”, well known chef said, “Cooking was traditionally undervalued and considered inferior because it was the women who undervalued herself.”

A series of soulful poetry readings were presented to the audience, relishing the magic of metres. Poets from all walks of life narrated their lines with enthusiasm and zeal.

Nandita Das was in a conversation with Kaveree Bamzai in a session Dedicated to Manto. Manto & I is a book of images and words that traces the journey of making Nandita Das’ film, Manto, a compelling biopic on one of the subcontinent’s most fiery and controversial writers, Saadat Hasan Manto. She has candidly shared not just her creative but also her emotional, socio-political and spiritual experiences of the six years spent with the film.

In the session “The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World” presented by Aga Khan Foundation, author Peter Frankopan said, ‘’From European mentality, people love the Silk Roads because for them, they instantly think about British spies or people working for the state, or arriving in Bukhara in the 1840s and being beheaded in the town-square…From a Chinese perspective, the Silk Roads talks about not just about the modern world but it talks about the old world of Tang and Sung dynasty, when China was much more connected to its Western neighbours…The Iranians think they invented the Silk Roads…It takes the society from Africa to Europe to Central Asia to South Asia…It speaks of a world interconnected a long time ago before the Modern Age.”

In his keynote address on Independent Publishing at JBM Haweli, Michael Dwyer said, “As independent publishers, develop niches but do not become slaves to them.”

The fist day of the Festival ended with announcing the winner of the Romain Rolland Book Prize, awarding every year the best translation of a French title into any Indian language, including English,  H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain said, ‘Three years into the existence of the Romain Rolland Book Prize, we have seen some talented translators and publishers awarded for their works. This year, we received 7 titles including fiction and a comic series. I am glad to announce that out of the four short-listed works, the Franco-Indian jury selected this year: the first three albums of the Astérix series: Asterix and the Golden Sickle, Asterix and the Goths and Asterix the Gladiator, translated into Hindi by Dipa Chaudhuri and Puneet Gupta and published by Om Books. I understand that the translation of Asterix was not easy, the names of the characters being products of word play with references to French terms. The translators have indeed done an exceptional work of contextualising some of these names while staying true to its original meaning. It is amazing to see such a part of French heritage, a glimpse into the history of the country from where the language originates, now being available to Hindi readers.’

23rd January 2020; Mumbai: Oscar season is officially underway and Star movies is all set to bring you the most awaited award show in the world, the 92nd Oscars on 10th Feb, 2020. It will be aired simultaneously on Star Movies and Star Movies Select HD. The channel has been the official home of the Oscars® in India for more than two decades and like every year, this year too, millions of movie lovers across the country can watch the Red carpet revelry and glamorous ceremony live, courtesy of Star Movies.

As a countdown to Oscars, the channel brings to you an iconic collection of Oscar-winning movies every Mon-Fri at 7 PM from 27th Jan to 28th Feb. Star Movies will keep the audiences glued to their television screens on Saturday evenings with some of the recent Oscar blockbusters including Bohemian Rhapsody which premiered recently on the channel, The Favourite where Olivia Colman delivered a knockout performance and took home the Academy Award Actress in a Leading Role and the likes from 8th Feb to 28th Feb at 7 PM.

Every year, Oscar marks the climax of award show season and has always caught the viewer’s eye. Almost every year there is nail-biting tension around nominees, winners or celebrities in attendance. Like last year, the 92nd Academy Awards will be going host-less.

The biggest event in showbiz has recently announced Nominations in all 24 categories. Among the 2020 Oscar nominees, Joker received the most nominations with 11, including nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, and Directing. Other Oscars 2020 nominees with multiple nominations include The Irishman, 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with 10 nominations and Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, Marriage Story and Parasite with 6.

So grab a strong cup of coffee and enjoy the biggest Red Carpet event live 10^th Feb, Monday morning 5:30 AM only on Star Movies!  And the Oscars goes to…! 

Kochi: Evergreen Systems, an industry leader in innovative HVAC practices, was a joint winner of the REFCOLD EMERSON Awards in the Innovative Refrigeration Products Category. The award was announced at the REFCOLD India International Exhibition and Conference, which was held at the Hitex Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad, from 21-23 November, 2019. Evergreen Systems won the award for their state-of-the-art Fan-less Finless Cooling Tower with no metallic parts.

Their chillers, which are currently in use in several aquaculture facilities across the country, are made with titanium coils, which make them resistant to corrosion from seawater. The cooling towers of the chillers contain no metallic parts, are easy to install and do not require maintenance. The absence of fans and motors makes them extremely power-efficient. The tower utilizes corrosion-free UPVC materials for the distribution of water. The distributor core assembly with PVC spray nozzles, which is normally supported on FRP-coated metal frameworks, has been replaced with RCC-filled ASTM pipes, thereby eliminating chances of corrosion. The company creates customized online versions of the chillers. The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) in Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Orissa and Vishakhapatnam currently use Evergreen Systems’ seawater chillers in their facilities.

Over the past 20 years, Evergreen Systems has successfully tackled some of the most challenging HVAC projects, from creating an underground pipe network for a seven-star resort project to installing systems for seawater temperature regulation to breed marine life in research labs and breeding centres. Spearheading this standard for the company is its Founder and Director, Vinod T Oommen. Some of Evergreen Systems’ recent clients in HVAC include Abad Hotels and Resorts, Kitex garments, Cochin International Airport, Raviz hotels, Renai Medicity, The Banyan Tree Hotels, Mini Muthoottu, Nitta Gelatin, Le Meridian, Radisson Blue Hotel, the Holiday Inn and Rajagiri Hospital. The company’s commitment to delivering the best possible outcome by way of understanding the dynamics and intricacies of the various industries it caters to has made a real difference to its clients. This culture of constant innovation has made Evergreen Systems a preferred partner when it comes to implementing projects that require superior skills. Among a generation of businesses that talk only in terms of cost, Mr. Oommen and his team have been able to hold their ground championing quality, environmental sustainability and customer satisfaction.