Aurosmita Acharya
Namita Gokhale’s Jaipur Journals, published by Penguin Viking India, comes forward as an ode to litterateurs, set on the backdrop of India’s biggest annual literary festival – Jaipur Literature Festival – held between January 23 and 27.
Gokhale is a writer, publisher and festival director.
Author of 18 works of fiction and non-fiction, she is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival and of Mountain Echoes, the Bhutan Literature Festival.
She is also the director of Yatra Books, a publishing house specializing in translation.
Her experience as a writer, organizer and understanding of the varied emotions of a writer is greatly reflected in her characters in Jaipur Journals.
The book is not only about the writers and the written word, but showcases the whirlwind of emotions that writers experience in their careers.
In the larger context, it also elaborates the complexities of human relationships and essential human behaviour – experienced by genders during different phases of life – good and bad, success and failure.
All the characters featured in the book, from septuagenarian Rudrani Rana to Raju and Anirban have been uniquely portrayed. Their narrative makes Jaipur Journals the perfect representation of a colourful and vibrant Jaipur Literature Festival.
Namita Gokhale has brought to life some unforgettable characters that portray the innocent vulnerabilities of human nature.
The term ’Sahitya ka Kumbh’ has been aptly coined by Gokhale to explain the pilgrimage that Jaipur Literature festival turned out to be for the writers at large and the labyrinth of emotions it brings forth in the five days.
(The reviewer is a New Delhi based freelance journalist writing on cultural affairs)
