Jaipur Literary Festival 2023
With Anirudh Kanisetti
Photograph © Lanto Synge 2022
In January 2023, I attended the Jaipur Literature Festival to speak about my new book India: a History in Objects, which is distributed in India by Roli Books.
My first discussion was with the young historian of the Deccan, Anirudh Kanisetti. In it I was keen to demonstrate the importance of looking not only at the renowned and greatly studied subjects in Indian cultural history, but also those less well-known, all of which add to the total understanding of the subcontinent. Thus, Arunachal Pradesh as well as the Taj Mahal, and textiles as well as sculpture and paintings.
In the session with Pheroza Godrej, I’m showing the audience the new Amar Chitra Katha graphic book on Naval Godrej.
Photograph © Lanto Synge 2022
Later in the week, I interviewed friend and colleague Pheroza Godrej on the two recently-published graphic books in the Amar Chitra Katha series, concerning pioneering members of the Godrej family – firstly, Ardeshir and Pirojsha Godrej, and secondly, Naval Godrej. These representatives of the Parsi community in the 19th and 20th centuries demonstrate in a fascinating way the mechanics of commercial success and the way in which it meshed with nationalism.
‘The museums that make us’ panel discussion with Tristram Hunt, me, Andrew Logan, Jamie Andrews and Sanjoy Roy
Photograph © Lanto Synge 2022
Finally, I was part of a panel discussion entitled ‘The museums that make us’, moderated by the joint director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Sanjoy Roy. With me were the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Tristram Hunt; the artist and private museum curator, Andrew Logan; and the head of the British Library's cultural and Learning programme, Jamie Andrews. Perhaps inevitably the question of restitution came up, though just as important in this exchange were ideas about collaboration, joint research projects and co-operation.
The Festival is a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, hear new ideas, and to meet up with people from the past. In my case this included making contact again with Warwick Ball with whom I used to work in Afghanistan in the mid-1970s (see About). He was speaking about his new book The Eurasian Steppe: People, Movement, Ideas. The thousands of people attending the various parallel events and the extensive opportunities to see and acquire new books was really astonishing.
The Jaipur Literature Festival was both well-organised and exhilarating, an impressive combination. Run by the Teamworks group and three directors – Namita Gokhale, William Dalrymple and Sanjoy Roy – it is a remarkable testament to the continuing relevance of the published word.