Mizerum, a state on a remote northeast of India that divides borders with Bangladesh and Mjanmar, has one. Surat, a city that is best known for its diamonds and textiles, has one. Bengalur, a technological center in the country with a hip touch, has one. Kolkat, whose residents take their reputation seriously for an erudition, has at least three.
And here is the big one: the Jaipur Literary Festival, which calls itself the “biggest literary show on Earth”, and recently celebrated its 18th year.
Although India may seem from Bollywood, crickets and telephone screens, literary festivals bloom, gathering readers and writers in the cities of the hills and rural communities, under the cover of the seams on the beach or inside the palace.
Some of the festivals, like the one in Jaipur, are attracted to tens of thousands of people. The Mizerum Festival, which was first held in October in Aizawl, the capital of the state, was a more intimate affair with about 150 guests.
The boom was run by young people who, in the land of dozens of languages, are increasingly reading the literature in their gender languages, along with books written in English. For these readers, books open worlds that the Indian Higher Education System, with a focus on a long-term preparation for Make-or Break testing, often does not do so.
The appeal of the event spread because the organizers began to promote Indian writing in languages that are not English. The five -day Jaipur Festival, which focused almost completely on English, has invited more authors in recent years who have been writing in languages such as Telug and Malayale, two South Indian languages.
Namita Gokhale, the author and co-founder of the Jaipur Fair, an increase in festivals aimed at books-some estimates now have as many as 150-signalize a more confident nation.
“There is a new generation, people who are more naturally bilingual,” said Mrs. Gokhale. “Love and respect for their mother tongue returns.”
The festival season usually runs from October to March, when the weather is comfortable in most of the country. Most of them are free to attend. For students, there are places to explore new topics, get to know your favorite author, or simply check the scene.
From books on self-impotection like James Clear “Atomic Habits” to the best-selling debut novel by Ravi Mantra, who writes in Telug, young people read. And they are eager to expand – and advertise – their literary experiences, winding through the stands of the festival, attending the panel discussion and often publish their intellectual “loan” on social media.
“It is a badge of status for many,” said Harish Bhat, the author, and earlier top director of Marketing at Dad Sons, an Indian conglomerate, who has attended at least 15 literature festivals in the past decade.
Readers such as Neellam Srvanovani, a 23-year-old management student, are at the core of events. In January, Mrs. Shitovani attended all four days of the Kerali Literature Festival held in the beach town of Kozhikoda, “Purely for the love of books.”
However, she came with a plan, choosing a panel discussion based on the author she most wanted to hear and carefully explore her choices to make her questions “depth”. Listening to Nobel laureates, two of which were at the Kerala Festival, was of particular interest.
The festival began in 2016, when his founder, Ravi Decee, a DC Books management partner, who published literary works in Malayalam, gathered a small army of volunteers to clean the beach parts at which the garbage was rejected to host the gathering of readers and writers.
Most of the festival participants are young people. “That’s a promising thing,” Mr. Deecee said.
This year, half of the 354 sessions of the festival were spent in Malayalam, and the rest in English and other languages, including French.
Literary classics in regional languages are not the only ones sold; The new writing also has a moment.
In 2023, Mr. Mantri, a author who writes in Telug, published his first book, a love story called “A few pages from his mother’s diary”, expecting to sell several hundred copies. His publisher of Swetha Yerram from Aja Publications says he has sold more than 185,000 copies after young readers have created meme about how the book has moved them. Based on her sales analyzes, most of his readers are between 25 and 35. This year it will be translated into English and other Indian languages.
Mr. Mantri, who left the job of a business analyst in Dublin to continue his literary career, embodies an aspiratory Indian for a growing middle class in the country – a successful professional who is at home in the world and proud of his roots.
“No matter how far you travel, your mother tongue keeps you rooted,” he said. “It’s the only language you can talk to your mom, it brings you home.”
Mr. Mantri said he had received a daily email from readers who first said they had touched a little other than academic texts before picked up by his novel. His book, he said, acted as an entrance to Teluga Literature – and literature wider.
“Reading is addiction,” he said. “If you start reading, you can’t stop at one.”
Prarthana Manoj, a 24-year-old who moderated the plates and volunteered at literature festivals, said the young students were more curious about topics such as class, caste and gender.
“Even if they haven’t read much, they try to be more inclusive,” Mrs. Manu said. “They have these true questions, and you are like, okay, this is a wonderful crowd.”
Many organizers have borrowed the book of the Jaipur Festival, which includes a panel discussion, a book signing, a festival bookstore and other cultural events, but they put their own spin on it.
The four -year -old Shillong Literary Festival, in the picturesque northeast state of Meghalay, celebrates local poetry and traditional storytelling of indigenous communities, with the background of cherry flowers. Wayadan, a district in the South Indian State of Kerala, is different by hosting the Indian “largest festival rural held”. The Vidarbha Literary Festival in the city of Nagpur in the Western State of Maharashtra says that “it is dedicated to exclusively by non -physical writing in English in India.”
Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, a risk capitalist and co -founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival, said that the fairs were removed after the governments and cultural organizations accepted them as a way to depict regional writing and culture. “People saw the credit for the model,” he said.
For the festival in Mizerum, in a hilly and wooded northeast, the intention was to hold it to a small and invite people to explore the history and culture of the state, which in India has the second largest literacy rate.
The event connected the well -known literary figures among the mizo ethnic group with an audience to a large extent, and he introduced others to the language and complexity of the region, said Sanoyoy Hazarika, a journalist and author who helped compile the festival.
It was “and staring inwards and reaching out,” Mr. Hazarika said.
For authors, book festivals are a gift. They have the opportunity to talk about their work on stage, meet fans and fellow writers and sign books.
At the Jaipur Festival, fans of the author of Sudha Murty stood in order more than an hour to have their copies of their new book. Mrs. Murty’s wife is NR Narayana Murthy, co-founder of billionaire Infosys, and mother-in-law Rishishi Sutak, a former British Prime Minister, who were both in the audience.
Many authors, especially those with new books, eventually jump from the festival to the festival. Mr. Bhat, former Daddy Director Sons, said he had attended festivals in Bengaluru, Kozhikodu and Jaipur in the last six months to promote his book, “Jamsetj Dad: strong learning for corporate success”, which he wrote.
“I feel a bit like a nomad, but a happy nomad, who goes from one festival to another,” said Mr. Bhat.
