3 min readJan 27, 2026 07:24 PM IST
First published on: Jan 16, 2026 at 12:23 AM IST
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, the same is true for Rajasthan with its sprawling forts, deserts, and the opening act of its famous literature festival. The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF 2026) kicked off with giant katputlis (puppets) in full Rajasthani regalia, swaggering in on stilts, and welcoming guests with dance and song. Rubbing shoulders with a star-studded cosmopolitan guest list from across the world, they made it impossible to forget that one was in Rajasthan. The jovial puppets were escorted by hulking camels of dinosaur proportions, and the wail of bagpipes (not the ones from the Scottish Highlands, before one cries foul!).
Where’s Waldo, aka Kiran Desai
But the real headliner was the festival’s own version of Where’s Waldo? Or rather ‘Where’s Kiran?’ By 11:30 am, the hall was crammed to the rafters. All for Kiran Desai, Booker-winning author, who is famously elusive. The printed schedule (₹30, non refundable!) promised her at high noon.
Noon struck. No Kiran. Instead, the audience listened politely as speeches continued, one by one by the organisers and then the Chief Minister himself, while whispers rippled through the crowd as the seconds ticked and schedules were checked with increasing agitation. Eventually, word spread that Desai’s session had been moved to 3 pm, according to the online programme. There was mild disappointment, some confusion, and one consolation: at least the Chief Minister got to address a standing-room-only hall, an honour many novelists might envy.
Who erased Everett?
But the main event in literary hide-and-seek was reserved for Percival Everett. His name had been nestled among the stars, a major coup! The author of James, the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning retelling of Huckleberry Finn, that had everyone talking about race, identity, and American irony. The literati, a proactive bunch, scrambled. Copies of James were ordered for friends and family, prepped for signing, ready to be touched by the hand that rewrote a classic. But, then news broke out about him not attending the festival. The whispers turned from “Where’s Kiran?” to “Who erased Everett?” The eventual, underwhelming reveal was that Everett was supposed to come to Jaipur, but had pulled out, it was unclear why and when.
Puppet dance at the inaugural session of Jaipur Literature Festival at Clarks Amer in Jaipur on Thursday. Express (Photo by Rohit Jain Paras) 
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