Here’s help on how to navigate the hectic JLF 2016 schedule

Each year, the number of visitors swells, and the organisers bring in more and more speakers in an attempt to diversify discussions as much as possible.

Over the years, JLF has simultaneously incorporated music — and occasionally theatre — into its fold. This year again, the festival will host over 200 events in 10 venues, including the Music Stage at Clarks Amer, the Jaipur BookMark at Narain Niwas and two special evenings at Amber Fort and Albert Museum, JLN Marg on January 22-23, focused on bringing together built heritage and the creative arts for a dynamic cultural experience. There will be over 100 musicians performing at the various stages this year.

Opening the festival are local Rajasthani musicians Nathoo Solanki and Chugge Khan. For those who prefer the traditional touch, there’ll also be performances by Padma Shri Ustad Wasufuddin Dagar, Punjabi folk and jazz singer and sarangi player Amrit Kaur Lohia and Sufi singer Mukhtiyar Ali, to look forward to.

Audiences can also look forward to performance from the pioneers of the Indian electronica scene Midival Punditz, comprising Delhi-based duo, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. Joining them on the night of January 22 will be Skavengers whose melange of ska, rocksteady, dub, jazz and punk influences has seen their popularity skyrocketing.

Fusion band Mrigya, whose sound incorporates modern and contemporary elements enmeshed with classical Indian music, is slated for a performance on the next night. Joining them will be internationally celebrated fusion artist Karsh Kale, who is set to be a big draw among music junkies.

Sunday evening is set to witness one of country’s top fusion bands based Swarathma, in action. The Bangalore based band with a unique medley of sound rooted in Indian folk traditions while drawing on rock, blues and reggae motifs, will be the headlining act to close out the day.

But that’s the entertainment side. To get down to serious bookish business, if you’re wondering how to manage your schedule this year, then let’s help you out. Here are some speakers you should definitely not miss:

ALEKSANDER HEMON
Aleksandar Hemon is a Bosnian-American writer, essayist and critic. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003 and a ‘Genius Grant’ from the MacArthur Foundation in 2004. Hemon is the author of The Question of Bruno, Nowhere Man, The Lazarus Project, the short story collection, Love and Obstacles, and a collection of auto-biographical essays titled The Book of My Lives. His latest novel, The Making of Zombie Wars, was published in 2015.

Jan 21:
2.30pm (Baithak) The Lazarus Project: Aleksandar Hemon and Velibor Božović, moderated by Basharat Peer

STEPHEN FRY
Stephen Fry is an English writer, actor and comedian. Whilst at university, Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator and friend Hugh Laurie. The pair went on to work together on A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. Fry’s other acting roles include Melchett in the BBC comedy series Blackadder, a recurring guest role on the crime series Bones as well as roles in films such as Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and the Hobbit trilogy. He was the long-time host of the BBC quiz show QI up until late 2015. Fry has also written and presented several documentaries, including the Emmy Award-winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. As a writer, he has contributed columns and articles for numerous newspapers and magazines and is the author of four novels and three volumes of autobiography.

Jan 22:
11.10am (Front Lawns): Selfie: Stephen Fry, Helen Macdonald, Blake Morrison, Brigid Keenan, Christina Lamb and Esther Freud, moderated by Samanth Subramanian

Jan 23:
11.10 am (Front Lawns): The Fry Chronicles: Stephen Fry in conversation with Anindita Ghose
3.34 pm (Mughal Lawns): Fry on Wilde:Stephen Fry introduced by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH
Alexander McCall Smith is one of the best loved story tellers in the English language who has delighted readers across the world with his different series of novels: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency , 44 Scotland Street , The Sunday Philosophy Club , Corduroy Mansions, and theProfessor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainments. He is also Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Edinburgh and an amateur bassoonist, who co-founded The Really Terrible Orchestra.

Jan 21:
2.30pm (Front Lawns): The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon: Celebrating Alexander McCall Smith: Alexander McCall Smith in conversation with William Dalrymple

AMISH TRIPATHI
Described as ‘India’s first literary popstar’, Amish Tripathi’s unique combination of crackling storytelling, religious symbolism and profound philosophies have made him an overnight publishing phenomenon. His Shiva Trilogy has sold over 2.5 million print copies, making it the fastest-selling book series in Indian history. His latest book, Scion of Ikshvaku, is the first in the Ram Chandra series and was released in June 2015.

Jan 24:
10am (Front Lawns): Kaljayee: Time Travels with Amish: Amish Tripathi in conversation with Mohini Gupta and introduced by Bibek Debroy
4.45pm (Mughal Tent): Conversations at Jaipur: The Spirit of JLF: with Amish Tripathi, Bibek Debroy, Namita Gokhale, William Dalrymple, Urvashi Butalia and Sanjoy K. Roy

ANIL KUMBLE
Former Indian cricket team captain, the third highest wicket taker in Test cricket, reputed executive coach and public speaker, an astute entrepreneur and a wildlife conservation crusader, Padmashree Anil Kumble is among the most respected Indian icons. A highly regarded thought leader, Kumble understands the dynamics of becoming a champion. Drawing from his personal experiences, he consistently inspires, motivates and entertains audiences.

Jan 22:
12.25pm (Front Lawns): India at Play: Suresh Menon, Anil Kumble, Ronojoy Sen and Baichung Bhutia in conversation with Sidin Vadukut (Launch of Wisden India Almanak 2015)

ANOUSHEH ANSARI
Anousheh Ansari is the Co-Founder, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Prodea Systems. As she launched her new company on September 18, 2006, she also blasted off for an eight-day expedition aboard the International Space Station and captured headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. She also earned a place in history as the first astronaut of Iranian descent, the first Muslim woman, and the fourth private explorer to visit space. She has received multiple honours. She currently works to enable social entrepreneurs to bring about radical change globally with organisations such as ASHOKA, which supports social entrepreneurship around the world, including the Middle East and Central Asia.

Jan 25:
1.40pm (Charbagh): To the Stars and Back: Anousheh Ansari in conversation with Marie Brenner

ANURADHA ROY
Anuradha Roy’s latest book, Sleeping on Jupiter, was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. She won the Economist Crossword Prize for Fiction for her novel, The Folded Earth. Her first novel, An Atlas of Impossible Longing, has been widely translated and was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year in 2011 by The Washington Post and the Seattle Times. She works as a designer at Permanent Black, an independent publisher, which she runs with her husband, Rukun Advani.

Jan 21:
3.45pm (Mughal Tent): A Booker Bookshelf: Sunjeev Sahota, Anuradha Roy and Marlon James, in conversation with Anjum Hasan

Jan 22:
5.15pm (Mughal Tent): A Room of One’s Own: Ila Arab Mehta, Anuradha Roy, Ira Pande, Alka Saraogi and Ruby Hembrom, in conversation with Anjum Hasan

ATUL GAWANDE
Atul Gawande is a surgeon, professor, writer and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health as well as the Department of Surgery at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. In addition, he is Executive Director of Ariadne Labs, a joint centre for health systems innovation, founder and Chairman of the Lifebox Foundation, a non-profit reducing deaths in surgery globally. He is also a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of four bestselling books, most recently Being Mortal.

Jan 22:
12.25pm (Mughal Tent): The Healers: Ideas of Wellbeing: Gavin Francis, Aarathi Prasad, Atul Gawande moderated by Ashok Ferrey
3.45pm (Charbagh): Longform: Alex Shoumatoff, Raghu Karnad, Atul Gawande and Marie Brenner, moderated by Jonathan Shainin

Jan 23:
2.30pm (Mughal Tent): Being Mortal: Atul Gawande in conversation with Aarathi Prasad

CORNELIA FUNKE
Cornelia Maria Funke is a German author of children’s fiction. Funke is best known for her Inkheart trilogy, published in 2004–2008. Many of her books have now been translated into English. Her work fits mainly into the fantasy and adventure genres.

Jan 22:
11.10am (Samvad): Mirror World: Cornelia Funke in conversation with Anushka Ravishankar

Jan 23:
10am (Baithak): Bilingualities: Yoko Tawada, Cornelia Funke, Abdourahman A. Waberi and Ira Pande in conversation with Mohini Gupta

HOMI K BHABHA
Homi K. Bhabha is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities, Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center and Senior Advisor to the President and Provost at Harvard University. He is a leading cultural and literary theorist and the author of numerous works exploring postcolonial theory, cultural change and power, cosmopolitanism, human rights, and various other themes, including in his seminal work, The Location of Culture. His forthcoming books will include a collection of essays on contemporary diasporic artists and another on culture, security and globalisation. He has been published most recently in Critical Inquiry.

Jan 22:
10am (Charbagh): Total Recall: The End of Privacy: Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Dayanita Singh and Niyam Bhushan in conversation with Homi K. Bhabha and introduced by Namita Gokhale
3.45pm (Mughal Tent): The Honour Code: Kwame Anthony Appiah introduced by Homi K. Bhabha
5.15pm (Baithak): Midnight at the Museum: James Cuno with Irving Finkel, moderated by Homi K. Bhabha

JAMES SHAPIRO
James Shapiro is the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is the author of Rival Playwrights: Marlowe, Jonson, Shakespeare, Shakespeare and the Jews, Oberammergau: The Troubling Story of the World’s Most Famous Passion Play, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, which was awarded the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction, and Contested Will. His most recent book is The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606.

Jan 24:
11.10am (Mughal Tent): 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear: James Shapiro in conversation with Margreta de Grazi
12.25pm (Durbar Hall): Shakespeare in America: James Shapiro introduced by Basharat Peer

MARGARET ATWOOD
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include The Blind Assassin, winner of the Man Booker Prize, Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy, The Robber Bride, Cat’s Eye, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Penelopiad. Her MaddAddam trilogy, the Giller and Booker prize-nominated Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Floodand MaddAddam, is currently being adapted for HBO. Her latest publications include Stone Mattress: Nine Tales and The Heart Goes Last.

Jan 22:
10am (Front Lawns): The Heart Goes Last: Margaret Atwood in conversation with Naomi Alderman

Jan 23:
12.25pm (Charbagh): The Global Novel: Margaret Atwood, Colm Tóibín, Aleksandar Hemon, David Grossman, Sulaiman Addonia and Sunjeev Sahota moderated by Chiki Sarkar
MARLON JAMES
Marlon James was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His third novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, about the real-life assassination attempt on Bob Marley, won the 2015 Man Booker Prize and was a recipient of the 2015 American Book Award. James’ second novel, The Book of Night Women, won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award. His first novel, John Crow’s Devil, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, as well as a New York Times Editor’s Choice.

Jan 21:
3.45pm (Mughal Tent): A Booker Bookshelf: Sunjeev Sahota, Anuradha Roy and Marlon James, in conversation with Anjum Hasan
5.15pm (Charbagh): A Brief History of Seven Killings: Marlon James in conversation with Patrick French

Jan 22:
2.30pm (Baithak): From Jamaica to Zion: Kei Miller and Marlon James in conversation with Tishani Doshi

RUSKIN BOND
Born in Kasauli in 1934, Ruskin Bond grew up in Jamnagar, Dehradun, New Delhi and Shimla. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, written when he was seventeen, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novellas (some included in the collections Dust on the Mountains and Classic Ruskin Bond) and more than forty books for children.

Jan 22:
2.30pm (Samvad): Room on the Roof: Ruskin Bond in conversation with Hemali Sodhi and Udayan Mitra

VIVEK SHANBHAG
Vivek Shanbhag is a Kannada writer. He has published five short story collections, three novels and two plays, and has edited two anthologies. He published and edited the literary journal Desha Kaala. His critically acclaimed novel, Ghachar Ghochar, was translated into English by HarperCollins India in December 2015.

Jan 22:
12.25pm (Baithak): Bhasha: Freeing the Word: Dhruba Jyoti Borah, Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Anita Agnihotri and K. Satchidanandan in conversation with Vivek Shanbhag

With inputs from Anushree Mazumdar and PTI

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