William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale pull off a spectacular JLF 2025
A lot of books unfolded into rich stories
For those who haven’t experienced it, a literature festival is like a giant book party: writers show off their books, fans rush to meet their favourite authors and snap selfies, publishers hustle to sell as many books as possible, and chai/coffee/food vendors profit by catering to the melee. I usually write a news story every Friday, but today I’m switching gears. This post dives into last week’s extravaganza—India’s biggest literary circus, the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).
Here’s a snapshot of what the JLF looks like. The event runs for five days in Jaipur, and this year over 300 authors attended. (I browsed the list to see how many names I recognised and had to give up after just the names starting with A—there were 48!) There are five to six sessions running in parallel in different rooms, with each session featuring an author (or a group of authors) discussing their book(s). Some sessions may not be centred around a book, but about a topic (e.g. the war in Gaza, travel experiences).
At the JLF 2025, every session had a sign-language interpreter. Alongside the speakers on stage, was a sign-language interpreter for the deaf.
Books that stood out at this year’s JLF
Hundreds of books were showcased and celebrated at the JLF this year. Seven books, in particular, stood out to me, and I’m excited to share them here. Many of these focus on history as a central theme. Perhaps it’s because our own history textbooks are often poorly written, or maybe because history is simply a collection of fascinating stories. Whatever the reason, these books have captured our attention more than others.
Book 1. Nalanda - How it changed the world
Author: Abhay K.
Panel Speakers: Abhay K., William Dalrymple and Shailendra Raj Mehta
Did you know that the architecture of Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard universities is believed to have been inspired by Nalanda, an ancient Indian university (it is in modern day Bihar)? If you compared photos of their layouts—featuring residential and educational buildings with courtyards in front—you can’t miss the striking similarities. Here are a couple of interesting trivia from his book.
Nalanda may have introduced the very concept of a university to the world. Until then, individuals learned from local teachers—and that was that. Nowhere else did large groups of like-minded people come together to learn from a diverse set of teachers and interact with one another. (Imagine a world where teenagers didn’t hang out in the local canteen, library, or sports ground!)
Nalanda boasted a library that spanned over nine floors. But, but, but, if someone wanted an extra copy of a book, they had to painstakingly copy the entire manuscript by hand onto another parchment roll. This was long before the invention of the printing press. On the bright side, the nine floors of books meant plenty of parchments to choose from and, if you had the patience, copy by hand.
Book 2: The Golden Road
Presenter: William Dalrymple
William Dalrymple, a highly respected historian and a man with a nearly permanent smile, is of British origin. However, he spends much of his time in Delhi—a city he’s grown to love, despite the air quality. While his fondness for modern India is evident from the time he chooses to spend here, it’s his admiration for ancient India that truly shines when you hear him speak. In his latest book ‘The Golden Road’, he highlights how India was a global superpower during the early spice trading era—arguably the richest country in the world by a wide margin.
As evidence, he points to several fascinating discoveries:
The Muziris Papyrus: Unearthed in 1985 from the backyard of a house in Kerala, this ancient trade document reveals that the goods on the ship it accompanied were valued at over 7 million drachmas. For context, the average person at the time earned about 100 drachmas a month. Over 120 ships traveled annually between the port of Muziris in Egypt and Indian ports. If you multiply 120 by 7 million drachmas, you begin to grasp the staggering wealth India generated from trading with just one Egyptian port.
Roman Coins in India: Archaeological digs near coastal towns in India have uncovered a significant number of Roman coins, further proving the extensive spice and silk trade between India and the Roman Empire. Yet, most maps depicting the Silk Route barely mention India. Dalrymple argues that this omission is historically inaccurate. After all, if India hadn’t been an active player in the spice and silk trade, it’s unlikely that so many Roman coins would have been found here.
Book 3: The Lion House
Author: Christopher de Bellaigue
This book reads like a novel—exactly how a well-written history textbook should be. If you love the stories behind how kings ruled, why battles were fought, and who was really pulling the strings behind the scenes, this book seems like a great pick.
The author, Christopher, particularly enjoyed narrating the story of an overlooked figure from the Ottoman Empire—a woman named Roxelana. She was the queen who ruled from behind the curtains. While the official ruler was Suleiman (often called Suleiman the Magnificent), everyone knew that the real power lay with Roxelana. She was the one who decided who held influence within the kingdom.
Roxelana even commissioned the construction of a mosque in Istanbul, naming it after herself to showcase her royal authority. This was a significant achievement, as she was the first woman to build a mosque. When she passed away, her devoted Suleiman had an elegant tomb built for her, which can still be visited today in the exquisite Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul.
Book 4: The Spy Princess
Author: Shrabani Basu
This book tells the remarkable story of Noor Inayat Khan, a British secret agent. A descendant of Tipu Sultan, Noor was raised in Russia, Paris, and later London. It was in London that she trained as a radio operator, becoming one of the first women to do so.
One day, she received a message for an interview—delivered via Morse code—inviting her to apply for a position as a secret service spy. Fluent in French and skilled in radio operations, Noor had the perfect combination of talents to be recruited by a secret British organization to work undercover in Nazi-occupied France. Tragically, she was captured and executed by the German Nazis at the Dachau concentration camp. However, her bravery did not go unrecognized. She was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre by France and later the George Cross by Britain.
The author, Shrabani Basu, was so inspired by Noor’s courage and contributions that she helped establish the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and had a bust of Noor erected in Gordon Square, London.
Book 5: Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire
Author: Anirudh Kanisetti
The word "Nadu" in ancient Tamil refers to a village or a region. During the Chola era, kings ruled over many such nadus. While they collected taxes from these regions, they also had to ensure the villagers were content. One common way to keep them happy was by gifting each nadu a temple. These temples were well-funded, featuring towering gopurams, elaborate sculptures, and intricately carved lamps.
Interestingly, much of the work involved in building these temples and maintaining the people’s happiness wasn’t done by the kings—but by the queens. If you’ve watched the movie Ponniyin Selvan, you might remember the elderly dowager queen, Sembiyan Mahadevi. In real history, she commissioned hundreds of temples to maintain peace. It also helped that she was a devout Hindu.
This book is a complete treat to learn about the Cholas, through a series of well written stories. Trivia for you - A collection of these villages or nadus is what we now know as Tamil Nadu.
Book 6: Gods, Guns and Missionaries
Author: Manu S. Pillai
India has long been a melting pot of diverse religions, and this book covers a part of the history of how some of these religions arrived here. One fascinating story about the spread of Christianity is that of Roberto De Nobili, a Christian missionary who arrived in India in the early 17th century. He quickly noticed that the only people converting to Christianity were those from the lowest castes. As a result, Christianity struggled to gain acceptance as a religion of equal status to Hinduism.
Realizing this, De Nobili devised a clever strategy. He adopted the lifestyle of an upper-caste Hindu: he became a vegetarian, sat on the floor to eat from banana leaves, and lived a life of simplicity. He understood that if he wanted upper-caste Hindus to convert, he couldn’t ask them to abandon their cultural identity. So, he allowed them to keep wearing their sacred thread (janayu or poonal), adding only a small cross to it, to signify their new faith. In places like Madurai, churches began to mirror Hindu traditions to become more acceptable to the local community. For example, goat sacrifices—a common practice in rituals for Kali deities—were incorporated into church ceremonies. When people attended his services at the church, De Nobili performed aarti just like a Hindu priest, wore saffron robes, and even applied a kumkum teeka on his forehead.
Listening to Manu Pillai speak is as captivating as reading his works. Do watch any of his interviews on Youtube and you’ll know what I am speaking about.
Book 7: Boundary Lab: Inside the Global Experiment Called Sport
Author: Nandan Kamath
Panelists: Paralympic winner Deepa Malik, Nandan Kamath and Rahul Bose
Sports are an interplay of multiple little social experiments. So kids learning a sport and playing a group-sport is essential not just for their physical health but also for them to learn to interact with others and negotiate for their place in the community. One of the speakers suggested that governments should mandate sports as one of the subjects that children should pursue in high school (not just Physics, Chemistry, Maths). Perhaps parents will then allow children to play more than they do now.
On the bright side, Deepa Mallik was quite happy with the progress India has made with supporting women athletes and paralympians.
The JLF also hosted some fascinating discussions that weren’t directly related to the books being promoted, but were centered around broader themes. JLF 2025 highlighted two particularly intriguing themes.
Trivia 1: Food is closely linked to memory and language
Panelists: Matt Preston, Dr. Pushpesh Pant, Sunita Kohli and Chef Romi Gill
Memory should be added to science’s definition of tastes: There are five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. In the ideal world, we should add memory to this list. Tasting something often transports you back in time, and the flavour of what you are eating can be affected by the memories of when you first experienced eating this dish.
Eating can trigger nostalgia: Foods have the potential of bringing back long-forgotten memories. For example, Maggi noodles can bring back memories of sitting with friends and chatting endlessly. Similarly, stories of train journeys often stir memories of the unique foods we savoured along the way at various railway stations.
Food influences language: Many everyday phrases are woven around food. For example, "supari" (betel nut), commonly chewed in India, was once offered as a symbolic gesture when two people reached an agreement. Over time, this practice took on a darker meaning—when assassins were hired, a supari (betel nut) was offered to seal the deal. Today, if you hear someone say "supari dena," remember that the betel nut refers to more than just a snack; it carries a dark connotation.
Trivia 2: Covering war as a journalist is tougher in one’s own country
Panelists: Suhasini Haider, Lindsey Hilsum, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Christopher de Bellaigue, Yaroslav Trofimov, Edward Wong and Vishnu Som
Covering war as a journalist is challenging anywhere, but it becomes even harder when the war is taking place in one’s own country. Ghaith, an Iraqi journalist, shared a poignant story about how his school grounds and childhood playgrounds became the frontline during the US invasion. Witnessing this was a deeply emotional experience for him.
Books for children
If you’re looking for a suggested reading list for children, listen to our most recent podcast episode on What’s New Today. In this episode, ten children aged 8–14 share details about the books they read over the past year. Each of them recommends the book they liked the most. Interestingly, the range of topics they’ve explored is quite diverse. For example, one of the recommended books is based on the true story of a school that helped a group of underprivileged teenagers reach Everest Base Camp with minimal equipment—but with plenty of willpower and training. Another book is a collection of stories from the Upanishads, apparently a big hit amongst kids!
Sneak marketing - How can I possibly write a post about books without mentioning the one I’ve written? I mean, what am I—selfless? It’s crammed with real-world stories from the past year, jazzed up with comic strip illustrations. Every story is crafted to entertain, inspire, and make you think (yes, multitasking stories exist). The best part? It’s just INR 399/-. That’s less than the price of two fancy hot chocolates, and it lasts way longer. Oh, and it makes a brilliant gift for anyone aged 8+—because, psst… birthday gifts can be wholesome and entertaining. Who knew?
Most read stories on the Lighter Side in 2024
#1 - How J.K.Rowling created Harry Potter. The story of how she wrote the Harry Potter book series. Read full story here.
#2 - The story of Rohit Sharma’s rise from a boy who had no money to even buy a single book. Read full story here.
#3 - At the 2024 Olympics, a shocking scandal erupted—the Canadian soccer team dared to use a new technique for spying (spoiler alert - drones). Read full story here.