A JLF delegate pass means you have arrived!

January 21, 2016, Jaipur: Jaipur is becoming more and more “happening city” with high profile events especially during January. The star of all events in the city is the Jaipur Literature Festival or JLF, as we call it.

At the Rambag Palace dinner with Sanjoy Roy, Producer, Jaipur LitFest

Over the years, the Litfest has attained immense international fame and stature. So its hardly surprising to see people and socialites who haven't read a book in years making a beeline to be there and seen at.

The entry to JLF is pretty simple. Go online and register. 

Delegate Pass - JLF

However, if one receives a complimentary delegate pass then it means one has indeed arrived. In fact the JLF delegate pass is seen as a status booster. Hence, the clamour for a complimentary delegate pass.

The pass gives you access to the beer and wine and sumptuous spreads during the day and Glenlivet in the evening.

Three months prior to the event, Jaipurites begin pulling strings in right earnest for a JLF delegate pass. One can also get the pass by paying online but getting one using one's clout is like scoring a free kick.

The organizers are contacted in Jaipur and Delhi. The calls may be from the mantralaya (ministry) or the secretariat or other perceived centres of power and influence. Simply put one is ready to beg, borrow or steal for a delegate pass. The Jaipurites who are not interested in the festival or delegate pass are often approached by their friends and relatives to help them get one.

On similar lines, there is a clamour among the Jaipurites to get an invitation to the evening private parties of the publishers. These are usually parties are usually private affairs, attended by the authors and few friends. Many who never ever attend the Lit Fest call it “cheers” in these evening parties in starred hotels.

Again, tickets are available for the Fest's evening extravaganza but one must have a pass to enter. And if one has a pass, he is seen to be among the privileged few. Flaunting passes give them a high.

The evening that the whole city looks forward to is the much awaited and talked about Writer's Ball held on the last day of the Fest. The awe of rubbing shoulders with the authors and writers from across the globe cannot be expressed in words.

The question is, How does one get the invite?

People plead, cajole and threaten organizers to get one. It is sad that the desperation to get a delegate pass has assumed maddening proportions. More so, when these passes are actually meant for the authors and speakers invited to attend the event.

With Daniella Bhandari

Yesterday I dropped by to attend the cocktails and dinner at the Mughal Garden of Rambagh Palace hosted by Manish Gupta, General Manager, Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, and the Directors & Producers of Zee Jaipur Literature Festival 2016. I was there for about half an hour and met quite a number of author friends. This is one evening at Rambagh Palace is meticulously hosted covering the minute details of decor and food.

Before that I hosted a talk by Wiccan high priestess and author, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, at another Taj property – Hotel Jai Mahal Palace. The event was in collaboration with Raghu Sinha Mala Mathur Charity Trust and We Care. The Talk was on the unexplained mysteries of the world. 

With Sudhir Mathur Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Apara Kuchhal at the post talk session release of Ipsita's new book Beloved Witch Returns

Also included were her encounters with the darker side of celebrity personalities from her stunning new book “Beloved Witch Returns”.

This was the first event I hosted in Jai Mahal Palace. The poolside ambiance at Jai Mahal is mesmerizing. My friend Daniella from Delhi along with two other friends arrived in Jaipur today to attend the Lit Fest and meet up with authors who would be in Jaipur for the week.

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