Kalam in Jaipur with Anant Vijay

At the Marriott Jaipur for Kalam event

April 30, 2017: I landed in Jaipur on Saturday and went straight to the Marriott Hotel Jaipur to attend another series of Kalam in Jaipur with author Anant Vijay.

The guest author for Kalam, Anant Vijay, is a senior journalist, columnist and author. Anant has written eight books on different genres, and today, at the Kalam event, I was in conversation with him. In fact I had to fill in at the last moment for the Dainik Bhaskar editor who had to leave the city due to an emergency.

During the conversation, Anant pointed out some facts that he felt strongly about. He said that Hindi literature is losing its eminence in India as more and more people prefer to send their children to the English schools. He also expressed his views against the trend of using “Hinglish” that is the use of English words in Hindi newspapers to connect with the youth.

At the Birla Auditorium, Jaipur ,for Annual Ballet Expose

After the Kalam event, later in the evening, I went to the Birla Auditorium to see the third Annual Ballet Expose. It was a fusion ballet in which kalbelia and bhawai dancers performed along with ballet dancers based on the theme “Get addicted to Happiness”.

Before the ballet show, I had tea at the Tapri Ashram, which happens to be the third Tapri outlet in Pink City, just outside the gate of Marriott Hotel. This joint was inaugurated yesterday only and I am sure its close proximity to the Marriott will affect the business of the hotel’s coffee shop.

Tomorrow I shall leave for Agra for the International Model United Nations (IMUN) being hosted by the World Federation of United Nations Association (WFUNA). I shall be addressing the closing ceremony on Tuesday May 2, 2017.

ess bee