As the pleasant winters wrap up paving way for spring, the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) makes a comeback here in Diggy Palace to bring in fresh breeze of ideas, debates, dialogues and perspectives on subjects ranging from Kashmir to Indian Constitution, to climate change to artificial intelligence among many others, which have been discussed on the global map.

The festival will continue till January 27 witnessing interesting sessions a few of which include Kashmir: Of Barbed Wires And Almond Blossom, Of The People, By The People: The Indian Constitution and Vivekanand, Savarkar And Patel: Echoes From The Past.

Puffin also announced the release of author Deepa Agarwal’s latest book, Journey to the Forbidden City. The book is a fascinating account of Nain Singh Rawat, an unsung Kumaoni hero, who mapped Tibet in disguise in the 19th century. Simple and accessible, this is one of the only books on Nain Singh, whose contribution was recognised by institutions like the Royal Geographical Society and Paris Geographical Society.

Deepa said, “This is a book I have dreamt of writing for many years. I had heard of my grandfather’s uncle Pundit Nain Singh’s achievements from childhood. Stories were told about his daring adventures, his quick intelligence and the honours he had received for his exploits. Apart from his manual of survey methods, Akshaansh Darpan, he had even written a family history Itihas Rawat Kaum. There were always heated arguments about whether he should be described as a spy or not. Whatever information he might have gathered on his journeys, Nain Singh’s extraordinary contribution to the map of the world remains most important to me.”

Namita Gokhale, co-director of Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), said, “As many as 550 speakers will be participating in the festival. Out of these, 120 are award winning speakers. Once again, the world visits Jaipur and Jaipur visits the world.”