Culture clash: Art Summit vs. Lit Fest in January

This month art and books take center stage in Rajasthan and New Delhi. 

The India Art Summit and Jaipur Literature Festival take place from January 20 to 25, and all roads lead to Pragati Maidan in New Delhi and the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur.

Serious literati, art pundits and pseudo-intellectual fanboys and fangirls will appear in their tens of thousands, with many attending both events. 

Judging by the facts and figures below, 2011 is the year both events will tip from minor to major on the global culture calendar. 

Our best advice is leave your stilettos at home, put on your trainers, carry a shawl, buy a nice bag for books, (maybe read some before you go) and pack it all in. 

Prominent contemporary Indian artist Subodh Gupta's sculpture entitled "3 monkeys," at the 2009 India Art Summit.

New Delhi India Art Summit, January 20-23

by Deepika Sorabjee

The third India Art Summit opens on January 20 in New Delhi and the art cognoscenti are descending to rub shoulders with the who’s who of the Indian art world. Not quite Art Basel's Net Jet-packed Basel airport, but there’s a buzz building despite the foggy weather. 

India Art Summit 2011 is more ambitious this year; featuring 84 galleries (up 55 percent from last year) from 20 countries around the world. The summit registered a footfall of 10,000 in the first year. This time they're expecting up to 60,000 visitors over an 8,000 square meter space at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi's largest trade venue, so be prepared to walk. 

An art fair means business. Last year, galleries sold just over 50 percent of what they brought to exhibit, about US$ 5.5 million worth of trade. This year more is expected with increased visitors and a healthier economy.

What to see this year: Artists, curators and critics in conversation 

With 500 artists on show the art booth walkabout could get a bit mundane once you've checked off your personal favorites, so look out for the 9 Art Projects where individual or groups of artists have created interactive works you might be persuaded to engage with. 

Alongside, catch some gyan from the many big-name art pundits at the Speaker’s Forum.

Homi Bhabha in conversation with artist Anish Kapoor, artist Dan Graham in conversation with Hou Hanrou, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, listed as one of the most powerful figures in the art world in a panel discussion on Indian Art on the International Art Circuit are some noteworthy talks, among many.

Open to all, a session pass costs Rs 500.

What to see this year: Around New Delhi

There’s exciting stuff this year outside of Pragati Maidan too.

Anish Kapoor shows at the National Gallery of Modern Art. In contrast to the steel and wax works in Mumbai, this exhibition showcases his pigment and void works, and maquettes of architectural works and sculptures.

At the Lalit Kala Akademi, Against all Odds curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, “explores the relationship between the artist and the museum.” The biggest names of the Indian contemporary art world are grouped here and this is a must-see. 

Ranjani Shettar, rarely seen in India, whose recent work showed at the MoMA, has a solo at Talwar Art Gallery and the haunting works of Zarina Hashmi are on at Gallery Espace.

There’s more: the newly opened Kiran Nadar Museum and Devi Art Foundation’s new show.

Festival co-curator, author William Dalrymple and Baul folk musician Paban das Baul last year.

Jaipur Literature Festival, January 21-25

by Arjun Gaind

For the sixth consecutive year, the pink city plays host to Asia's most prestigious literary festival.

Co-founded by Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival has become the Indian equivalent of a cultural Woodstock, playing host to some of the most exalted names in world writing, including Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka, Ian McEwan, Vikram Seth, Niall Ferguson, Roddy Doyle, Simon Schama, Michael Frayn, Alexander McCall Smith, and Donna Tartt.

Attended by more than 30,000 visitors last year, India's premier lit fest has won accolades for being one of the few literary expositions in the world to be entirely egalitarian. This allows attendees to interact freely with authors and publishers at the Diggi Palace, thus making it a highly sought destination for struggling ingenues and agents wanting to jump the next literary wunderkind.

What to see this year: Talks and music

This year, and for a change, rather than emphasizing Indian writing in English the focus is on the evolution of Indian writing in vernacular languages other than English. The works of writers as diverse as Anjum Hassan, Gulzar, Habib Kaifi, K. Satchidanandan and Mahesh Ekunchwar will be featured.

January 21: Orhan Pamuk on the Art of the Novel. Also, novelists Rana Dasgupta and Tishani Doshi, whose “The Pleasure Seekers" was one of 2010’s most celebrated debuts.

January 22: John Makinson, Kiran Desai, Patrick French and Sunil Sethi on Why Books Matter. Also, Ian Jack, Junot Diaz, Kamila Shamsie, Manjushree Thapa and Marina Lewycka hold a discussion entitled "Imaginary Homelands" while Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi chat about unforgettable film songs.

January 23: Mahmood Farooqui and festival co-curator William Dalrymple confer about the Mutiny of 1857 and Jay McInerney, Junot Diaz, Richard Ford and Martin Amis dissect the "Crisis of the American Fiction."

Also, one of the highlights of the festival, J.M Coetzee reads from his work.

January 24: Watch out for sessions with Partition chronicler Alex Von Tunzelmann, Roberto Callasso, James Kelman, and Candace Bushnell of Sex and the City fame. In addition, Adam Zagajewski, Ahdaf Soueif, J.M.Coetzee and Mrinal Pande analyze the cult of Imperial English, and Gyan Prakash and Sonia Faleiro discuss the art of the Mumbai narrative, not to mention Jaipur's first open-mic session at 6 p.m.

January 25: Mohsin Hamid, Irvine Welsh, Christopher Bayly and Vikram Seth.

In addition to this ample literary extravaganza, the festival also showcases some of the finest music from the Asia-Pacific region.

Concerts this year include the usual mix of Rajasthani folk music, Susheela Raman, Transglobal Underground, Cheb-i-Sabbah, and the Hebrew Qawalli singer, Shye Ben Tzur. But where's Paban Das Baul and his entourage of Bengali Baul folk singers?

Last but not least, the best part: The festival is utterly free of cost for attendees.

Read about what to do in Jaipur with last year's guide, "Jaipur Literature Festival: Literati glitterati weekend in India"