Jaipur Literature Festival used to be the world’s largest free literary festival until they started charging two years ago. Even though there are many literary festivals taking place in India, Jaipur Literature Festival has carved a niche for itself. JLF is considered the leading literary event in India. JLF now has Australian, US, and UK editions too. This Jaipur Literature Festival blog guide will help you with tips and tricks for the popular once-a-year event. With an increasing number of visitors every year, it is not merely a literary event, but rather more of a lifestyle event. Many people now term it the Jaipur Lifestyle Festival instead of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Here is your survival guide for the Jaipur Literature Festival held every year in Jaipur at Hotel Clarks Amer.
Jaipur Literature Festival Guide
The aim of this Jaipur Literature Festival blog guide blog is to answer most of your queries on stay, commute, sessions to attend, and food to name a few. Here is everything you need to know about the world’s leading literary festivals.
What is the Jaipur Literature Festival?
Jaipur Literature Festival is a five-day literary event taking place in Jaipur in January/February every year and is India’s largest literary festival and one of the world’s leading too. The event attracts over a hundred thousand people. Emulating JLF, many literature festivals are being organized in other cities like Kolkatta, Bangalore, Chennai, and Dehradoon to name a few.
Who organizes the Jaipur Literature Festival?
The Jaipur Literature Festival is organized by Teamwork. It was first launched in 2006, not as a literary event, but was called the Jaipur Festival.
What Happens at the Jaipur Literature Festival?
There are multiple interactive talk sessions taking place in the Jaipur Literature Festival which consist of book readings, panel discussions, interviews, and questions and answers with authors, writers, thinkers, politicians, actors, and eminent persons. The participants include both Indian and international participants. Book signings and book launches are also part of JLF. Politicians, actors, sports & media personalities, and social activists also feature among the participants apart from writers.
The event starts with music and folk dance every day. In 2020 meditation and yoga were also included. The day ends with live music shows at a different venue. More on that later in this blog on JLF.
Have you read the related write-up: Attending the Jaipur Literature Festival? Your quick guide to Jaipur as you attend JLF
Where is the Jaipur Literature Festival Held?
Until now, JLF’s venue was Hotel Diggi Palace, a centrally located place in Jaipur. 2020 was the last time the Jaipur Literature Festival was held at the Hotel Diggi Palace. Local authorities are finding it tough to manage such a large congregation here. From 2022, JLF’s venue is the Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur near Jaipur Patrika Gate
Where to Stay in Jaipur During JLF?
Hotel rooms fill up fast around the literature festival so book in advance. It makes sense to stay near the JLF venue, Hotel Clarks Amer as you save considerable time commuting. Accommodations & hotels in and around C-scheme, MI Road, and Raja Park are more popular owing to the facilities in the vicinity; these localities are not too far from the venue, and the choice in terms of hotels as well as BNB is reasonably good. Even hostels in central locations fill up fast during JLF. If want to explore more options on where to stay in Jaipur, Check out an in-depth guide on Where to stay in Jaipur?
Some of the popular hostels in Jaipur are Moustache, Blue Beds, and Zostel to name a few.
Check out: Your essential guide to picking the best area for hotels in Jaipur
What to Wear to the Jaipur Literature Festival?
Weather in Jaipur is expected to be in the range of 15-25 C. Expect a bit of chill with lots of sunshine during the day. Layer up to stay warm. If attending JLF musical night, gear up for cold weather. Do note that JLF has gained a reputation for being a glamorous event so the key is to dress smart and comfortably. Some prefer to create their own signature look.
Jaipur Literature Festival Timing
JLF starts at 9.15 AM with a morning music program. However, sessions are timed between 10.00 AM to 6.15 PM
Have you read the related write-up: Attending the Jaipur Literature Festival? Your quick guide to Jaipur as you attend JLF
Jaipur Literature Festival Registration & Entry Charges
Jaipur Literature Festival used to be a free event. Entry to the festival is charged at Rs 200/person/day if you book online. If you end up without a prior booking at the Jaipur Literature Festival, expect to pay higher entry charges.
- Offline General Pass is Rs 200 per day and for five days, it is Rs 800 per person.
- Delegate Pass provides access to lunches, access to the Delegate Lounge, priority seating at special sessions, and a cocktail evening. You can grab this for Rs 13500. Is it worth the price? I think it is certainly worth the price because it allows you to interact with the authors, writers, and speakers at JLF.
Musical evenings or cultural programs are not free, buy tickets well in advance as they are very popular and get sold out fast.
Travel to JLF venue
Roads are often closed to traffic near the Jaipur Literature Festival venue. It is best to hire a cab & get off 100-200 meters before the venue and walk instead of getting stuck in traffic jams. Please note that there will be a pronounced traffic snarl on the road leading to the venue because of diversions.
Parking at Jaipur Literature Festival Venue
For those planning to drive down in their own car, JLF creates temporary parking spaces. A word of caution: despite dedicated personnel to supervise parking some areas are not adequately monitored and you may likely get stuck in a traffic jam. It is best to leave your car at the hotel/home and hire a taxi.
Things to carry to Jaipur Literature Festival
On hot sunny days carrying water will be a good idea. There is no restriction on carrying bags into the venue. All bags are scanned before one is allowed entry to the venue. Ensure your comfort by sticking with the bare minimum. A diary, pen, power bank, and camera are a few popular things that visitors usually carry to the venue. Grab your copy of the JLF program schedule from the visitor information desk.
How to plan for Attending the Jaipur Literature Festival sessions
All about Jaipur Literature Festival sessions
The JLF sessions consist of interactive panel discussions, book readings, and answering questions from the audience. The panel consists of authors, actors, poets, writers, politicians, and a moderator. Usually, visitors can get the writer’s book signed at a designated spot.
Rather than attending sessions that don’t interest you, plan ahead and attend only the ones that interest you. Sessions with celebrity speakers and popular writers tend to attract a huge crowd. If you wish to find a seat for yourself, ensure you grab one during the previous session. Yes, you will need to sit through the prior session, otherwise finding a seat is impossible. Some popular speakers like Shashi Tharoor, Ashwin Sanghi, Amish Tripathi, and Prasoon Joshi draw a large gathering. Do note that JLF sessions start and end on time.
The crowd scene at JLF
Expect a huge crowd on weekends at Jaipur Literature Festival when the number of visitors surges especially the ones from Delhi and locals. Everyone wants to register their presence at JLF. I generally avoid visiting on weekends because of the mad rush.
Food Options at the JLF venue
There are many pop-up food vendors at the Jaipur Literature Festival; they are mostly from Jaipur and Delhi. You will find a good assortment of international and continental food choices; a large number of visitors complain about the inflated prices of these pop-up food vendors. There is no alternative option so you will have to depend on these pop-ups. Diggipuri Chai served in Kulhhad used to be immensely popular among visitors at Diggi Palace but now it is not available at Hotel Clarks Amer.
Payment System for Food
Food vendors will accept payment through prepaid cards only, which can be procured inside the venue. You can get the cards loaded with the required amount, and any unused amount will be refunded. A security deposit of Rs 100 against the card will also be refunded upon surrendering it. Many visitors prefer to carry pre-packed food from their homes or hotels because visiting the food kiosk results in not finding a vacant seat. If you intend to attend sessions in continuation then you too can plan on a similar strategy. UPI is widely accepted and so are credit/debit cards.
Alternatives to Jaipur Literature Festival Food Vendors
If you are considering food outlets near the Jaipur Literature Festival venue, there are many in the vicinity. Among the most popular ones are Tapri Ashram, Rustic By OTH, and Town Coffee, to name a few. Also worth considering is Zolocrust in the Clarks Amer itself. Read about the same in the Best Cafe and restaurants in Jaipur. If you want to check out a detailed post on Rustic By OTH – Is Rustic By OTH one of the best cafes in Jaipur Malviya Nagar?
If you are a coffee lover, check out 5 best coffee places in Jaipur
Shopping at the Jaipur Literature Festival Bazaar
Since JLF is not purely a literary event, you will find plenty of stalls selling their wares at the venue. Clothes, art pieces, and handicraft items are the most popular things to buy at this festival. Before I forget, there is a large bookshop too.
Getting back to the hotel from the Jaipur Literature Festival venue
You might have trouble with fetching taxis once the sessions are over as there is a huge demand for taxis, especially over the weekend. Uber and Ola often don’t turn up due to the huge demand when the festival ends; the fares are inflated due to the surge charges. Surge pricing is a common situation one encounters with both Uber and Ola apps. You may find yourself in a “No Taxi” situation too. It is safer to leave a little early or pre-book your taxi. Alternatively, you can ask your hotel to arrange your pick-up. Other options include finding an auto-rickshaw or e-rickshaw to take you back to the hotel.
Jaipur Literature Festival Music Program & After Parties
JLF music programs & parties are held at different locations – Rambagh Palace and Hotel Diggi Palace. JLF music program tickets can be bought online and are not very expensive.
The JLF after-parties are by invitation only and are meant for speakers, writers, and celebrities. There is an upgrade program in which you can buy a JLF delegate pass and avail access to private areas, lounges, music programs, and lunch & dinner which is accessible only to speakers, media persons, and celebrities.
Read the related write-up: Attending The Jaipur Literature Festival? Your Quick Guide To Explore Jaipur As You Attend JLF
Hope this quick travel guide will help you have a good experience at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
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I am thousands of miles away and may never get an opportunity to attend this festival but it is interesting to read about it. Thanks for a pictorial journey arv, much appreciated. 🙂
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The festival begins and your post comes up bang on time. Great write-up Arv. Am sure it will be of use to those who plan to attend. Are you covering this year’s JLF?
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Looks so good. Someday I would like to experience it.
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Reblogged this on Jaipur Chaos.
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I read about last year’s, Arv, and had high hopes I’d be out for this one. Oh, well. maybe next year…
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Ooh, Mick, if you do attend, make sure to let us know. So we’d plana trip too. 🙂
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I will certainly let you know!
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I think you should for many reasons. One, your India trip is long pending JLF might just give enough booster.
Two, it’s about Books and writing/literature which is your subject.
Three, weather is perfect for visiting India.
BTW, there’s JLF now happens in London too. I hope you are aware about London chapter. I’m not updated anything beyond this. And there are many Brits attending JLF…lots of speakers as well as writers, literary buffs… JLF has become really famous across the world.
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If I can, I certainly will, Arv. As long as I can afford it and I have the time available.
I had not heard of it spreading to London. I looked up last year’s and it does look interesting. There don’t seem to be any published dates or venue for this year, yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for that. Thanks!
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You are welcome, Mick. 🙂
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Looks interesting, Arv. Unlikely I would ever attend because we have the Hay Festival here in the UK.
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Now that’s something new for me. What’s this Hay fest all about?
BTW, JLF now has London chapter too! May be you can catch up on that, Mike!
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Oh you’re so on point with Jaipur Lifestyle Festival! Someone finally said something about that!
Coming back to the festival, I’ve read and heard a lot about it for several years, unfortunately never really had a chance to attend. Anyhow, someday and these points will stay in my mind especially the one about how to grab a seat for celebrity sessions.☺️😊
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Thanks Vagheesha. Well, photographers from newspaper now a days capture fashion quotient of the public, so JLF has kind of arrived. Also there’s so much more going beyond books, including celebrity (non author) speakers and guests.
Despite all that I do feel one should visit JLF at least once. I feel there are many good things one can gain from. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Vagheesha! 🙂
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I agree with you, Arv, completely. I do wish to attend someday, let’s hope soon. I’ll refer to your article for sure!
And one more thing, I’m sorry, Arv, but I’m Vageesha, I mean it’s not your fault somehow people always get confused that there is H after G, I don’t know how! Half my life has gone in correcting people mispronouncing my name! So anyway, have a nice day!
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I hope you do get to experience Jaipur Literature Festival someday, vageesha. Apologies for “free H” in your name. Taken a note so I don’t make a mistake again. You too have a great weekend. 🙂
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Arey please don’t apologise! Anyway, you too☺️☺️
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ha ha! Ok..I take it back! 😉
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Glad!
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Your photos and explanation make it abundantly clear the festival is no longer a pure literature event as it was intended to be. At such events I am like you and would avoid the crowds on weekends. Great post, my friend!
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Certainly, it is not merely a literary event. But on the other hand when you consider the fact that it’s free I guess someone has to foot the bill and ensure that money floats in from some other source so that part is okay. Crowd? well, that’s something that takes out the entire “juice” of such events. Nothing much we all can do about it. What irks me is the fact that most of the crowd has no interest in these sessions or literature.
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I wish I could attend it…Would look forward to another post about this year’s fest!
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I will definitely recommend you to…at least once. There are large number of people who now stay away from JLF for different reasons but still you should visit once,experience and form your opinion. I have never written a post on JLF events because it is just not possible to capture them in words and there are almost 200+ sessions in five days while I attend less than 10! So I have only written photo story type of post. Do you know there is PLF happening in Jaipur? Parallel Lit Fest.
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I’ve always wanted to visit here but in some uncanny way something or the other would crop up and I wouldn’t be able to attend 😦 And this is, even though I’ve lived in Jodhpur/Udaipur and had friends living in Jaipur {so staying would be no hassle}!
You’ve done a great job with the info. I’m sure it’ll be of help to many.
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Happy to hear that you have spent great deal of time in Rajasthan. I hope you get to visit JLF next time. I have heard this rant from many other, I guess sometimes things just don’t click! Thanks for appreciating. I hope people find this useful! 🙂
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I hope you’ll be there blogging from the venue!
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No Sonia, I’m only attending few sessions. That’s it. I have posted few pictures and updates on Twitter. Youcan follow me there 😊
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Cool 😎
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Great to read. Very informative post on Jaipur Literature Festival .
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Happy to hear you liked it 🙂
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Thanks for sharing with us, Arv. I haven’t found any other blog explaining about one city in so detail as yours. It’s so informative. If I live in Jaipur, I definetely do as you do, visiting this festival during the week. Weekend could be so irritated..
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Nurul, I have given a complete miss to JLF this weekend. Instead I enjoyed watching sessions online, since they are being streamed live. Technology surely has some to rescue!
I feel I’m lucky to be living in Jaipur because there’s so much to write about. Only few cities are so vibrant and happening.
Thanks for reading and appreciating. 🙂
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You’re most welcome, Arv..
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🙂
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This looks wonderful Arv!
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Happy to know you liked it, Ritu 🙂
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A very comprehensive account of a fascinating event. Interesting to see it has its parallel events elsewhere!
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Thanks Denzil. Since you are into books, have you ever heard about JLF before?
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Not at all. It looks great
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In which city do you live, Denzil?
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I live in Belgium near Leuven
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wow! Great. Belgium is so synonymous of the chocolates, glass work and diamond! The closest place to attend JLF for you is their London edition. 🙂
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You take incredible photos, Arv! I love all the deep colors in your pics!
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Thanks Lisa, happy to hear these words of appreciation. Well, I haven’t edited any of these pictures. Thanks for the visit 🙂
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You’re welcome!
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🙂
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Very detailed and useful information. Not just tips. Thanks.
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Thank you. Appreciate your time and comment. 🙂
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Hi! I really enjoyed your post and found it insightful and memorable. Please give my blog a look as well, I’m an aspiring writer and any feedback/follows would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi! you have a great writing skill but you need to give your blog lot more shape. Do add “about” page because that enables every visitor to know about you and your blog. It’s a slow process but you will be there. conect with like minded writers in your niche. Hope that helps 🙂
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I made it one day ago, I’m new here. I’m working on that and thank you for the advice!
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Vish there are blogging resources which I can share with you to help you shorten this learning curve. We can connect through Twitter/ Instagram/ FB… whichever you are comfortable with. I’ll be happy to help you. Let me know what works with you. 🙂
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Enjoyed reading your post and visting the JLF vicariously through it! 👍🏻☺️
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Thanks Neeharika! JLF is a great place to be. It’s not just about books, famous personas and celebrities speaking and discussing onstage does stimulate your mind and thoughts. 🙂
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In college days I’d never thought about the importance of the event but by seeing the hype in recent years, I think I missed the chance.
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Priyanka, I too gave it a miss for many years. BTW, you can enjoy some of these lit. sessions from the comfort of your home! They are being streamed live on YouTube and FB! I’m not sure but I suppose many can still be found on youtube even now when the litfest is over. Do you love books, Priyanka?
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