Jaipur Literature Festival

From a low beginnings in 2006, the Jaipur Literature Festival has emerged as the largest literature festival in Asia-Pacific. More than 100,000 people attend hundreds of sessions over the Festival's five day duration. The Festival takes place in late January each year.

Jaipur Literature Festival is an annual literary festival which takes place in the Indian city of Jaipur each January. It was founded in 2006, and from 2008 has been produced by Teamwork Arts. 2016 is the ninth edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival. The world's largest free literature Festival,it was described by Miranda Seymour in the Mail as "the grandest literary Festival of them all".

Both Indian authors as well as foreign appear at the Festival. The sessions contains readings, discussions, and questions and answers. It's possible to buy the authors' books and get them signed. In addition, there's a range of stalls selling everything from food to handicrafts.

There's also an outdoor lounge bar, for relaxing. Music performances are held in the evenings, after the literary sessions are over. In recent years, the Festival has turned into quite a fashionable occasion, and attracts plenty of socialites from Delhi and Jaipur.

Jaipur BookMark, a platform for publishing professionals from India and around the world, was launched in 2014 and runs alongside the Festival at the Narain Niwas hotel. An important new focus this year is on translations and rights.

As a part of ZEE JLF’s ongoing partnership with Rajasthan Tourism, two evening events have been organised at the Amber Fort and the Albert Museum.

If you are an art and literature lover then this festival is a must visit for you.

Bandhej work of Rajasthan and Gujrat

Foundation
Bandhani is a type of tie-dye textile decorated primarily by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings that form a figurative design. It is practiced mainly in states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and parts of Uttar Pradesh. The word Bandhani is derived from a Sanskrit word Banda which means “to tie”. Bandhani an art that involves dyeing a fabric tied tightly to a thread at different points, resulting a variety of  patterns.
The main colours used in Bandhani are natural. As Bandhani is a tie and dye process, dying is done by hand and hence best colours and combinations are possible in Bandhanis.
 

Background
Bandhej is the elderly form of tie & die art which started around 5000 years back. As per the historical data, the first Bandhani saree was worn at the time of Bana Bhatt`s Harshacharita in a royal marriage. One of it’s earliest visible depiction can be seen in the Ajanta caves. In India, Bandhani work was started by the Khatri fraternity of Gujarat. Places in Rajasthan like,JaipurSikar, Udaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer, and Jamnagar in Gujarat are the well known centers manufacturing odhnis,sarees and turbans in Bandhani.  It is an elderly form of art which is still in rehearsed.
 

Expertise

The art of Bandhani is as interesting as it’s past. The fabric that is dyed is tied very tightly at different points in knots and then dyed with remarkable colors. When this tied cloth goes for dyeing, these threads or knots doesn’t get rid that part catch color & allows it to stay white or whatever color the cloth has. Once the cloth is dyed, it is left for drying in open air.  Drying will take some time according to the weather conditions. In monsoon it takes about 2 days to dry while in summer it takes only 4-5 hours. In winter it takes around 6-7 hours for drying.

Style & Variety

Bandhani comes in different colors, designs & patterns and these variations are region specific. The colors that are most prominently used in Bandhani are yellow, red, green, blue and black. After the procedure is over, Bandhani work outcomes into a different kind of symbols including dots, waves, strips and squares. The patterns include Leheriya, Mothra, Ekdali and Shikari depending on the manner in which the cloth has been tied. The attires comprise Khombi, Patori, Gharchola and Chandrokhani. Bandhej work can be seen on Sarees, Kurtas, Salwar kameez, and Chaniya cholis. The designs contains Ekdali (single knot), Trikunti (three knots), Chaubandi (four knots), Dungar Shahi (mountain pattern), Boond (small dot with a dark center), Kodi (teardrop shaped) and Laddu Jalebi (Indian sweets). Different colors transmit different meanings in Bandhani.

Attire

Many wear bandhej salwaar kameej on daily purpose. Sarees with Leheriya patterns are usually worn for day functions whereas Ghatchola lehengas & sarees are worn for night occasion. Bandhej dupattas with plain white Salwar Kameez are very demanding between young girls. Working women also wear bandhej sarees for a perfect style statement, yet it looks simple.

Global Appeal

Bandhani is frankly an art and it’s a common vision to see not only women wearing outfits of Bandhej but  also the men can be found wearing turbans with Bandhej design. The main market is in Gujarat but it is very much sold all over India as the demand has increased over the last few decades. The sales increases during the wedding and festive seasons. Mostly, it is used as odhnis by the ladies on festivals.

Preservation

The influence of Bandhani is lost if ironed with a high heat setting, therefore, it is suggested to get your Bandhej costume dry-cleaned and if needed , ironed with a low heat setting.

The Tradition Of Kite Festival

The tradition of flying kites in India and abroad is quite ancient. From the very beginning human,  looking at the birds flying in the sky, had imagination of flying himself. There are many traditions in countries around the world for kite flying.

According to Greek historians, kite flying is 2500 years old. History of kite flying in China has been considered two thousand years old . China's general Han Xin made kites of several colors and sent flying kites message to his troops. The world's historians consider the birth of kites was in China.
             

In India, in the Indus culture between 2750 and 3500 BC we can find pictures and hieroglyphs of kites. Development of kites started in Europe and also in countries like USA, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Australia etc. and production of kites began rapidly. People started flying kites in the form of garuda, snake, parrot, fish, crocodiles,etc. 

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in many parts of  India . It is a folk festival. Now a days nylon, polythene, plastics etc. are also used to make kites along with the paper, wicker and fabrics, Kite thread is layered with glass, glue, paint, etc. Bareilly, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gwalior, etc. are very famous manufacturers of kite thread. Thread of Rajasthan is also famous.

In States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, a special time is fixed for kite flying. Kites are known by different names in different regions. Jaipur city is famous for kite flying not only in India but also in the whole world. It's very beautiful to look at the sky on the day of Makar Sankranti. Different kite flying experts from various countries visit the kite festival of Rajasthan. Since decades the International Kite Festival is celebrated every year in Jaipur  and Pushkar.

There is a passion for kite flying and the childrens, old,and young celebrate this festival equally.
The festival is not complete without the cheerful shoutings like "wo kata", "wo mara", to express the express the joy.