JAIPUR: Day 4 of the Jaipur Literature Festival at Clarks Amer unfolded with full festivities. The day began on a cultural note at the Vedanta Front Lawn, where the Ao Naga Choir set a contemplative tone with melancholic melodies drawn from Naga folk traditions. The music flowed into the Ao Naga dance form.
One of the most emotionally resonant sessions of the day was ‘The Poetry Pharmacy: Prescriptions for the Mind, Body and Soul,’ featuring poet and editor William Sieghart in conversation with Karuna Ezara Parikh, with poetry readings by Sumanto Chattopadhyay. The session explored Sieghart’s poetic trilogy The Poetry Pharmacy, which offers poems as emotional remedies for life situations.
Yet it was the much-anticipated session with former CJI DY Chandrachud that drew the largest crowd. Titled ‘What Is Justice?,’ the session saw Chandrachud discuss his book Why the Constitution Matters with journalist Vir Sanghvi. He spoke at length about prolonged undertrial incarceration and the constitutional principle of bail before conviction, among other things. “Our institutions are imperfect,” he said, “but democracy is about recognising those imperfections and trying to improve them.”
As the evening unfolded, the festival turned its gaze toward the Northeast with ‘These Hills Called Home,’ featuring writers Rashmi Narzary, Kunzang Choden, and Bijoya Sawian in conversation with Prajwal Parajuly. The session explored life in the hills.
The day also featured ‘Ye Dil Manga More,’ a session on the rise of manga.