Jaipur Bytes

Vanessa R. Sasson, author of “Yasodhara: A Novel About the Buddha’s Wife”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Vanessa and Lakshya talk about why she wanted to tell this story, what it was like to write in Yasodhara’s voice, and how the process of writing this book changed how she felt about the Buddha. Vanessa is a professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts and Humanities Department at Marianopolis College, Quebec. She is also a Research Fellow for the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State in South Africa, as well as Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Religious Studies of McGill University, Montreal. As a scholar, her focus is on Buddhist studies, with particular emphasis on hagiography, gender and childhoods. She will be speaking at JLF Toronto on September 28.

Author, activist, psychotherapist Farzana Doctor in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Farzana and Lakshya talk about her life and career - both as a novelist and as a psychotherapist - as well as the work she does with WeSpeakOut, a global group that is working to ban female genital cutting in her Dawoodi Bohra community. Farzana Doctor is the award-winning author of Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement and All Inclusive. Doctor was recently named one of CBC Books’ 100 Canadian Writers You Need to Know Now. SEVEN, her fourth novel, will hit bookshelves in August 2020. She will be speaking at JLF Toronto on September 28.

David Moscrop, author of "Too Dumb for Democracy? Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. David and Lakshya talk about politics, the currently ongoing Canadian elections, his new book, and what sort of topics he and his guests will be debating on his new podcast "Open to Debate with David Moscrop". David is a political theorist and a post doctoral fellow in the Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa. He studies, writes, and talks about democratic deliberation, political decision making, and digital media. David will be speaking at JLF Toronto on September 28.

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and internationally recognized human rights and inspirational peace activist, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. Dr. Abuelaish talks to Lakshya about what hatred does to a person and to a community, where he gets his strength to deliver his message of hope and forgiveness, why political leaders need to humanize and not politicize, how health and peace are inter-connected, and why he started the Daughters For Life Foundation. Dr. Abuelaish is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Office of Global Public Health Education & Training at the University of Toronto. In January 2009, an Israeli tank shelled the home of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish in the Gaza Strip and killed three of his daughters: Bessan, 21; Mayar, 15; and Aya, 13. This tragedy occured only minutes before Dr. Abuelaish was scheduled to speak live on Israeli television. His recorded cries for help captured hearts and headlines in Israel and around the world, and his response to the loss of his daughters was followed by international audiences. Dr. Abuelaish never sought to seek revenge or sink into despair and hatred. Instead, he called for those in the Middle East to stop the bloodshed and facilitate discourse for mutual understanding. His strongest hope is that his daughters will be the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis. He started and chairs the Daughters For Life Foundation in their memory, based on the belief that lasting peace in the Middle East depends on the empowerment of girls and young women through education, which will allow them to become agents of change for the betterment of life throughout the Middle East. His 2010 book "I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity” has been translated in to 23 languages. Dr. Abuelaish will be speaking at JLF Toronto on September 28. To learn more about his work, go to https://daughtersforlife.com/

Marcus Moench, founder of The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-International, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Marcus tells Lakshya about the connection between literature and science that he found in India, why he was drawn to work on social and environmental issues, how JLF gives scientists and activists a platform to talk about universal issues like water scarcity and climate change, and what role he thinks the media plays in communicating the narrative relating to climate change (such as the Amazon Rainforest fires recently). Marcus is the founder of ISET-International and has worked extensively on water, climate and urbanisation particularly in Asia. With over three decades experience, his approach combines science with a compassionately humourous eye on the drivers of social change and human behavior. Using art as well as more traditional forms of publication, his work explores the mosaic of solutions to emerging environmental and other challenges. He is particularly well known for his pioneering work on India’s groundwater and interactions between complex social and environmental systems.

Kent Nerburn, author of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog”, in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Kent and Lakshya talk about how “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” came to be, how it became a cult classic that is used as a bridge to connect non-natives to the Native-American experience, how Robert Plant (lead singer of Led Zeppelin) found the book and ended up writing the foreword of the 25th anniversary edition of the book, how the book’s film adaptation came together, and what advice he has for young artists and storytellers. Kent Nerburn is an American author and artist, having published over 20 works of fiction and nonfiction. His latest book is called "Dancing With The Gods". You can learn more about Kent at www.kentnerburn.com. He will be speaking at JLF Colorado on September 21.

Author Maaza Mengiste in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Maaza and Lakshya talk about how she was drawn to storytelling as a kid, what it was like to take the unknown path of becoming a writer, the research and multiple drafts that led to “The Shadow King”, and why she loves telling stories. Maaza is an Ethiopian-American writer and author of the 2010 novel “Beneath The Lion’s Gaze". Her new book, "The Shadow King", comes out on September 24. Maaza teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Queens College, City University of New York, and is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. She will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

Scholar-translator Linda Hess in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Linda talks to Lakshya about what drew her to come to India in her 20s, how she fell in love with Kabir and his words, and why 500 year old songs created by an illiterate poet are still relevant today. Linda’s publications include "The Bijak of Kabir", "Singing Emptiness: Kumar Gandharva Performs the Poetry of Kabir", and "Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in North India". She has also written about Tulsidas and the Ramlila of Ramnagar. She taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University for 21 years, retiring in 2017. Linda will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

Chiké Frankie Edozien, author of "Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man", in conversation with Jaipur Bytes host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive conversation, Frankie talks to Lakshya about his time at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2019, what it was like to be in India soon after Section 377 was abolished, what the ruling in India meant for the LGBTQ community in African countries where they’re still fighting for legality and equality, and why the journey from legal to normal is going to take time. Frankie is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, and starting in January 2020, he will be the new site director at NYU’s campus in Accra, Ghana. Frankie’s memoir, "Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man", won the Lambda Literary 2018 Nonfiction Award for Best Gay Memoir/Biography. He will be speaking at JLF Colorado on Sept 21.

Mira Jacob, author of "Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations", in conversation with writer/host Lakshya Datta. In this podcast-exclusive, Mira and Lakshya talk about her new book - why she wrote it, what it was like to re-live these talks from her past, and what conversations she hopes it starts. About the book: Inspired by her viral BuzzFeed piece '37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son', Mira Jacob responds to: her six-year-old, Z, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and increasingly fraught exchanges with her Trump-supporting in-laws. Jacob also investigates her own past, including how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have shaped one life, but will resonate with many others. You can order the book on Amazon and learn more about MIra's work at mirajacob.com. Mira will be speaking at #JLFHouston2019 on Sept 14, and #ZeeJLFColorado2019 on Sept 21.