The five-day Jaipur Literature Festival turned out to be pretty fantastic albeit very busy. I saw almost 20 sessions and wrote about many of them for the festival organizer's press releases. Some of my favorites included the witty Martin Amis and southern gentleman Richard Ford. Listening to travel writers, fiction writers, memoirists, was inspiring. Learning more about Indian literature and culture was enlightening. The event ended with an author's ball at the ancient Amber Fort, which is spectacularly lit up at night underneath a starry sky. There were marigold and rose petals strewn everywhere and music throughout the evening.
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| Me and Candace Bushnell at Amber Fort in Jaipur |
I had a drink with A. Revathi who ordered brandy then red label whiskey. She spoke at the festival about her autobiography, "The Truth About Me" as a transgender person. Then I had dinner with a group that included Martin Amis, Isabel Fonseca, Jay McInerney and Candace Bushnell. Me and Candy are going shopping together next time in Jaipur.
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| Brown Hawk Owl sleeping the day away |
Now, I am at The Bagh, one of my all-time favorite heritage hotels in Bharatpur next to Keoladeo National Bird Park. It's such an elegant, tasteful oasis with the most fantastic food. I can't gush enough about it. I had fresh mustard greens the other night and keema muttar, a really toothsome dish of minced mutton, spices and peas. And the 12 acres with hundreds of trees are filled with birds from yellow-footed green pigeons and grey Indian hornbills to a very rare Brown Hawk Owl. The markings on its white breast look like little brown hearts. One of the workers pointed it out to me one day and said "One piece" indicating there was only one owl of that kind in the tree, like it was a piece of toast. So funny. I love it.
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