Jaipur Literature Festival 2011 over

The Jaipur Literature Festival, which wrapped up Tuesday, is Asia's largest, an eclectic mix of big-name authors, Bollywood luminaries and lots of debate. This year's attendees included Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and Candace Bushnell, author of 'Sex and the City. Five days of fan frenzy, intellectually stimulating sessions, free flowing wine, paparazzi, electric evenings, marathon book signing sessions, cerebral discussions, all came to an end with the closing of the Jaipur Literature Festival. With over 200 authors and innumerable budding writers, the festival at Diggy Palace that ended Tuesday was like a big fat Punjabi wedding where everyone - right from the hotels to the auto-rickshaws - made a killing.
The city of forts and palaces with a rich Rajputana history and an overwhelming hospitality certainly lived up to the celebrated literary romantic notions. Add to that a golden Mughal touch in the form of royal hall settings and you had an enviable combination. While murmurs of how the festival was better and less commercial last year were rife amongst the literati, the presence of the likes of J.M. Coetzee and Orhan Pamuk and girlfriend Kiran Desai - the festival's own Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - certainly made headlines. The festival has, over the last few years, given Jaipur a generous piece of the rich literary pie. It is an event the whole city knows about and takes pride in hosting.