Society & Culture
How did Sanjoy Roy turn the Jaipur Literature Festival into one of the world’s most recognised cultural platforms?
In this episode of The Aditi Govitrikar Show, Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and the force behind the Jaipur Literature Festival, shares the real story of how JLF began, grew, survived controversy and became a global meeting place for literature, ideas, art and public conversation.
What started as a heritage project in Jaipur slowly became a cultural movement that brought together writers, artists, thinkers, readers and audiences from across the world. Sanjoy opens up about the early uncertainty of building a festival in Jaipur, the moment Oprah Winfrey came to JLF, the Salman Rushdie controversy, and the pressure of running a public-facing cultural institution where one wrong move can become national news.
But this conversation goes beyond culture and festivals. Sanjoy also speaks about his encounters with the supernatural, the paranormal experiences that shaped his book There’s a Ghost in My Room: Living with the Supernatural, and his belief in energies, healing and the unseen forces that influence human life.
From Jaipur Literature Festival to ghosts, from crisis management to creativity, from public leadership to universal energy, this episode explores the visible and invisible forces that shape people, places and stories.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Jaipur Literature Festival really started
Why JLF began as a heritage and arts project
Why Jaipur became the perfect festival city
How Oprah Winfrey changed global attention around JLF
The Salman Rushdie controversy and public pressure
How Sanjoy Roy handles crisis with calm leadership
What makes a speaker truly unforgettable
Why culture should be accessible, not elitist
His paranormal experiences and belief in energies
Why live human connection still matters in the age of AI
Watch till the end for a powerful conversation on culture, courage, creativity, energies, the supernatural and the making of the Jaipur Literature Festival.