The Goa THINKFest Is TED Meets Jaipur Lit Fest

Tina Brown.

Ever since a TED conference was held in Mysore in 2009, there have been a slew of similar but smaller talks and seminars around the country. Enter into the fray the latest, a three-day extravaganza called THINKFest, organised by Tehelka and Newsweek, to be held in Goa from Friday, November 4 to Sunday, November 6. According to the event’s official website, the conclave will “aim to bring together some of the most diverse and cutting edge ideas across the world in the fields of politics, technology, arts, culture, and human rights”. Which obviously means a smattering of politicans, writers and Bollywood peeps who will gather to talk about issues that impact “human affairs and the future”.

Among the 70 speakers are: Tina Brown (editor of Newsweek/The Daily Beast), Aamir Khan, Imran Khan (the actor, not the former cricketer turned politician), Dibakar Banerjee, Frank Gehry, Hari Kunzru, Kapil Sibal, Nandan Nilekani, Shashi Tharoor, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Thomas Friedman, V. S. Naipaul and William Dalrymple. In other words, it’s like a TED meets Jaipur Lit Fest meets India Today Conclave. Except, if you’re willing to spend the money to go to Goa and/or happen to be in the sunny state by chance, then you can attend all of the talks for free. All you have to do is register (the organisers tell us seats are limited and filling fast) on the website. If, however, you’d like to attend the lunches, dinners and post-talk soirees hosted by the fest, then you’ll have to cough up Rs31,000, which does not incidentally, cover the cost of accommodation. For media folks, that fee is being discounted to Rs19,000.

For more information, visit goathinkfest.com.