9 women who are likely to make battling the crowds at Jaipur Literature Festival worth it

You know it's that time of the year when the bibliophile in you is at an all-time high! Yes, you got it right girls, we are talking about the Jaipur Literature Festival.

The festival, which is entering its 10th year, will begin on January 19 and will have something in store for everyone.

The theme for this year is 'The Freedom to Dream', a pertinent topic considering the current times. Apart from veterans, the festival will also be inviting budding authors to share a synopsis of their work and give them a platform to showcase their creativity.

It isn't just about books, you can feast your ears to music, go gaga over the art and culture, in addition to listening to some great speakers.

Here are some amazing women you need to watch out for if you're headed to Jaipur for a fun-filled weekend at the festival.

Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush

The daughter of a superstar, wife of another--she has recently penned a book titled Standing on an Apple Box that narrates the story of her life living with superstars. The filmmaker-author will be speaking about the same at the festival.

Kate Tempest

The extraordinary British spoken-word artist is famous for her poetry collections Everything Speaks in its Own Way and Hold Your Own. In her latest album Let Them Eat Chaos, Tempest has incorporated hip-hop and performance poetry in a unique way. If you are into slam poetry and spoken word, you definitely cannot miss her session.

Sunita Narain

A writer and environmentalist, Narain awarded the coveted Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2005. Through her work, she has championed the environmentalism of the poor. She was also on Time magazine's list of world's '100 Most Influential People' in 2016.

Amruta Patil

If you are a graphic novel fanatic, and have read Patil's book Kari a million times, 2017 is your lucky year. The graphic novelist and artist will be speaking at the festival this year. The recurrent themes in her books include sexuality, myth, sustainable living, and the unbroken thread of stories passed down from storyteller to storyteller. Patil has several sessions lined up, which is surely something to look forward to. 

Vaasanthi
The renowned Tamil author, journalist, and columnist will be returning to the festival this year. In a career spanning over 40 years, she has published 30 novels, six short story collections, four volumes of journalistic articles, and four travelogues in Tamil. She recently wrote a book on the late politician Jayalalitha titled Amma: Jayalalithaa's Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen.

Linda Colley

She is a professor of history at Princeton University and a fellow of the British Academy. Her work includes the award-winning Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837, Captives: Britain, Empire and the World, 1600-1850 and The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History.

Mallika Dua

If you have seen her video Shit people Say in Sarojini Nagar, then you probably know what to expect in her session. Full of sass, Dua is completely honest and unforgiving when it comes to calling spade a spade. We are definitely eager to see her Makeup Didi avatar on stage at the festival.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

She is an award-winning author, poet, activist, and teacher of writing. Her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies, while One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have been optioned. Divakaruni is also the recipient of American Book Award, a PEN Josephine Miles award, a Light of India award, and the Italian Premio Scanno Award.

Naseem Shafaie
She is the first Kashmiri female writer to win the Tagore Award for Excellence in Literature and the Sahitya Akademi Award. Shafaie writes about a variety of topics, including the turbulent atmosphere of Kashmir from a woman's perspective.

We don't know about you guys, but we are definitely ready with our bags packed.