Daily Times

The ongoing Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) has been well attended, particularly by students and young people. The festival has reinvigorated the city of Lahore, which has been overshadowed by the ubiquitous threat of violence and terror attacks. There was a wide array of sessions on literary, political and artistic topics to suit all interests. The multifarious topics have included the global battles against terrorism, book launches, the architecture of Lahore and homages to South Asian writers such as Khushwant Singh. At the Karachi Literary Festival, Amina Syed (a founding member of the event) highlighted the importance of the word “festival” at the inauguration speech. LLF has indeed been a celebration, from the man singing Heer in the grounds of Alhamra on the first day to the crowds of students debating current affairs over coffee between panels. The decorations and bright yellow divans in the lawn are symbols of the sheer joy of the event, as are the crowds who perpetually appear thrilled about the knowledge that they have gained and the discussions that they have participated in. The lines extending as far as the eye can see outside the entrance to the halls before each session exude the excitement and eagerness with which the public has embraced this great cultural endeavour. LLF is free and open to all. Elderly people and those with physical handicaps are brought in through the exits on the ground floors of the halls as an example of the inclusivity of the festival.

The organisers of the event have been very grateful to the Punjab police for providing support and security. The roads surrounding Alhamra have been cordoned off and multiple police vans and officers have been stationed outside the building. All participants are thoroughly checked by security and, despite the inconvenience, have generally been grateful to be able to enjoy all LLF has to offer without fear. The resilience of those organising, attending and supporting the festival in spite of all these threats is a manifestation of the indefatigable spirit of the city and Pakistanis in general. It shows that despite what history has hurled at us, we continue to fight, survive, learn and acknowledge the great cultural diversity of our land and people. The only irksome element of the event was the sheer density of interesting sessions occurring simultaneously. The addition of screening booths outside the halls has helped mitigate this effect. The reach of the festival could be increased even further if the LLF management began uploading the videos of the sessions to their website and on social media. This would give LLF a global outreach, projecting the art, culture and intellectual life of Pakistan to the world and providing an alternative narrative to the predominantly negative one of underdevelopment and extremism. Making the sessions available online would also allow those who could not attend the festival to have access to it. *