Please tell us in detail about how the idea and concept of the Lahore Literary Festival occur to you?

The LLF was conceived at a time, circa 2012, when Lahore was witnessing a whittling down of public engagements and discourses, and the few, which did take place, were confined to closed campuses. The city’s traditions of storytelling at teashops, festivals and open campuses were not any more freely and widely practised and celebrated. Lahore, a historically, literary city, was, ironically at the time of conceptualising the LLF, home to just a few bookstores, which did not offer a terribly exciting range of contemporary literature. That changed with the LLF. Buoyed by the book sales at the annual editions of the LLF, booksellers subsequently introduced new authors and expanded their offerings of fiction genres. Besides a celebration of the traditions of Lahore and its past, it was also essential to bring back the habits of reading and critical thinking among the youth. To make the past relevant and meaningful to our contemporary society so that the city’s rich history and heritage, even if often under a lingering threat of demolition or erasure, continued to inspire young storytellers and thinkers.

Organising a programme as prestigious, exclusive and unique must not have been an easy task. What were some of the initial challenges and hurdles you faced and how did you overcome them?

The LLF is an open and free-to-public event. We have had the pleasure to have hosted eminent writers and thinkers from Pakistan and abroad, and have provided the platform annually for first-time writers too. Balancing between the established and emerging writers can be challenging on occasions, as, even though, we abide by an inclusive approach, we remain resolute to uphold high standards of writing, craft, language, and thought in order to keep inspiring the public. I feel, there’s a surge in South Asia of publishing new fiction and other writings, which is great as that’s democratic, but, in many cases, little effort is made in the process to bring forth a body of work which is original, thoughtful, and evocative of the times. Maintaining a certain standard is essential to the enduring success of the LLF as is the case with an educational institution or a broadsheet. The matter of selection can be challenging, and at the same time, stimulating to deliver qualitatively distinct ideas and riveting new books for our audiences.

What are you currently working on?

LLF has in a short span of five years in Lahore grown into a three-continent festival. We annually hold the LLF in New York in partnership with Asia Society. And, in London, this year we will hold our second edition at the British Library on October 28. The LLF in London will be a special edition as its programming will echo a nation in retrospect to celebrate the milestone of Pakistan on its platinum independence anniversary.

‘In spite of the challenges of working in Pakistan, it does provide incredible opportunities for business and cultural entrepreneurs. I want to be an agent of change for my city and the country’

Tell us about your experience being on the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, Jaipur in 2015? In what ways are the literary festivals in India different from ours?

Being one of the judges for the DSC Prize, gave me an insight on the range of political and social themes that South Asian authors were addressing from assassinations to calamities to social unrest to the post-war landscapes. The literature on modern South Asia, based on a sample of the 75 books we were assigned, is moored in the political framework of the region wherein the twining of the personal and political in fiction, such as in the case of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Lowland, is reflective of the unresolved crises that grip South Asia and identify-formation of its citizens. As for the lit fests in India, I have attended the Jaipur and Kolkata festivals. The Kolkata lit fest hosted by the local Oxford bookshop stood out for me as it imaginatively scatters its sessions across Kolkata’s magisterial sites such as the Indian Museum and the Victoria Memorial. It’s something I will love to see in Lahore where we’re bearing in mind security concerns of the state and citizens, in a position to host sessions, mushairas, and concerts at sites such as Jahangir’s Tomb, Jinnah Library at the Lawrence and Montgomery Halls, and Hazuri Bagh.

Please tell us about your involvement with the Associated Group. How passionately do you feel about the company’s operations and in what ways you feel it’s contributing to the country’s development?

I work as one of the directors at AG, which was founded by my grandfather and its specialised niche is clean energy. Its a hands-on experience in administration and management, which allows me to, in line with our group’s corporate guidelines, undertake effective, result-oriented change to achieve our targets and improve the organisational culture of our group. We have contributed significantly through grants, scholarships, and institutional support, to improving lives of our employees, and the communities in which we serve.

You are also the director of philanthropic arm Zohra & ZZ Ahmed Foundation. Tell us a little about that.

My sister, who has extensive experience in the development sector, chairs Zohra & ZZ Ahmed Foundation. We have worked through the foundation to promote community empowerment and excellence in education. It set up the endowed Physics and Mathematics chair at Forman Christian College, Lahore that was held by Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy. The Foundation has been recognised by the Pakistan Centre of Philanthropy as one of the top five foundations in Pakistan. It has also supported arts and literature by sponsoring Life’s Too Short short story contest, LLF, and scholarships at the National College of Arts.

What is your vision for Pakistan and what does it mean to be Pakistani for you?

As we turn 70 this month, we have to rediscover our pre-1947 history, take and derive collective ownership of the heritage bank which is spread across the country, including, but not limited to, Mehrgarh, Moenjodaro, Harappa, Taxila, Takht-i-Bahi, and Makli. Every child and citizen of the country should be acquainted with these sites for a sense of the past, and inspired from the Indus and Gandhara civilisations and formulate more multidimensional identities as Pakistani citizens. We have to unshackle ourselves from the historical revisionist colonial accounts of our homeland and learn of it in the entirety of known history, precolonial and pre-Islamic too. No better a way to do so than the points of reference the glorious physical heritage of Pakistan provides to instructors to include in their schools’ curricula for education through a liberal arts prism.

You are a strong, driven and an independent individual. What motivates or prompts you to excel no matter what?

In spite of the challenges of working in Pakistan, it does provide incredible opportunities for business and cultural entrepreneurs. I want to be an agent of change for my city and the country, create value in business and not-for-profit initiatives, and give back to the society especially in terms of building institutions and working in teams, with people who I can learn from and be inspired by to effect positive, meaningful change. We must individually keep pushing ourselves in a focused way to ensure that no dream for a progressive, tolerant society remains unfulfilled.

We at Daily Times, consider you one of our national heroes. Who are some of yours?

Abdul Sattar Edhi for his untiring journey for the betterment of the underprivileged, and providing shelter and solace for orphans and widows; for setting up one of the most impressive, transparent systems of ‘self-help’ mode of welfare which includes emergency services, and other necessary humanitarian support. Benazir Bhutto for stepping out of her privileged lifestyle to wage a street war and face the cost of a draconian regime soon after her father’s hanging. She led the struggle for freedom and liberty in the country, and made good on her promise in 1988, when she became the first female head of a Muslim state, by restoring rights of speech, movement, and expression. Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, for his extraordinary philanthropy and a sophisticated approach to sustainable ecosystems. AKDN has undertaken exemplary human development, where primary education and healthcare are provided free of cost to the Ismaili community, in Hunza, Skardu and the broader Gilgit-Baltistan. AKDN has raised the global bar for restoration and conservation of centuries old fortresses such as the Altit and Baltit in Hunza, and, by training local artisans, recently restored the frescoes of the 17th Century bathhouse, the Shahi Hamam in Lahore.

         Achievements

THE CULTURAL ICON

Razi Ahmed is the chief executive officer and the founder of the annual Lahore Literary Festival, which is now an international literary festival held annually in Lahore. It is the largest cultural event of Lahore. It draws over 75,000 people to the halls and grounds of its premises to hear a mix of Punjabi, Pakistani and international speakers including Asma Jahangir, Mohsin Hamid, Hameed Haroon, Naseeruddin Shah, Bapsi Sidhwa, Shahzia Sikander, Tehmina Durrani, Nayyar Ali Dada, Jugnu Mohsin, Zia Mohyeddin and many more.

ENVIRONMENTALIST

Razi Ahmed is the director of the Associated Group and oversees the successful implementation of the company’s 136-megawatt power plant at Bhikhi. He has also previously served as a consultant on biogas to the Rural Support Programmes Network

THE ACADEMIC

Razi has a degree in political science and economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in international energy and policy from Columbia University.

AN AVID WRITER

Razi has written for Dissent, Huffington Post and Open Democracy.

THE LITERARY FIGURE

Razi has been one of the judges for the DSC Prize in South Asian Literature of the reputable Jaipur Literary Festival. He was also invited to grace the Kolkata Literary Festival with his presence.

GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY

Razi is the director of the charity organisation Zohra & ZZ Ahmed Foundation, which is chaired by his sister. Together with this philanthropic arm, he helps promote community empowerment and excellence in education as well as arts and literature. It has been recognised as one of the top five philanthropic foundations in Pakistan.

Published in Daily Times, August 9^th 2017.