Daily Times

LAHORE: The second and the last day of the eagerly-awaited Lahore Literary Festival 2016, was attended in full by Lahore’s leading dignitaries, scholars, writers, analysts, politicians, professors, journalists and students.

Sessions being held all throughout the premises of Avari Hotel, covered topics from museums to literature, Islam, art photography and politics. Within these sessions was one, which was moderated by the renowned Fifi Haroon, titled Inside The Labyrinth – A Take From Pakistan On David Bowie. This session included a panel consisting of fashion designer Kamiar Rokni, Professor Leon Menezes, journalist and commentator Mona Eltahawy and Shahid Zahid. An exciting session, which detailed the fun and quirky life of musician and actor David Bowie, was enjoyed a great deal by the audience present, that was entertained by brief screenings of David Bowie’s greatest hits’ videos and his last track from the album ‘Black Star’.

“If you get a chance to see any of the documentaries based on his life, you’d know what his old school friends and people who had known him before he became a star, said. They all thought of him as a ‘fashion figure’,” Kamiar Rokni said. Bowie’s track “Fashion” from the early 1980s, was screened briefly where the video showed Jean Paul Gaultier’s stunning creations being adorned by the models who walked the ramp. The audience roared with applause. Next, “Let’s dance” was screened. Mona Eltahawy spoke about how Bowie was open about his sexuality and orientation. “The legend that he was, Bowie was human and came with his flaws. His fascination for intimacy with underage girls was an open secret,” she said.

“Bowie was not just an ordinary person, he was a voracious reader too. The lyrics to a majority of his songs had depth and meaning to them,” Zahid said. “He somehow made it seem OK to be weird,” Eltahawy added. “Bowie was brave; he broke down taboos and explored sexuality, which I think is the ultimate way to freedom.” Haroon agreed with Eltahawy on Bowie being open about his life and his struggles, which included his battle with cancer to, which he succumbed last month. “His last track, which came out from his album ‘Black Star’, was based on mortality,” she said.

“What a beautiful way to make an exit,” Rokni said after briefly viewing the video to “Lazarus”, a comment, which was met by thunderous applause.

Another session, titled The Power Of Photography – The Human Imperative was moderated by leading photographer Arif Mahmood and Tapu Javeri with another leading photographer Reza Deghati on the panel. This particular session, was the most moving and inspirational from all as Reza Deghati highlighted the need and the importance of a good picture. The first photograph, which he showed to the audience was that of a little girl in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. “This girl has the eyes, which have seen war.” Showing other photographs, Deghati informed a spellbound audience, how he had walked miles to take particular shots, sometimes even without food. “Once, in North Waziristan, I was hungry and desperately looking for something to eat, when there was a group of children who noticed my camera. I quickly hid it under a shawl I was wearing. They kept shouting at me, pleading me to take their picture, but I told them to hush, because if anybody else came to know I was a photographer, they would suspect me for being a threat,” Deghati shared. The 63-year-old photographer has travelled all over the world, from Pakistan to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan to Somalia, Saudi Arabia to Russia, taking photos to highlight what violence, war and famine does to people, how racism changes our attitudes, and also how there are still some people who respect other religions and live and let live.

“How can we call ourselves civilised when we got millions of money in our bank accounts whereas there are people out there who die of hunger? I locked myself in my hotel room for 72 hours without food, just so I could get a brief idea on what starving children in Africa feel like,” Deghati said.

He showed another photograph, where former prime minister Benazir Bhutto looked fresh and young with determination and ambition in her eyes.

Session Mobilising New Readers was moderated by writer and editor Asif Farrukhi with Alexandra Pringle, Oxford University Press Managing Director Ameena Saiyid, writer and illustrator Ashok Ferrey and publisher Chiki Sarkar as panellists. Ameena Saiyid, during the session, said, “I feel like it’s very challenging to attract readers to books. Pakistani writers and authors still await their right due. I think there should be proper book awards and ceremonies in Pakistan, where we could honour writers and their works. The best salesman any book can have is its writer itself.” Asif Farrukhi stressed how it was important for Pakistanis to read literature and not just bad news, which comes out in the newspaper every day.

“There’s politics with a small ‘p’ in every profession, and in the field of publishing, it’s not different. One has to make their way around these problems,” Pringle said.

Chiki Sarkar urged writers to touch topics, which are a mystery to regular citizens. She mentioned the story of Arushi Talwar, who was found murdered in her home. She shed light on the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, and what a mystery and tragedy it was for the entire family. “We need a story on the plight of this young boy who lost his father first and then mercilessly abducted. What happened to him, his family and their agony, light needs to be shed on that,” Sarkar said. Pringle discussed the reason literary festivals were doing so well all over was because readers needed a physical connection with the writer and authors they read about and admire. LLF 2017 is eagerly awaited now.