Written by: Sadaf Shahzad
Posted on: February 22, 2021 | 
| 中文
The Poster for LLF 2021
While life worked its way around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, people all over the world feel the absence of large gatherings and conventions, which they would wait for all year round. The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) has been one such event that brought together literature and culture enthusiasts from Pakistan and abroad to discuss historical, social, political and cultural matters. LLF 2020 was the last big event that took place in Pakistan before the lockdown was declared in the country, and public gatherings no longer became safe.
This year, LLF decided to go virtual, pre-recording most of the sessions with international authors and airing them over the 18th-21st weekend of late February. One positive aspect of taking discussions to digital platforms was the opportunity to reach out and include a diverse collection of readers, writers and practitioners in Pakistan and abroad.
Ahmed Rashid (Left) and Sebastian Faulks during 'The Francophile' Talk
Through talks and book launches, this year’s LLF prominently featured discussions on fascinating personalities, whether they were internationally acclaimed writers or South Asian revolutionary subjects. The event paid respective tributes to the lives and works of the late Dr. Asif Farrukhi and Shamsur Rehman Farruki, who passed away recently. Senator Afrasiab Khattak similarly paid tribute to Pashtun revolutionary Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, by launching the English translation of his autobiography with Mukulika Banerjee, a professor at the London School of Economics, and Shandana Humayun Khan, chair of Culture Connect Pakistan.
(Left) The Bacha Khan Biography Book Launch and The Book Cover (Right)
Writers took the centre stage at this year’s festival, with many talks by prominent and acclaimed authors. Political historian Ahmed Rashid offered a thoughtful conversation with French-Lebanese journalist and writer Amin Maalouf about what it means to study and write about past historical events, and the process of writing his historical masterpiece, ‘Samarkand’. Popular writers like Elif Shafak (Forty Rules of Love) and Yann Martel (‘Life of Pi) also spoke about how their lives and interests had prompted them to write such books which eventually would resonate with many readers around the world.
This year’s LLF also featured talks on key eras of South Asian history, from the Mughal Era kings to the aftermath of Partition. Since Mughal history is always a prominent component of LLF, ‘The Great Mughals’ showcased the way among the great emperors envisioned and changed their definition of what it meant to be a king of the Subcontinent, and how current events influenced people’s perceptions of these emperors. Art history took up considerable space in this year’s festival, with artist Salima Hashmi speaking to Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Kavita Singh about the history and relevance of miniature art to the Indian Subcontinent. For those more interested in Islamic art, the book discussion around ‘Stealing from the Saracens’ explains how Islamic architecture inspired and influenced Christian European religious aesthetics.
Continuing the topic of architecture, F.S. Aijazuddin spoke to Dehli-based architectural conservationist Sunita Kohli about her study techniques and importance of the British colonial architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who created the identity of colonial Dehli with his hybrid British-indigenous design. Another book launch that touched on a previously unspoken part of colonialism, was ‘The Lost Homestead A Lost World; Pre-Partition Memories of Sargodha’, in which British lawyer Marina Wheeler narrates her mother’s memoirs of British-era Punjab, and tries to come to terms with her family’s uncomfortable legacy of being part of the colonial project.
(Left) Hinglal Devi and Desi Delicacies (Right)
Entering the present, Development economist Sikander Bizenjo met with German anthropologist Jürgen Schaflechner to speak about the solidification of the identity, but through the lens of the old Hindu Hinglaj Devi temple in Balochistan which recently became connected to the rest of the country through the Makran Coastal Highway. One of the more unique talks that took place was on ‘Desi Delicacies’, moderated by Raza Rumi, which focused on the evolution of South Asian taste palettes, and how dishes like Qorma and Burger became symbols of class and community over time.
Alongside cultural and historical talks, non-fiction and current affair enthusiasts had many conversations to choose from when it came to current issues. The ‘No-Win War; The Paradox of US-Pakistan Relations in Afghanistan’s Shadow’ book launch by journalists Zahid Hassan and Kathy Gannon, flipped perspectives on US-Pakistan relations, by focusing on how the US heavily relied on Pakistan’s location and intelligence post-9/11. Likewise, in the Book launch of ‘Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry that Unraveled Middle East’, Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas uses the symbol of a black burka or ‘niqab’ to explain how the increasing conservatism in the middle east arose from political movements within Iran and the Gulf States.
'Black Wave' by Kim Ghattas
International literary exchanges became an important part of the festival, as talks progressed. For instance, ‘The Discomfort of Evening’, an award-winning book by Dutch writer Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, introduced familiar themes of adolescence and grief through a uniquely Dutch context. Similarly, Ahmed Rashid’s discussion with novelist and playwright Sebastian Faulks gave people an insight into the kind of despondent Post-WWII mindset that inspired Faulks to write his famous play “Birdsong”. Moving on to the more speculative aspect of current affairs, LLF organizer Razi Ahmed spoke to journalist Fareed Zakaria and former Ambassador to the US Maleeha Lodhi about the incoming “hybrid-reality”, and the need for national resilience as well as international cooperation that will come about in the aftermath of the pandemic.
'Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World' Talk
The following were some of the diverse discussions which were aired during the long weekend. While, many of these talks and newly published books offer more diverse and interesting content than ever, the lack of discussions on current social issues, as well as the scarce presence of Urdu and other regional literature within the talks, are possible avenues for improvement in later festivals. It has been refreshing to connect so many international writers on such a large scale, one hopes that the next time people congregate for LLF, everyone will be physically present to partake in the discussion. Those who missed the fascinating and rich talks at this year’s LLF can access all the talks on the LLF’s social media pages.
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