Written by: Sadaf Shahzad
Posted on: October 29, 2020 | 
| 中文
The Poster for the Tribute to Asif Farrukhi
Culture and literature enthusiasts rejoiced this week as the Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan hosted the 7th annual Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF), and the first virtual festival of its kind. With a diverse collection of talks on history, current affairs and poetry, people from all over Pakistan could join the conversation and engage with the panelists speaking at ILF.
The Inauguration ceremony kicked off with the Managing Director (MD) Arshad Saeed Husain opening the festival with a short speech. OUP decided on hosting a virtual festival due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Since last year, ILF had already begun to record and upload panels and talks, so the process of uploading talks as they were broadcast, was relatively quick and smooth. However, one would wonder if one hour is enough to truly capture the depth and engagement required for some of these panels. This edition of ILF has largely focused on current issues taking place in Pakistan, namely those in education and literature during the pandemic.
The ceremony ended with a performance by poet Zehra Nigah and Punjabi humorist Anwar Masood. Nighah, who has been a longtime contributor and attendee at literature festivals, inspired attendees with words that emphasized the positive aspects of technology to bridge barriers between people, the issues that have emerged due to COVID, and how young people taking interest in books can keep the Pakistani literary scene alive for generations to come. She ended her recitation with a call to actively preserve and keep alive literature in Pakistan.
Anwar Masood and Zehra Nigah
After this, Anwar Masood took over with his signature wit and charm as he spoke about the dedication it takes to write poetry. He explained how some poems take minutes to compose, while others can take years to perfect. Alongside reciting some famous verses and quips, he explained how as a writer, words and literature take on a life of their own, and the poet simply becomes a vehicle to send them into the world.
Since this was the first literature festival to take place after the passing of the great literary icon, Dr. Asif Farrukhi, ILF paid tribute to his life and work with “Humain tou Hairaan Kar Gaya Woh (He Left Us Speechless)”. The tribute panel was moderated by poet and activist Harris Khalique, who was a personal friend of Dr. Farrukhi, alongside Urdu academic Najeeba Arif and writer Hameed Shahid, who was also a personal friend of Dr. Farrukhi. Together, they not only recounted moments of their friendship with Dr. Farrukhi that brought joy, but also how he contributed to the cultivation of the Urdu language and literature.
Arif, who was Dr. Farrukhi’s contemporary, spoke of her admiration for his sense of judgment in literature, and the intellectual depth with which he engaged with other Urdu texts, especially those of Allama Iqbal. Shahid, whose books were published by Dr. Farrukhi, remembered him fondly as a person who was deeply committed to literature, and his unique ability to offer constructive criticism. As a writer and a translator, Arif commended his unique gift of using language that was readable but had great depth. In his translations into Urdu, he would always take into consideration the culture and idioms of Urdu, so that readers may better understand the context. Khalique pointed out his particular love for discussion as seen in his participation in cultural festivals. For Khalique, Dr. Farrukhi’s love of literature compelled him to constantly seek out like-minded individuals all over Pakistan, working to perpetuate the love for Urdu literature.
Lastly, they ended the discussion on the issue of multilingualism and regional languages, an issue that was very important to Dr. Farrukhi. They agreed that constant discussion on and engagement with regional languages, as well as giving them the same respect and resources as given to Urdu, would help bring back multilingualism in Pakistan’s culture.
Adding a bit of levity to the discussion was “The Magic of Children’s Literature”, a discussion on how children’s literature (particularly in Urdu) can be updated to modern times. The panel moderated by children’s host and singer Khaled Anam, featuring writers and OUP collaborators, Zara Mumtaz, Rumana Hussain and Maheen Zeeshan. The good-humored discussion helped convey many important issues pertaining to children’s literature, namely those of language, the incorporation of technology and the need to preserve oral traditions.
The Poster for the Magic of Children's Literature
They agreed that children’s literature in Pakistan often starts from stories passed down by grandparents, allowing children to form images in their minds to compliment the story. To keep children engaged and to make sure they understand the stories’ themes, Zeeshan argued the need for read-along, children’s book clubs and plays, which emphasized visual content and discussion. They also discussed the need to indigenize stories and actively promote local culture in these stories, with Mumtaz citing an example of her adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea”, set in a royal court of Mughal India. Alongside these themes, the panelists also explained their professional journeys with OUP, and how the OUP can help digitize or animate children’s stories to make them more appealing to children.
One of the most riveting and crucial discussions to take place at ILF, was ‘The National Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges”, which focused on the challenges and positive aspects of the Single National Curriculum (SNC) launched by the government. Moderated by Baela Raza Jamil, CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi (Centre of Education and Consciousness), a public trust dedicated to raising awareness on education in Pakistan. The panelists included Mr. Arshad Saeed Hussain, academic Dr. Faisal Bari, president of SZABIST University Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, and consultant Taymur Mirza. Mr. Rafiq Tahir, the education advisor to the Ministry of Federal Education & Training, was unfortunately not able to make it and his perspective would have certainly added to the engaging conversation.
The Single National Curriculum Poster
Although each panelist approached the issue with different perspectives and nuances, they agreed that the issue of the SNC is that of implementation. Mirza highlighted the potential and the active efforts of the government to engage and find similarity between all three streams of education (the public schools, the private schools and the madrassa), as well as listen to issues raised by experts (including those of incorporating students with impairments). Dr. Bari agreed, but emphasized the objective of the SNC to create equal opportunity for every child in Pakistan; to achieve this, the government has to look into the issues plaguing testing, pedagogy and the ability of the education to be flexible to the children’s needs. Ali took the issue further by reminding the panelists that the pluralist society that Pakistan prides, must also be incorporated in the curriculum, as opposed to giving one kind of knowledge and value system precedence over the others. Husain, speaking on behalf of OUP, the largest textbook publisher in Pakistan, agreed that there needs to be training programs and complementary packages set up to ensure the spread of knowledge. Given the government’s April 2021 deadline, he does not see how the government can work out these logistical issues in such a short time frame.
To end, they agreed that the government had the double burden of figuring out the logistics of the SNC alongside the management of virtual learning. For them, the best way forward is to focus on the output, that is the cultivation of skills and leave it to the school systems to decide how they would meet these goals. The most important aspect is to ensure every child receives good-quality education and the opportunities that come with it.
Alongside these serious discussions, ILF also saw various book launches, including “The Nine Lives of Pakistan” by Declan Walsh, who recounts his time in Pakistan as bureau chief of the New York Times here. Those interested in fiction may have enjoyed the book launch of “The Stained Glass Window: Stories of the Pandemic from Pakistan”, a fictionalized anthology of experiences writers had during the pandemic. Lastly, diehard Pakistani cinema fans might have enjoyed, “Love, War & Other Longings: Essays on Cinema Pakistan,” which brings together artists and academics to highlight key points and drawbacks in Pakistan’s cinematic history.
(Left)The Nine Lives of Pakistan, (Center) Love, War and Other Longings and (Right) The Stained Glass Window
Through its virtual platform, ILF managed to reach a wider platform than ever, continuing the tradition of offering exciting and thoughtful discussions with experts and enthusiasts. It has been a positive experience to be in proximity to the panelists and directly engage with the panelists through comments on social media. However, one longs for the day when restrictions would be eased, and literature enthusiasts could gather together once more to read books, talk about culture and interact with the intelligentsia of Pakistan.
The ILF will continue till 30th October, and those interested can watch the live stream on a href="https://www.facebook.com/KhiIsbLitFests/" target="_blank">Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Those interested in viewing the previous panels, can do so on the ILF’s Facebook page.
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