The fourth edition of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) kicked off at Avari Hotel on Saturday with poets, writers, journalists and intellectuals from Pakistan and around the world gracing the event. As many as 26 sessions were held on day one on topics ranging from poetry to fiction and from art to history and modern politics.
A session “Urdu Nazm Ki Rawayat” (the traditions of Urdu poems) was addressed by acclaimed Urdu poets Zehra Nigah, Kishwar Naheed and Syed Nomanul Haq. According to the tentative schedule, this session was to be moderated by Asghar Nadeem Syed but as he could not attend the event, the session was moderated by Kishwar Naheed.
“I regard Noon Meem Rashid as the best poet of Urdu poems after Allama Iqbal as Rashid had a vast knowledge of Quranic teachings and also enjoyed a command over Persian, Arabic, English and Urdu languages,” Zehra Nigah said.
Nigah, who made a name for herself through her literary work in the male-dominated society of 1950s and eventually won the Pride of Performance award, recited her famous poem “Samjhota”. She said that the poems of Urdu literature can be life changing with their messages and themes. The other panellist Kishwar Naheed, a recipient of Sitara-e-Imtiaz, described the traits of Urdu poems and the effect they could have on their readers. She narrated the story of her arrest and brutality during the regime of Ziaul-Haq when she recited her poem “Ye Hum Gunahgar Aurtien Hein” in a rally on Mall Road Lahore in 1983.
A special session was held to pay tribute to the noted fiction writer Intizar Hussain who passed away a few days ago. Hussain, who himself was a regular visitor of the literary festivals, was remembered in a session “The world of Intizar Hussain”. The speakers were Asif Farrukhi, Kishwar Naheed, Eruj Mubarak and Nasir Abbas Nayyar. The session was moderated by Masood Ashar. The speakers said during discussion that Intizar Hussain had a close association with this land which it can be witnessed in his writings. In his famous novel “Basti”, he artistically shows his love for the soil of this land as he talks about trees, squirrels and the cultural traditions of his corner of the world.
Asif Farrukhi narrated an incident involving the great author. He said that when he was deputed in Canada, he had a meeting with Intizar Hussain when the latter visited Canada. Farrukhi introduced Intizar Hussain to his boss there and the boss started to tell Hussain the beauty of Canada. Intizar Hussain said to Farrukhi’s boss that everything was beautiful in Canada except the squirrel as the squirrel in Hussain’s country had been blessed by a saint. Masood Ashar said that there is a need to celebrate Intizar Hussain rather than mourn his death as he has left behind a great literary work.
AG Noorani, a veteran Indian lawyer and historian spoke in a session on the India-Pakistan relationship and also talked about Kashmir. The session was moderated by accomplished journalist Khaled Ahmed. “There is no solution to India-Pakistan hostilities until the Kashmir issue is resolved,” Noorani claimed. He further said that the nationalist leaders of Kasmir had very little to give to the Kashmiri people as their lives revolved around the rhetoric that surrounded the Kashmir issue. Although, he said, Mir Waiz Umar Farooq is different to some extent.
The two-day event will conclude today (Sunday). While some of the sessions attracted huge audiences, others were sparsely attended. Many people could be seen visiting the book stalls throughout the day. The venue of the festival was changed to Avari hotel from Alhamra at the last minute over security concerns, while the festival was truncated by one day.
