ILF concludes, leaving capital starving for more

Event boasted exciting discussions, book launches attended by select audience

ISLAMABAD:

The third and final day of the 8th Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF) concluded with stimulating debates and book launches. The event took place virtually but was peppered with a few face-to-face sessions attended by a select audience observing full Covid-19 protocol.

The day started with a session on ‘Cartooning: No Laughing Matter.’ The famed cartoonists Nigar Nazar, creator of ‘Gogi,’ and Shaukat Mahmood, creator of ‘Maxim’ along with Ricardo Martinez Ortega and Mahnaz Yazdani shared how creating wit and humour in pictures was indeed, no laughing matter.

The panel of speakers in ‘Yaad-e-Raftagan’ featured Fateh Muhammad Malik, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Najeeba Arif, Harris Khalique and Hameed Shahid. They paid tribute to those who had passed away but left behind a rich legacy of their literary works.

The morning session also featured Kishwar Naheed, the matriarch of resistance writing. She launched her book, ‘Buri Aurat ki Doosri Katha’ (The Bad Woman’s Second Story)—a sequel to her autobiography, ‘Buri Aurat Ki Katha’ (The Bad Woman’s Story). Naheed remains one of Pakistan’s most prolific Urdu poets and newspaper columnists.

There were two book launches in the morning hours. The first was ‘Dying to Serve: Militarism, Affect and the Politics of sacrifice in the Pakistan Army,’ where author Maria Rashid spoke about the morale and commitment of Pakistan's military culture in a compassionate way. The second was the autobiography of ‘Bacha Khan: My life and struggle’ – a lucid and historic English translation from the original Pukhto.

Also featured in the morning discussion was ‘Changing landscapes: Climate Conversation in Literature and Society’ curated by an expert panel of Ahmad Rafay Alam, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett and Bilal Zahoor.

The afternoon session ‘Hairat ka Bagh’ featured author Hameed Shahid. He discussed his collection of short stories and a novel, imbued with the mysteries and wonders of life. Also included in the session was Omar Mukhtar Khan’s ‘Once upon a time in Murree’ that captured the writer's nostalgic love for the hill station.

An ILF panel with Vaqar Ahmed, Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, Aliya Hashmi Khan discussed the impact of offshore tax havens in the session: ‘Panama, Pandora and Pakistan.’ Then, the session on ‘Digital Education: A new Normal’ talked about a new global report that explored the digital divide in education, following the shift to digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was followed by a panel discussion between Tallah Munir Khan, Nusrat Baquee, Sarah Farooq that highlighted trends shaping the digital learning landscape globally and in Pakistan.

The book launch of ‘Womansplaining: Navigating Activism, Politics and Modernity in Pakistan,’ edited by Sherry Rehman, shed a light on the potential of Pakistani women and their commitment to activism.

Another book launch of the ‘Marginalization, Contestation, and Change in South Asian Cities,’ edited by Nida Kirmani discussed the struggles over space, resources, identities, and meaning taking place within South Asian cities.

Late afternoon sessions included Pakistan: Current challenges and Priorities with Maleeha Lodhi and Owen Bennett-Jones in conversation with Arifa Noor on Pakistan’s current challenges.

This was followed by a session on ‘We the people: What the Constitution says?’ where distinguished panellists, Wasim Sajjad, Raza Rabbani and Ahmer Bilal Soofi laid forth facts contained in the 1973 Constitution.

The Web Series ‘Future of Digital Entertainment’ boasted entertainment personalities, Beo Zafar, Mehreen Jabbar and Sania Saeed and discussed the scope and scriptwriting for web series in the Digital Age.

The ILF concluded with keynote speeches by Francis Pritchett, Najiba Arif and Owen Bennett Jones.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2021.