Legends of languages awarded at festival

ISLAMABAD:

As many as 10 'Legends of the Languages' (Celebrating Lifetime Achievements of Prominent Personalities of Mother Languages) were awarded at the ongoing Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival (MLLF) 2023 on Saturday.

The legends included Amar Jalil (Sindhi), Dr Fatima Hassan, Salma Shaheen (Pushto), Sharif Shad (Potohari), Dr Fazal Khaliq (Balochi), Sarwat Mohiuddin (Punjabi), Riffat Abbas (Saraiki), Dr Muhammad Sagheer Khan (Pahari), Dr Abdul Rehman Brahui (Brahui) and Muhammad Irfan (Khowar).

National Heritage and Culture Division Secretary Fareena Mazhar on Friday inaugurated a three-day 'Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival' arranged by Indus Cultural Forum (ICF) in collaboration with Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

Addressing the opening ceremony, she said, "Languages are source of communication and more than 70 languages exist in Pakistan."

The federal secretary stressed the need for promoting languages in the country, saying that the National Heritage and Culture Division will leave no stone unturned in promoting languages.

Writers from all over the country gathered and deliberated on promotion of mother languages.

During the opening ceremony of the festival, PNCA Director General Muhammad Ayub Jamali said that the purpose of the festival was to provide a platform to intellectuals, writers and thinkers representing different languages to come together and present their work on various genres of art, literature, culture and education in mother languages of Pakistan. He said that Pakistan has a rich cultural tradition and linguistic diversity of over 70 local languages.

Indus Cultural Forum Chairma Manzoor Hussain Soomro highlighted the significance of this festival to pay tribute to living legends who had dedicated their lives to the promotion and protection of Pakistan’s mother languages.

Jami Chandio, an eminent writer and cultural activist in his keynote speech stated that languages flourished only through communicating with people from different cultures and backgrounds. He, therefore, stressed that the state should also support diversity as a strength of Pakistan, and regional and native languages should be recognised at the national level.

Swaang theater group presented theater on Saadat Hassan Manto's stories. The play received huge applause from the audience. The festival will launch more than eighty books on fiction, poetry, dictionaries, travelogues and children's literature.

Poets representing over 20 mother languages will recite poetry in their languages, with translation in Urdu, in Mushaira.

Famous artist Mushtaq Lashari has focused diversity and cultures of Pakistan in his paintings.

The three-day festival started on Friday and will conclude on Sunday (today).

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2023.