Balochistan is widely known as a volatile region marked with a history of insurgency and meager resources for its population. It nearly always invokes images of men carrying guns. However, a recently held book festival this year showed the rest of the country a sharp contrast to the general perception about the province. Starting on February 13, the three-day Ata Shad Literature Festival drew crowds of young and old in Turbat city, situated in Kech district and Balochistan’s second-largest city after Quetta. On this occasion, instead of guns, the youth were armed with books and proved that enthusiastic bibliophiles can be found in Balochistan.
Living in Turbat, I have known that the people of Balochistan are voracious readers and have a deep love of books. However, the turnout at the festival was a heartening surprise for many others.
Parveen Naz, one of the organisers of the festival said she and her team had previously been setting up books stalls across Balochistan in order to get a sense of which areas are home to avid readers. She said, "We have been opening book stalls everywhere in Balochistan to check which areas truly respect books. Turbat was the district where we sold a lot of books and earned the most by giving 50 percent discounts to the students". At the festival, too, they made record book sales. Baloch students attending the event bought nearly three times more books than the annual literary festivals held in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.
“People will not believe that in Ata Shad Literature Festival more than 3.5 million books have been sold but it is true,” says Ghafoor Shad, a member of the Balochistan Academy Turbat where the festival was held. “We saw people carrying sacks full of books. The people of Balochistan are real book lovers.” The festival offered a huge discount for students which encouraged them to shop for books.
"I think it is the first time such a huge literature festival was conducted in [Turbat] city,” says Naz. “I remember that in 2012, we came here and set up a book stall. Then too plenty of children brought different types of books. I consider Turbat as a place where students read books for lunch," she shares. The reading culture and the education system in places like Panjgur, Khuzdar, Naag, and Noshkiand Washuk pale in comparison to Turbat.
Rahim Lal, a resident of Turbat attending the festival said, "I am a bookworm. As I see these books, I want to buy them all.” He added, “I was elated to meet our national historians and other intellectuals here. More importantly, we want such wonderful festivals to be conducted every year in order to promote a better reading culture.” The speakers at the festival made it an informative and educational event.
Dr. Farooq Baloch, the great historian of Balochistan, along with Dr. Shah Muhammad Marri, Dr. Wahid Baksh Buzdar, and Dr. Badal Khan held discussions regarding the real history of the Baloch nation.
The Ata Shad Festival was open for all the visitors. More than 30 book stalls were set up by various local publishers. There were plenty of books on sale ranging from history, religion, literature, and philosophy to psychology, politics, and others. In attendance were contemporary Baloch historians, poets, translators and many other luminaries who shared their wisdom about the importance of book festivals. One of the most discussed topic pertaining to the local reading culture was the closure of the Turbat Public Library. The library was closed during the pandemic and remains unopened to date, causing great inconvenience to the local students.
"For three years, our Turbat Public Library has been closed and the people of Kech are readers and knowledgeable,” said Irshad Parwaz, my personal favorite poet in Balochistan. “Without books, they are thirsty. So it has been proven by today's festival. Around me, at a glance, not a single bookstall is empty.” He urged the government to open the library as soon as possible.
Making room for reading in Kech
The speakers gathered at the Balochistan Academy Turbat stressed that libraries play an integral role in the development of society. “A nation is deprived when its libraries shut their doors,” said Dr. AR Dad, a prominent writer, pointing out that, “The world is rapidly developing in various ways but our country, unfortunately, always takes a step back towards underdevelopment … On the one hand, our government says that our younger generation should be knowledgeable and also participate in academic competitions but on the other hand, if they are closing the libraries without any reason, then surely society cannot progress.” Dad said, “Every home must have books and every town must have libraries.”
Historian Dr. Badal Khan remarked, “Libraries are the life of a society. If a city has no libraries, then surely that place has died along with its people. Libraries encourage students to read more as well as understand.”
To sustain the spirit shown by the people of Turbat for reading, book festivals are a lucrative idea. Such festivals can be taken to every village, town or city in order to motivate readers to participate in buying books. In the future, it is these books that will help them. It would also be feasible for the bookstall owners if the authorities help them launch book fairs for students every six months or year in every part of the province.
Mubarak Faryad is a freelance journalist based in Turbat. All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the write