City's 10th Adab Festival kicks off with tribute, creativity
: Literati take part in a discussion at the fourth Adab Festival while people browse through books at a stall and children take part in a painting activity. PHOTOS: EXPRESS/AGENCIES
The 10th Adab Festival opened on Saturday in a burst of colour, creativity and cultural expression, bringing together writers, intellectuals, students and book lovers for a full day of thought-provoking sessions and performances.
Speeches by poet and writer Kishwar Naheed, professor Dr Ishrat Husain and writer Shandana Minhas set the tone for a day. A moving memorial segment, "Tum Yaad Aaye: In Memoriam (2020-2025)," paid tribute to prominent Pakistani scholars, artists and cultural icons who passed away in recent years, including Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Nuzhat Kidwai, Zubeida Mustafa, Talat Hussain, Zia Mohyeddin, Amjad Islam Amjad, Nayyara Noor, IA Rehman, Bapsi Sidhwa, Karamat Ali and others.
The segment featured musical tributes - Sheema Saiyid performed Nayyara Noor's famous rendition of a Nasir Kazmi ghazal with accompaniment by Samreen Harrison, followed by Osama Israr Ahmed's performance of "Bol ke lab azaad hain teray," both composed by Arshad Mahmood.
Throughout the day, multiple sessions took place simultaneously, covering Urdu literature, progressive politics, cultural heritage, fine arts, history and education. A lively children's segment offered book- and craft-fairs, storytelling by Yasmin Moatasim, puppet theatre by Mehreen Kamran, bookmaking with Ameena Saiyid, theatre workshops by Atif Badr, and a creative writing workshop, the Story Makers Studio, led by Tahaa Kahar.
One of the first dialogue sessions featured renowned poet Zehra Nigah and civil society leader Shoaib Arshad, discussing the evolution of Urdu literature and its relationship with social change. Parallel sessions included a discussion on Zahid Hussain's 'A Dialogue with History' and 'Face to Face with Benazir', a panel on the rise and decline of progressive literature in Pakistan.