Zia Mohyeddin’s session was filled to the brim with people from all age groups. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL/EXPRESS
The first Islamabad Literature Festival ended here on Wednesday having attracted over 15,000 participants across 35 sessions. During the two days, 70 leading Urdu and English writers, poets, intellectuals, journalists and diplomats enlightened audiences by interacting in stimulating discussions. The highlight of the festival was the participation of youth, who displayed a fervent interest in literary and current affairs issues.
Granta Award winner Kamila Shamshie read out extracts from her upcoming novel, which chronicles the wartime travails of a Pathan soldier between 1915 and 1930, shedding light on life in Peshawar during this period.
Zahid Hussain during the session on conflict and extremism in the AfPak region expressed his reservations about the risk of increased terrorism in Pakistan following the withdrawal of US forces in 2014. The roots of militancy were deep-rooted having developed under the state’s patronage, he remarked.
Zia Mohyeddin’s session was filled to the brim with people from all age groups, who found seats wherever they could, even if it meant on the floor. He didn’t disappoint, mesmerising the audience with his eloquence, humour, and satire.
The session on popular television dramas fielded Seema Tahir, Lylea Zuberi, Amjad Islam Amjad and Khawar Azhar.
The session on “How to write a Novel”, conducted by HM Naqvi and Irshad Abdul Qadir, attracted a host of amateur and aspiring storytellers, while Kamila Shamsie spoke about her recent achievement as one of Granta’s Best Young British novelists.
Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Humayun Gauhar and Riaz Khokar engaged in an engrossing debate during their session “Pakistan at the Crossroads.” The panelists’ comments also elicited some passionate responses from the audience. The closing ceremony’s key note address was presented by the legendary Zia Mohyeddin, bringing the festival to its official end amid hope that success on the levels of the Karachi Literature Festival can be reached in the years to come.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2013.
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I didn't like the ILF, simply because you expect stalls of great OUP books, and there was just ONE OUP stall, the rest looked like old book store stalls, and really worthless. The good thing was speaking engagements by greats like ZM, Intezaar Hussein, even Mustansar Hussein Tarar. That was the good part - but then you can always get these people in any seminar at any time of the year - I wanted to buy OUP books that are not easily available in Islamabad. As far as 'literature' festival goes, the program was bad, but as far as pampering the elite literatti goes, it was a success.
To the organizers of this glorious festival and to all the writers and participants,
Thank you for restoring my hope in our Pakistan. If we can have forums like this where anyone from the general public can simply walk in without paying a single penny and can question and debate with the likes of Kamila Shamsie, Ahmed Rashid, H. M. Naqvi and all the other geniuses we saw. If we can have an exchange of ideas and experiences with such masters as was witnessed in these past two days, if we can begin to broaden the horizons of our youth by exposing them to the kind of subjects that were discussed, then there is yet hope for Pakistan, so so much hope! Shama say shama jalatay rahein aap sab. Thank you!