Adeel Hashmi addresses the audience at the last Khayaal Festival that took place in 2013. PHOTOS: PUBLICITY
Recent years have seen cultural festivals emerging across the country, with the literature festival brand leading the line. The upcoming Khayaal Festival is unique in more than one ways. Its concept and execution set it apart from all the other social events in Lahore. The event is set to return to Alhamra Arts Council in the city on November 28 and 29.
The event is the brainchild of a four-member squad of educationists comprising Ayesha Husain, Zainab Qureshi, Amna Omar and Nuria Rafique-Iqbal. Talking to The Express Tribune, Nuria said, “Pakistan has so many people doing wonderful things. The only problem is they need a platform. We need public spaces that are safe and welcoming for everyone. We must hold on to them tightly.”
It all started when Ayesha paid a visit to the distinguished Jaipur Literature Festival a few years ago. Sensing the cultural thrust the event enforces, she felt the need to start something along similar lines in her own city of Lahore. She pitched the thought to her friends who were game in no time. “Since the 2008 attack on the Rafi Peer World Performing Arts Festival, cultural activities had almost come to a standstill in the city.”
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Faryal Gauhar and Madeeha Gauhar also graced the occasion two years ago
When Ayesha and co began to bring their concept to fruition in 2012, they saw the Lahore Literature Festival (LLF) as a similar entity. “There were talks of collaboration but we decided to let them carry on with their show and delayed ours till November 2013,” Ayesha added. This was solely because they felt dissimilarities between the two platforms were there. “We thought instead of keeping it just literature-centric, why not incorporate all aspects of creativity into the event so that everyone can be a part of it,” Nuria said.
While the LLF concentrates on literature alone, Khayaal Festival delves into art, music, philosophy, current affairs, poetry, film and dance. It veers away from the confines of bland academic discussions and pairs the worlds of literature and art together to spin a mix of the serious and the whimsical.
Organised under the auspices of the Khayaal Creative Network, the event will follow the theme of ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ this year. It will feature several acts that redefined their situation through their creative prowess. Olomopolo Media will conduct dramatic letter-reading. Peshawar-based band Khumariyaan will perform in Lahore for the first time at Khayaal Festival. Ayesha was quick to add, “They’ve played in New York but not here. This validates our point of the lack of public spaces for artists.”
Kathak dancers perform at Alhamra
The film-maker behind the documentary My Jerusalem, Lubna Dajani is also set to arrive at the event. “In the documentary, the previous generation of Palestinians tells us what it was like to live there. They take us back to a time and place that does not exist anymore,” she said.
Artist Rashid Rana will talk about his recent public art project, My East is Your West. Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest will also speak at Khayaal Festival. Award-winning Persian poet from Afghanistan, Reza Mohammadi, will also be present. Other renowned individuals and acts to visit include Sarmad Khoosat, Ahmed Ali Butt, Nandita Das and Mekaal Hassan Band. “We want to open Lahore to the world and the world to Lahore,” said Ayesha. “We aim at becoming the first travelling culture festival and our first destination is Peshawar,” she added with a glint of excitement.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2015.
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