Written by: Ayesha Amir
Posted on: February 26, 2024 | 
| 中文
A panel discussion on 'Vampire_ A Novella by Mirza Azeem Baig Chugtai' by (L to R) Tahira Naqvi, Dr. Zoovia Hamiduddin and Sheeba Alam
The 12th Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) for a few days became a center of intellectually stimulating conversations and panel discussions on a variety of topics. The Alhamra Arts Centre was draped with colours of festivity for this three-day event, from Friday 23rd February to Sunday 25th. It hosted exciting panels for artists, historians, academics, writers, poets, thinkers and more, not only from Pakistan but from across the globe. Amongst the amazing line up of panelists were Joseph Massad, Lynette Viccaji, Monica Ali, Saleem Ali, Dur-e-Aziz Amna, Tanveer Anjum, David Sedaris, Alejandro Vergara, Jose Luis Peixoto, Dominique Sigaud, Kenize Mourad and many more.
The decorated Alhamra Arts Centre during the Lahore Literary Festival 2024
The vibrant festival started ceremoniously with a keynote address by Joseph Massad, who is the Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History at Columbia University. The most notable panel was on, Film, Images and Discourse. An illustrated talk called, Alive on the Indus River Delta was given by Tariq Alexander Qaiser, an architect and environmentalist, to explore the interesting narratives of Karachi's marine bioluminescence and lush mangrove forests shown in the film. These stories recount how the camels are cared for by the people of the delta, as well as the unique encounters between men and fish traversing the muddy waters of the Indus delta. The cinematic journey extends to include the vibrant lives of birds, dolphins and various other captivating elements. The night ended with an exhilarating Qawali performance.
The audience at the session 'Living Indus_ Pakistan in the era of Climate Change'
The next day also saw animated groups of people coming in to sit through various informative sessions. The highlight of the day were two particular panels; a book discussion and a discussion on climate change. Lahore Cinema: Between Realism and Fable was discussed under the themes of Tabdeeli, Cinematically by Iftikhar Dadi, a Professor of History of Art at Cornell University who co-hosted the panel with Nasreen Rehman, a screenwriter, historian and a translator. Their discussion was fruitful and engaged the audience in a meaningful conversation about the famous fables of Lahore’s cinema and its realistic depictions. Following that was the very important panel on Climate Change in partnership with UNIC/UN Pakistan. The panel was called Living Indus: Pakistan in the era of Climate Change. It was a discussion on how a civilization with a rich history spanning 6,000 years, faces imminent danger from the negative impact of Climate Change, melting glaciers and pollution. The discussion, featuring individuals such as artist and activist Abuzar Madhu, environmental journalist Afia Salam, environmental lawyer Rafay Alam, filmmaker Wajahat Malik, and environmental activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr., was moderated by Catherine Weibel from the United Nations Information Center. This assembly of diverse perspectives aimed to address the urgent challenges posed by environmental threats and foster a meaningful dialogue on safeguarding the cultural and ecological heritage of this ancient civilization. After the panels concluded for the day, Saturday night ended with a much-awaited Mushaira and a film screening.
Nasreen Rehman at the LLF (picture credits to Tapu Javeri)
The final day of the Lahore Literary Festival was marked by a cheerful air of festivity and celebration of the literary tradition. People were seen engrossed in the performance by Laal Band, which played an array of songs for the audiences to enjoy. In the various panels for the day, The Mughal and the Persianate in Contemporary Pakistani Art was a very insightful talk by the art historian Mehreen Chida Razvi, from the Khalili Collections, and Vali Malhouji, the Tehran born curator and founder of the Archeology of the Final Decade, who discussed art in Iran during the 1970s. Both the panelists came from London, and provided the historical links between the Persianate Safavid and the Mughal courts. Starting with this historical context, Dr. Mehreen explained the stylistic similarities and differences between the miniature paintings of the Mughals and the Safavids. The audience was very interested in the historical links of the two courts, the conversation around which then morphed into the contemporary links between the artistic styles of the regional art scene. Dr. Valhi very aptly commented on the need for a more active interaction between Iran and Pakistan on modern art and its preservation.
Panelists on the 'Living Indus' session
The panel on Museums in the West and Pakistan; How do we Safeguard our Treasures, was a thought-provoking session. The panel included Asma Ibrahim, who is an archaeologist and museologist, Alejandro Vergara, Kamran Lashari, who is the Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority, and Abdul Samad, from the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The panel was moderated by Dr. Nadhra Shahbaz, who is an Associate Professor of Art History at LUMS. This panel highlighted the need for cultural preservation through museums, and a need for tackling the poor handling of precious artefacts in Pakistani museums. Mr. Adbul Samad stressed the need for the nation to be aware of its cultural heritage and archaeological sites.
The panel on 'Museums in the West and Pakistan_ How do we Safeguard our Treasures'
Another notable panel of the day was the discussion on the process of translating literary works – it was a book launch of Vampire, a novella by Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai. The panelists were translator Dr. Zoovia Hamiduddin, a physician and granddaughter of Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai, and author of the short story collection Her Mother’s Daughter and Other Stories, who sat in conversation with translator and writer Tahira Naqvi, Associate Professor of Urdu at New York University, and Sheeba Alam, Head of Department of Urdu at Kinnaird University. This panel was a very enjoyable one where Zoovia and Tahira engaged in general quips with the audience, reading through some excerpts from the book but stopping short of any spoilers which, much to the amusement of the audience, was a thrilling way of presenting the book.
The vibrant colors of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) at Alhamra
This year’s Lahore Literary Festival, was without a doubt, a great success in continuing the tradition of preserving the literary tradition, and fostering an interest in literature in the younger generation.
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