Lahore Literary Festival: How it Began
The Lahore Literary Festival was founded by Razi Ahmed. It is being annually held since 2013, and has become an event of international standing.
Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) 2016
The LLF 2016 took place from 20th to 21st February at Avari Hotel. Nearly a 100,000 people attended which included artists, intellectuals, journalists, writers and poets from Pakistan as well as from countries like Egypt, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Russia, Uzbekistan, UK, USA, China and India. Numerous sessions were held on both days, on subjects such as art, business, culture, history, food, politics, fiction, feminism, poetry and many more, which drew enthusiastic crowds of people.
Notable Sessions of Lahore Literary Festival 2016
Day 1
- Urdu Nazm Ki Rawayat which was presented by three renowned poets Kishwar Naheed, Syed Nomanul Haq and Zehra Nigah.
- The World of Intizar Hussain, Asif Farrukhi, Eruj Mubarak, Kishwar Naheed and Nasir Abbas Nayyar were the panelists who paid tribute to the literary genius.
- Aag ka Darya one of the finest pieces of literature by Qurat-ul-Ain Haider; who was among the greatest Urdu writers of the sub-continent was discussed by Ameena Saiyid (her niece), Arifa Sayeda and Zehra Nigah.
- The Destruction of Hyderabad by A.G Noorani which gives a very unique account of the historic facts. It was moderated by renowned journalist Khaled Ahmed, however the author himself discussed the book in detail.
Day 2
- Unveiling the Titan: In Conversation with Syed Babar Ali where Khaled Ahmed held a dialogue with the man himself, who is the founder of LUMS and many other brands in Pakistan.
- Voices and Verse of Central Asia, in which Chinese calligrapher, Haji Noor Deen talked about his approach and exhibited his extraordinary Arabic calligraphy.
- Iqbal: Islam, Aesthetics and Post-colonialis was presented by Professor Javed Majeed (who teaches Comparative Literature at Kings College London).
- ‘Love Letters’ an epistolary play by A.R Gurney was performed by Imran Aslam and Rehana Saigol. They delivered the dialogues with such eloquence that the audience was simply riveted.
Conclusion of Lahore Literary Festival 2016
All in all it was a very successful event, which as always provided an insight into our literary richness and the creativity of our people. Furthermore Lahore Literary Festival played an important role in creating a cultural bridge between Pakistan and the rest of the world, something that is needed now more than ever before.