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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Lit fest hopping: from

JLF to LLF

W
By Sehyr Mirza

Literature
festivals on both
sides of the
border draw
similar crowds.
The best part is
they bring at
least some
Indians and
Pakistanis
together

JLF: Festive, crowded, happening.

Photo: Sehyr Mirza

hen the bus

from Delhi
the
reaches
inter-state bus
terminal in Jaipur
at the crack of
dawn, the sky is still
dark. We are struck
by the name of the terminal Sindhi Camp.
The name has stuck
decades after the refugees
from Sindh in the new country of Pakistan settled there
after migrating in 1947.
My friend Simran and I
haul our bags into the back of
a taxicab and head to the
venue of the Jaipur Literary
Festival (Jan 21-25), traversing empty streets in the yet
sleeping city. Its pleasantly
breezy on an early January
morning. With a few hours to
spare before the Festival begins, we wait it out at a caf.
As the sun climbs up the
horizon, the darkness trails
away. Blazing daylight reveals
a touch of royalty in the magnificent Pink City. The roads
are soon densely crowded.
People from all corners of the
world throng Jaipur for the
festival known commonly as
JLF.
Our cab wends its way
through clogging traffic towards JLFs spectacular Rajasthani venue, the Diggi
Palace in Ashok Nagar. The
palace, decorated with orange and pink lanterns and
bright paper streamers is a
burst of colour and sound.
The handmade parasol rings
and traditional wall hangings
adorn the roof. We see local
girls in elegant, brightly
coloured outfits. Young men
sport chic Nehru jackets
named after Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Sessions comprising readings, performances, discussions and questions and an-

swers are held in huge tents

erected on the sprawling
lawns with splendid names
like Char Baagh, Rajnigandha
Front Lawn, Samvad, Mughal
Tent and Darbar Hall. From
food to handicrafts, books to
music CDs, souvenirs to arts
and craft, a range of enticing
stalls sells just about everything. Bibliophiles from
across the country and
abroad stand in long queues
waiting to buy the authors
books.

For Faiz and Kaifi Azmi: a packed hall. Photo: JLF

Shabana Azmi and Salima Hashmi: with moderator Ali Husain Mir. Photo: JLF

This year, themes running

across JLF include topics like
Literature in Cinema, Mythology, Poetic Imagination, Aesthetics and Art, Women Uninterrupted and the Seven
Deadly Sins.
Providing an eclectic
space for some of the worlds
finest authors, thinkers,
artists, journalists and
celebrities, the festival
bridges cultural, geographical
and historical divides. And
yet again it brings India and
Pakistan together amid the
continued political tensions.
A session dedicated to the
iconic Pakistani poet Faiz
Ahmed Faiz and the much acclaimed Indian poet Kaifi
Azmi titled Faiz and Kaifi: A
Poetic Legacy features the
Indian film actress and activist Shabana Azmi with Pakistans renowned painter and
activist Salima Hashmi. The
session draws a huge, enthusiastic crowd. Many people
opt to stand or sit on the

holds the audience rapt with

his wit and incisiveness.
Speaking about the title of the
session, he remarks that between God and Devil, he has
more respect for Devil. After
the massacre of school children in Peshawar, he is convinced that God doesnt exist.
His comments are followed
by thunderous applause.
Jethmalani also talks
about his pre-Partition childhood in Karachi, where there
was a wonderful synthesis of
Islam and Hinduism. Muslims would buy new clothes
on Diwali and Hindus would
buy new clothes on Eid. He
practiced law in Sindh for six
years. His family migrated to
India when riots erupted in
Sindh in February 1948, and
he sorrowfully parted with
his Muslim friends. He has
been in touch with one of
them through telephone and
letters. His family had to live
in refugee camps suffering
from severe poverty and starvation. I swore that my family would never be poor
again.
I later have the chance to
chat informally, at different
occasions, with Shabana
Azmi, Shobhaa De and film-

ground to hear the dialogue

between these two leading
women of the subcontinent.
Shabana Azmi and Salima
Hashmi discuss their celebrated fathers and their poetry along with nostalgic
anecdotes
incorporating
music and memories.
Former Pakistani foreign
minister Khurshid Kasuri and
acclaimed Pakistani journalist and best-selling foreign
policy author Ahmed Rashid
participate in a session titled

An aspiration expressed: Sehyr and Simran at JLF

Descent into Chaos: Pakdiscussions in several sesistan on the Brink along with
sions at JLF. In an outstandIndian
diplomat
G.
ing session at the front lawn
Parthasarthy and Anatol
Urvashi Butalia, the author of
Lieven. The panel discussion
the ground breaking partition
focuses on relations between
account of womens voices
India,
Pakistan
and
The Other Side of Silence in
Afghanistan. While Kasuri
conversation with human
seems optimistic about imrights activist and journalist
proving bilateral ties with
Salil Tripathi talks about the
India, G. Parthasarthy calls
poor state of women in both
for a halt in cross-border firIndia and Pakistan. Views are
ing to ensure a successful diaalso exchanged about freelogue. Ahmed Rashid points
dom of expression and forms
out that both Indias neighof self-censorship and social
bours had been passing
taboos inherent in all forms
through tough times in the reof public speech and writing
cent times.
in South Asia.
Its also a full house for
A session titled The
Pakistani author Kamila
Devils advocate: Ram JethShamsie discussing the conmalani is a major crowd
sequences of war and politics
on humanity at a session titled War, Politics and the
Novel chaired by Delhi
based journalist Raghu Karnad at fully-packed Char
Bagh. Panellists include Nigerian novelist and poet Helon
Habila, Harvard literature
professor Homi K. Bhabha,
American fiction writer, poet,
and Iraq War veteran Kevin
Powers and Associate Professor at Stanford University
Lahore Literary Festival: bringing people together
Adam Johnson.
Pakistani writer Bilal Tanpuller at JLF, featuring the semaker Vishal Bhardwaj about
weer, author of The Scatter
nior lawyer and politician
the need for peace between
Here Is Too Great, shares the
Ram Jethmalani, along with
India and Pakistan.
stage with Indian poet and
author Shobhaa De and jourPeace making shouldnt be
Urdu critic S.R. Faruqi in a
nalist Madhu Trehan.
limited to artists and activists,
conversation about Urdu poJethmalani talks about
says Shabana Azmi. Every inetry, moderated by Delhi
how he managed to become a
dividual in India and Pakistan
based poet and academic
lawyer at age 18 when the
is responsible for making
Sukrita Paul Kumar at the
minimum age for becoming a
peace efforts to strengthen
Baithak.
lawyer was 21. A resolution
ties between the two counThe partition of India,
was introduced after his aptries.
India-Pakistan relations, and
peal to the legal system,
The day will come when
the ongoing current political
which allowed him enrolthere will be peace between
crisis in Pakistan come up for
ment. Now a sprightly 92, he
the two countries, believes

Mika Singhs Pakistan yatra

Road to normalisation?

ndian singer Mika Singh, famous for Mauja

Hi Mauja, performed live in concert in Lahore for the first time last week. The show,
earlier scheduled for December 2014 was postponed due to the massacre of school children
in Peshawar.
We believe that we have to move on and
forward with positive aim and ambition and
fight all tensions in Pakistan. Lets rejoice this The Bollywood singer: with Lahore
Spring with Mika Singh live in Lahore and start organisers
making a new, strong and happy Pakistan, said the event organisers, Northerngate.
Singh tweeted: Had a great show in #Lahore ... Thanx to Yahya Rana, Bushra
Rana and Imran Ahmed.. And all of my
Pakistani fans ... Wd love to come
again.
During his visit to Pakistan, he also
visited Gurudwara Nankana Sahib.
Feeling so blessed that I got the
chance to visit the most divine place
Gurdwara Nankana sahib for the second time.
The birth place of our 1st guru
Nanak dev ji, he commented on his
Mika Singh: At Nankana Sahib
Facebook page.

ndian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in

Pakistan on Tuesday for a two-day visit to meet his Pakistani
counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry and discuss bilateral relations and
regional issues, including Kashmir, Siachen, and Sir Creek.
Pakistan and India last held a formal round of talks on September 8, 2012 with the then Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at
the table with her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna.
The Foreign Secretaries of both countries had also met on
September 7, 2012. But the next round of talks scheduled for January 2013 could not be held due to tensions arising from ceasefire
violations at t the Line of Control that both sides blame the other
for. Pakistan and India agreed to resume secretary level talks two
months after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited New Delhi in
May 2014 for the inaugural ceremony of the newly elected Prime
Minister of India Narendra Modi.
The dialogue was due to be resumed in Islamabad on August
25, 2014 but was cancelled when India backed out following Pakistan High Commissioners meeting with Kashmiri leaders.
On February 15, 2015, Indian PM Modi telephoned PM Sharif
and indicated Indias willingness to resume the Foreign Secretary
level talks.
Welcoming the move, Pakistan hopes to discuss all outstanding
issues between Islamabad and New Delhi. Analysts say that the
talks, while unlikely to yield any immediate results, are an important step on the road to normalising relations.

THE FIRST STEP

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

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Fax: +92-21-3241-8343
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Vishal Bhardwaj. He is confident of this because the people on both sides are the
same.
Shobhaa De stresses the
importance of cultural and
student exchange programs
to foster mutual understanding and bridge the gap between people of both nations.
After a brief stay in Mumbai, I return to Lahore in time
to participate in the Lahore
Literary Festival (LLF), Feb

Gupta and Naresh Fernandes.

When I briefly speak to
Shekhar Gupta after his session on Anticipating Peace:
India and Pakistan, he
shares some anecdotes about
how pleasant his experience
of visiting Pakistan over the
years has been. Naresh Fernandes says he is lost in the
beauty of Lahore.
Kashmiri writer Basharat
Peer remarks that the high

Kamila Shamsie (right): with panellists Damon Galgut and Eleanor Catton. Photo: JLF
20-22. I see the same festive
atmosphere in Lahore as in
Jaipur but on a slightly
smaller scale. Participants at
both festivals cut across generation and class, with not
only the youth but people
from all age groups participating.
I am also struck by the
similarity of those on both
sides for whom literature
seems to hold little appeal
than either engaging in trivial
debates or clicking selfies.
However, there is also a visible renewed interest in purchasing novels, short stories
and poetry collections in regional or international languages, that reflects a positive change in the reading
habits.
Since the first JLF in 2006,
many cities across South Asia
have started their own literary festivals or lit fests in
Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. In Lahore this year,
there is a plethora of speakers from India, including
celebrities
like
actor
Naseerudin Shah, historian
Romila Thapar, and journalists like Rahul Singh, Shekhar

point for him was to be on a

panel with three writers
whose work he has immense
respect for-the graphic journalist, Joe Sacco, the graphic
artist, the Egyptian writer
Yasmine El Rashidi, and the
Sri Lankan novelist Romesh
Gunasekara.
It was inspiring to get to
know them and speak about
the craft, the challenges, and
the ways of writing about societies in torment, he says.
Being part of the LLF is a
sheer delight!
Some criticise such literary festivals for their reverence to intellectual elite, little
to no contribution towards
promoting the works of indigenous writers, and sometimes drawing a more general
audience than passionate
lovers of literature. However,
those are minor critiques
compared to their positive
contributions. And one thing
is for sure: that these festivals are opening new avenues of hope by connecting
people from India and Pakistan, even if this connection
is limited to writers and intellectuals.

A minimum agenda for peace

he new ruling coalition sworn in to Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday has
issuedaminimumagendathatincludesresumingtalkswithPakistanand
Kashmiri stakeholders, including the Hurriyat Conference.
Eleven ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 12 from
Kashmirs Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the oath of office at a
ceremony presided over by Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed,
founder and head of PDP Prime Minister Modi and senior party members. The (Modi) government has recently initiated several steps to
normalise the relationship with Pakistan, the coalitions common min- At the oath ceremony: PM Modi
imum programme noted. One of these steps is the two-day visit of In- and J&K CM Sayeed with Sajjad Lone.
dian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to Islamabad. The coalition gov- PTI photo.
ernment will seek to support and strengthen the approach and initiatives taken by the government to create
a reconciliatory environment and build stakes for all in the peace and development within the sub-continent, stated the minimum programme of the coalition.
Dialogue with Pakistan was reported to be a non-negotiable precondition for PDPs agreeing to join a
coalition with the BJP, which is sitting in the treasury benches for the first time. Ties with Pakistan will be
pursued by taking confidence building measures such as enhancing people to people contact on both sides
of the LoC, encouraging civil society exchanges, taking travel, commerce, trade and business across the LoC
to the next level and opening new routes across all three regions to enhancing connectivity.
Indian military occupation of Kashmir and its excesses have been a major theme with Mr. Sayeeds constituents. It found expression in a roadmap to dilute if not repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA) that gives troops immunities from civilian prosecution, comments senior journalist Jawed Naqvi
in a recent report in daily Dawn.
Both sides have also agreed to help the Kashmiri Pandits return to their homes and to protect and foster
ethnic and religious diversity.

A peace initiative whose time has come...

Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, Geo and The Times of India Group to
create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together,
contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.