Rumour has it: Karachi Literature Festival 2012

Nilofer Qazi

February 2012

My first literature festival in Pakistan! The Karachi literature festival KLF was as promised, a wonderful space where writers, readers and fans all mingled basking in literary overdose. The atmosphere at the Carlton hotel at the edge of phase 8 in defense created the bubble away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Pakistani authors, poets and dramatists young and old alongside international iconic literary figures chatted and hung out.

William Darlymple’s upcoming book on the first Afghan War in the 19^th century will prove the powers that be have learnt little from history.  He read excerpts from letters and diaries of British officers and soldiers’ serving in Afghanistan- accounts startlingly familiar. Always self effacing Mohammad Hanif was such a pleasure to hear; candidly sharing the motivations of writing he captivated the audience. In response to a question regarding any threats after his bestselling  novel ‘exploding mangoes ‘was published, he wryly  shared  Ijaz ul Haq message to him ,’ daikh ta hun tum kaisa likh tai agar mera baap zinda hota’. Hanif’s cynical posture was dotted with unintended humour which had the audience in laughter. Hanif has the ability to bring out the uncomfortable in jest.

A conversation with Fehmida Riaz’s was moving and a reminder of many historical fallacies we continue to foster and harbor. Undoubtedly one of the grandest Urdu poetesses she reminds us that Urdu was a Hindutani language, becoming a Muslim language was accidental and perhaps unfortunate- since it isn’t. The audience was quite visibly disturbed at this idea. Eternally affable, in her soft style she left many thinking- for the first time it seemed!  If we are to promote languages in Pakistan she suggested we should emphasize all, the fact of the matter is that Urdu however unfortunate for many, is not representative of the realities of many Pakistanis.

There were eight  current affairs sessions which looked at Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the military, the nuclear program in Pakistan ; Although a little incongruent in the spirit and milieu of literary circles, apparently necessary to attract crowds?!  Upon reflection, the organizers of KLF would agree the highest attendance were at the most entertaining topics. This year I would guesstimate 2000 attended KLF 2012.

Saad Haroon of Black Fish and Ali Mustafa of begharat Brigade stole the show; the wit and ability to state the obvious ironically was priceless. We look forward to their new lyrics! Although difficult to top  Allo Anda they promise a ‘sophisticated criticism’ of ‘many holly cows!

Two sessions on the media, one with foreign representatives discussing their coverage of Pakistan, the other with a set of Pakistani electronic  anchor personalities was very interesting. The contrast between the two sessions was a painful reminder of the qualitative differences between the two. The former were conscious and humbly responsive to many criticism of bias and ‘tilt’ of the international coverage on Pakistan explaining various compulsions and priorities set by events. The later on the other hand were defensive and completely oblivious to the importance of ‘public opinion’ which emphatically suggested  anchors should not give their opinions while moderating. One anchor even went so far as to argue how could they just sit and not give their opinion! A long way to go Pakistani media! What was revealing was the discussion on ‘television ratings’. The multi nationals and marketing companies determine what the ratings are; the measurement of those rating ‘eye balls’ are across cities in Pakistan excluding Baluchistan because  commercial interest of mnc don’t extend there. The entire media  follows a system which isn’t looking at maximizing the number of citizens in Pakistan that watch any given program but what multi nationals perceive to be target audiences!

There were many sessions I regrettably missed, the diverse choice made it impossible to attend all. Amongst those were, Ayesha Jalal’s  ‘Oxford Companion to Pakistani History’ and all the sessions with Hanif Kureshi the famed British Pakistan author of ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’. A rare treat at the end of day 1 was a mushaira with renowned  poets, which  I couldn’t  hear on account of a 2 hour delay. Missing the finale  rock concert by  Salman Ahmed with two Qawals and an upcoming rockstar was also regrettable.

An observation about the KLF, although incredibly enjoyable and a necessary cultural event, it was completely donor funded. In the commercial capital of our country not one single local benefactor or sponsor (baring Tapal tea) was part of this event. This could be for a number of ( all unacceptable) reasons, the donors ever so ready to support such ‘cultural events’ and the organizing committee’s inability to plan or put together a team to ensure this is a PAKISTANI hosted event. A little surprising and most disturbing was the nonchalant attitude by many Pakistanis when this folly was pointed out. We’ve become so dependent on donors, its ‘expected’ that they’ll sponsor our cultural events, our musical events, our education systems, our health systems and pretty much everything we are willing or unwilling to hand over .

Nevertheless the Karachi literary festival was lovely! But the Islamabad literary festival will be even better- I promises!