Karachi 27 March 2021: The second of the 12th Karachi Literature Festival, which is being held virtually and organized by the Oxford University Press was again a day full of invigorating discourses and vibrant performances. Due to the Covid pandemic the twelfth edition of KLF is an entirely virtual event with 2 parallel sessions running simultaneously.
The day started off with the book launch of Out of Print: An Anthology by Indira Chandrasekhar. The book is an ode to the platform she setup for short stories. There was a thought-provoking session on the youth, NaiNaslkiAwaz: KalHamara Hai. The session focused on new, emerging voices and trends in Urdu writing.The session was moderated by Ghazal Ansari.
Seven other book launches took place on the second day of the KLF including that of A Beautiful Despair: The Art and Life of MeherAfrozedited by Niilofur Farrukh; The Smile Snatchers: A Novella by Mian Raza Rabbani; No-Win War: The Paradox of US-Pakistan Relations in Afghanistan’s Shadow by Zahid Hussain; Unraveling Gordian Knots: The Works and Worlds of Dr. Ishrat Husain by Sibtain Naqvi; Reminiscences of my Wanderings by Arif Kamal; The Silk Road and Beyond: Narratives of a Muslim Historian by Iftikhar H. Malik and Countering Violent Extremism in Pakistan: Local Actions, Local Voices by Anita Weiss.
Safinah Danish Elahi moderated a very interesting conversation on Freedom of Expression in Art and Literature. The panel comprised of a film director and two young authors discussing freedom of expression in literature and the arts and its limits. The Award-winning German novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter Christopher Kloeblespoke about the convergences and divergences between the cultures of the Subcontinent and Western Europe and his experience of both in his conversation with Taha Kehar.
The late afternoon session kicked-off with Inaam Nadeem being in conversation with Harris Khalique. The session named Amritsar Agaya Haifocused on his Urdu translation of the short stories of BhishamSahni with well-known literary and human rights personality. Novelist and short storywriter Maniza Naqvi and Farrukh Iqbal discussed their new on-line platform with publisher HooriNooraniin Bold Steps.
An interesting session on Lyariand its link with poetry was discussed in LyariaurShair o Adab. Lyari brings together the city’s Balochi and Sindhi heritagewith those of the burgeoning populations that have made this city into such a fascinatingly complex entity. Lawyer and poet Waheed Noor leda discussion on the prose and poetry of this locality. The late afternoon sessions were rounded with an intriguing session on South Asian English Literature. English language writing from Pakistan and the other countries of the Subcontinent have carved out a significant place in the literary world. Editor and literary critic Muneeza Shamsie moderated the discussion among a panel of Anglophone authors from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
The evening session started with the session named Dou Pakistan: Har Pakistani gharanaytakkhushhaali, in which the author, Kazim Saeed with the scholarArfaSayeda Zehra and economist Dr Faisal Bari presented a roadmap for delivering prosperity to every Pakistani household.Munazza Siddiqui moderation the session.
A need for our time is to fight disinformation, which has been coined as Fake News,telling the truth has become a relative term, the expectations from information media are becoming unclear. Whose truth? What truth? These questions were deliberated on by journalists Amber Rahim Shamsi, ZarrarKhuhro, Fahd Hussain and Farieha Aziz. The Session was moderated by Raza Rumi.
There would be no Karachi Literature Festival without a Mushaira. The Atlantic Muse by the Arabian Sea: English Language Poetryfeatured the works and voices of Shagufta K. Iqbal, Adrian Husain, Athar Tahir, Fatima Ijaz, Mehvash Amin, MoeenFaruqi, Momina Mela, Sadia Babar, Vanessa Kisuule, and Zeba Hasan Hafeez. Curated by poet and op-ed columnist Salman Tarik Kureshi.
KLF’s signature Session, the Urdu Mushaira rounded off Day 2.IftikarArifpresided over a session moderated by NasiraZuberiand featuredAmjad Islam Amjad, Anwar Shaoor, Fawad Hassan Fawad, Fazil Jamali, Harris Khalique, Khurshid Rizvi, KishwarNaheed, Noorul Huda Shah, Peerzada Salman, Shahida Hassan, and Yasmeen Hameed.