London festival displays Pakistan’s literary, cultural heritage

LAHORE: The third edition of the Lahore Literary Festival in London featured conversations, panel discussions and Qawwali.

The festival took place on Saturday at the British Library, which consisted of the world’s largest collection of catalogued items. British Library counts among its treasures the Magna Carta, audio of Mandela's Rivonia trial speech, Beatles manuscripts.

LLF has hosted six editions in its hometown, Lahore; three in New York in partnership with Asia Society, and this is the third one in London, which offers a roundup of contemporary Pakistan from cultural, literary and social standpoints.

“The third annual edition of Lahore Literary Festival in London strives to present to a window into Pakistan as a place inspiring and producing some of the finest voices in all expressions of the arts,” said LLF founder and Director Razi Ahmed.

“By working closely with a global institution, the British Library, LLF has successfully managed to bring a taste of Pakistan to a global audience in one of the world’s most multicultural cities, London,” said Nusrat Jamil, an organising member of LLF.

“LLF is a day off for many Pakistani students, individuals, and families who even travel from other parts of the UK to celebrate and reflect on their homeland.” The festival showcased new books by Pakistani authors including, among others, The Skills by award-winning British-Pakistani broadcaster Mishal Husain, Muslims by Ali Mahmood, From Kargil to the Coup: Events that Shook Pakistan by journalist and anchor Nasim Zehra, Osama Siddique’s debut novel, Snuffing Out the Moon, Sketches from a Howdah, and a coffee-table book from FS Aijazuddin on Charlotte Canning’s watercolours and sketches of various locales across British India.

The festival will also explore Pakistan’s rich history of art and writing through panels on British depictions of the Mughals of the colonial subcontinent; the art and activism of Lahore-based artist Ijaz ul Hassan; Pakistan’s media as seen through the story of social media icon Qandeel Baloch; a discussion on democracy in contemporary South Asia. The day’s events concluded with an evening performance by acclaimed Sufi musicians Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad Qawwals.