Emotions run high as 7th KLF draws to an end

Karachi 

As the existentialists say, all good things have finally to come to an end, they indeed did as the three-day Karachi Literature Festival that began with all the aplomb reflecting the public’s yearning for pursuits intellectual, came to an end on Sunday evening.

It was three fulfilling days of literary and intellectual extravaganza with citizens pouring in to the venue in multitudes from morning to beyond sundown.

The venue, the Beach Luxury Hotel, wore a really festive look with people of all social hues and ages showing up round the clock. With nothing common among them, the only thing that bound them together was their yearning for reading, intellect, and information.

The bookstore owners did a rollicking business with thousands of visitors purchasing books, as did the food stall owners.

In her closing speech, Oxford University Pakistan Managing Director Ameena Saiyid observed, “The impact of the three days of discussion and discourse had been astonishing and touching. Responses gradually became spontaneous and silence and conformity were replaced by curiosity and searching questions.”

The discerning Pakistani voice was being heard in the halls of the KLF which provided moments of self-recognition for Pakistan. And truly, all the umpteen foreign visitors and scholars must have gone back with a highly positive image of the Pakistani society and a total repudiation of our image that has been hitherto projected.

“Beyond the festive enjoyment lies the simple fact that this festival was about books, scholarship, art, and culture. These are the most potent weapons a civilization possesses”, said Ameena.

Co-founder KLF, critic Asif Aslam Farrukhi sounding somewhat sentimental, said that the saddest thing about the festival was its closing, but was quick to add, “However, this closing will not be final and sooner than we can think, 2017 will be upon us and we shall be celebrating the eighth KLF.”

Arfa Syeda Zehra, professor of Urdu at FC.College, Lahore, who is no stranger to the cultural and literary scene of Karachi, speaking immaculate Urdu, with her characteristic sarcastic and humorous remarks and witticisms showered all the plaudits on Ameena Saiyid for the roaring success the festival was.

“Before Ameena took over, the OUP was a dead horse. She breathed a new life into it and since her take-over it has been going from progress to progress,” she said.

In reply to a previous speaker, who claimed that Pakistanis could only work hard in other countries and not their own, she challenged the statement saying that there was no shortage of assets including the human one. “All that was needed was will.”

The closing was followed by a stand-up comedy by noted Pakistani comedian Saad Haroon.

Later, the UK Deputy-High Commissioner, John Tucknott, hosted a dinner in honour of the delegates of the festival.