LLF 2015 was on the verge of not happening; it did not get security clearance from the government till the morning of the day it was supposed to start. Yet security was not the topmost thing on the minds of the participating speakers or those who intended to attend the 3-day festival. The organisers as well as the young students acting as volunteers were all geared to making it successful and well-organised, and this they did as best as they could.

With Romila Thapar, a foremost historian from India as the keynote speaker, LLF set the tone for what turned out to be an intellectually-rewarding and emotionally-uplifting experience. What followed were sessions on literature, politics, cities, violence,  language, etiquette of conversation, music, art, history, feminism, journalism, book launches, tributes, you name it.

LLF 2015 was a redemption of sorts for what it could not achieve in the first two attempts. An ‘elitist’ event catering for the ‘English-speaking dwellers’ of the city had a decent number of sessions on Urdu and Punjabi and even Seraiki that saw jampacked halls to the surprise of many. There seemed a genuine desire to reclaim their own language and literature among the young participants. As Intizar Husain pointed out in one of the sessions the long lost dialogue and conversation has begun once again in the form of these festivals.

While there were two different sets of people organising the Lahore and Karachi festivals, the LLF seemed to have benefited a lot from Karachi Literary Festival in many ways. Among other things, the presence of Asif Farrukhi lifted the sessions on Urdu literature with his witty quips and restrained humour.

Read more on: Literature of resistance

The festival could have done without all the gun-toting policemen in the premises. Likewise, one hopes the ‘Androon Lahore’ is not ‘fixed’ on the whims of a couple of people or an ‘epiphany’ but re-imagined in a more mature and inclusive way as was suggested in one of the sessions.

By and large, the event provoked questions and provided an occasion to the thousands who participated to soak in ideas. It simply gave a chance to Lahoris to feel festive and replenished in one of their best public spaces -- Alhamra.