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Day 1: What's happening at Karachi Literature Festival 2016

Day 1: What's happening at Karachi Literature Festival 2016

Live coverage of who showed up, who ate what, and which ideas we were most inspired by
Updated 05 Feb, 2016

This year's Karachi Literature Festival began on Friday, it opened with a minute of silence for literary giant Intizar Hussain, who passed away on February 2.

"He was Pakistan's greatest literary treasure," said OUP Managing Director and KLF founder/director Ameena Saiyid, while KLF founder Asif Farrukhi summarised Intizar sahab's significance thus:

"Intizar Hussain had become the father of all literature festivals."

Asif Farrukhi delivers his welcome speech at the opening ceremony of the Karachi Literature Festival - Photo: Dawn
Asif Farrukhi delivers his welcome speech at the opening ceremony of the Karachi Literature Festival - Photo: Dawn

'Agay Samandar Hai: In conversation with Intizar Husain' was converted into a tribute session, where his friends and fellow writers shared their memories of the legend.

The welcome address was followed by speeches of the festival sponsors:

Dance performances began with Amna Mawaz Khan taking the stage first:

And Mani Chao's dance troupe followed, rounding off the performances with a strong finish:

#LIVE: Chao's dance theatre at #KLF2016 🙌

A video posted by IMAGES (@dawn_images) on

In the awards section of the opening ceremony, the first award to be given out was the KLF-Embassy of France Best Fiction Prize. It was awarded to Aamer Hussein for '37 Bridges and Other Stories'.


Before you head out, here's a couple of more things worth knowing:

The munchies

Foodie lit-lovers were happy to know that "the food court was bigger than last year's".

The usual vendors like Domino's Pizza, Hanifia Burgers, Espresso and Biryani of the Seas were present, as were the popular chaatwala Pappu Chaat.

In this quick first look at the food court - we were glad to know Lipton's pledged to keep us well-supplied with cups of tea!

For those curious, the Spoonful guys - who made last year's hit strawberry samosas, were a no-show this year.

Also read: KLF 2016 - Everything you need to know about the Karachi Literature Festival

Parking solutions

This year, OUP has booked two parking spaces - the UBL parking space and the KPT parking area - for the visitors of Karachi Literature Festival. And they've introduced a new way to keep the main road a vehicle-free zone:

"We will have a shuttle running from the two designated parking areas to Beach Luxury Hotel, so people who drive themselves will have to park in either of the two designated parking areas, and then take the shuttle to the venue," Ameena Saiyed had said.


A bird's eye view of #klf2016 !!!

A photo posted by IMAGES (@dawn_images) on


Session: The dilemmas of the transgender

Arfa Sayeda Zehra in conversation with Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, author of Me Laxmi, Me Hijra.

Me Hijra, Me Laxmi is an autobiographical account tracing the extraordinary journey of Laxmi, a hijra, who fought against tremendous odds.


How publishers bring out the best



Session: Making an artist

Mehreen Zuberi said: "It's unfortunate that galleries, which are places for selling art, are the only spaces for young artists to get exposure to different practices."


Did you know! There's art on display at #klf2016 - this powerful piece by Hafsa Sheikh

A photo posted by IMAGES (@dawn_images) on

Book Launch: Cover Point: Impressions of Leadership in Pakistan

The author Jamsheed Marker and Ishrat Hussain spoke at the launch.

"At the end of thirty years of service, all sorts of thoughts come to mind. As they say, old men forget and I have forgotten quite a lot but not the things I wanted to forget. What I tried to place before you is the manner in which Pakistan's foreign service has conducted itself in the last 30-40 yrs," said Marker about the book.

Jamsheed Marker distills memories of 30 yrs of foreign service in Cover Point #KhiILF #grabyourcopies

A photo posted by IMAGES (@dawn_images) on

Session: Fiction, Memory and Colonialism

One of the speakers at the session, Kamila Shamsie was of the view that the problem lies with our selective memory. We want to tell the history of Muslims in the subcontinent but forget what happened in Bangladesh.

Christoph Peters said that national history produces itself via mass media and there's both good and bad in that.

Referring to German identity that was vilified, he said that he thinks nationalism is one of the worst ideas.

Session: Italy reads Pakistan

Session: Art as a part of public engagement

Qudsia Rahim takes us through the projects of the Lahore Biennale Foundation at #KhiILF

A photo posted by IMAGES (@dawn_images) on


Amra Ali and Marjorie Husain during the "The Art of Writing" session.
Amra Ali and Marjorie Husain during the "The Art of Writing" session.
Noorul Huda Shah during "Jilawatan sey Jungle tak: Short Stories and TV Dramas" session
Noorul Huda Shah during "Jilawatan sey Jungle tak: Short Stories and TV Dramas" session

Sessions on Day 1 began at 2:30pm. You can view the KLF schedule here.

Comments

jawad Feb 05, 2016 11:20am
Too bad Mr. A. Kher was unable to make it!
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Qamar Valliani Feb 05, 2016 01:18pm
Good Anupam is not here otherwise he would have criticised everything about the Festival.
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Fast Feb 05, 2016 04:56pm
hmmm.good!!
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SA Chandio Feb 05, 2016 05:39pm
Aaw man I wish I was there ,by living in New York's suburbs all these years,I miss my good o ole days in Karachi ,sindh.
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Rohit Feb 05, 2016 05:40pm
A literary festival should be a place for different points of views to be put forth so everyone can under the "others" perspective....
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Madhusudan Feb 05, 2016 06:20pm
@SA Chandio than visit pakiststan sai
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Philosopher (from Japan) Feb 05, 2016 06:58pm
I miss you klf as well as Karachi.
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Fatima Feb 05, 2016 08:38pm
Too bad the session with nandita das and sarmad khoosat was cancelled...it was the highlight of the day for me!
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wellwisher Feb 05, 2016 09:16pm
@Fatima ---language reveals a lot
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N_Saq Feb 05, 2016 09:35pm
This is very good for the country. It is about time Pak should start putting books into the hands of the new generation instead of guns. If you want to bring in a revolution then let's bring in a literary revolution where all will benefit and no one is killed.
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naji Feb 05, 2016 09:36pm
Is there any common website from where we can get info about these events especially in Karachi? Or these functions are only for some specific class of Karachities?
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Third Pary Feb 05, 2016 10:36pm
@Qamar Valliani Criticize only can makes someone perfect....
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Masood Hussain Feb 06, 2016 12:20am
In spite of efforts I could not make it to Klf.
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KP Feb 06, 2016 03:36am
@Qamar Valliani Would u rather prefer to listen to only things to your likings?
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viney mehra Feb 06, 2016 06:25am
@jawad you have not missed anything.
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Yumna Feb 06, 2016 08:03am
I miss klf soooo much I miss volunteering their like last year :D It was a wonderful experience last year :)
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ashar Feb 06, 2016 08:04am
No prayer for Intizar Hussain. Just a minute of silence. what a pity.
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Aurangzeb Feb 06, 2016 03:59pm
KLF is the greatest event currently happening on Planet Earth!
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md Feb 08, 2016 12:52am
what a boring festival..
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Ali Feb 08, 2016 02:26am
@ashar There was a prayer. And moment of silence is also a prayer. And not everyone at klf is muslim. Understand?
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Zohare Ali Shariff Feb 11, 2016 12:34pm
@naji , KLF receives tens of thousands of visitors from all parts of Karachi and from all socio-economic backgrounds. Further, entry is free. A large number of school groups also come, including from government schools. The event was widely advertised in several daily newspapers for several days. So awareness was created. But I agree with you that often we get to know of events only after these have already taken place and it would be good if someone starts a website with events listings on an ongoing basis
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