The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) has become one of the best cultural events to take place in Lahore each year.<\/p>\n
Inaugurated five years ago, the only thing stopping people from attending in the past was pouring rain. This year, it was a security threat. A series of bomb blasts around the country in February, including one not far from the proposed LLF venue<\/a>, had brought uncertainty to the festival’s plans. An explosion in Lahore<\/a> a day before the LLF weekend made matters worse. In what has sadly become a familiar scene, organisers scrambled to put on a good show despite circumstances that threatened against it. Almost overnight, the entire program was truncated to a single day event, and the venue shifted from the Alhamra Art Center to a luxury hotel.<\/p>\n Alhamra is a space that was designed to host and promote cultural activities, lectures, exhibitions, and recitals. For a great part of its history, the ancient city of Lahore has been famous for its reputation as a centre of culture. \u201cA city of the arts, activism and big ideas,\u201d as the LLF website proudly states. Alhamra is the embodiment of this celebration of the arts, and it was really a no-brainer to choose as a venue for LLF, which hopes to revive and celebrate the same.<\/p>\n Shifting the venue from Alhamra to a hotel, forced as it was, necessary as it might have been, had a profound impact on the experience of the festival. First, in terms of access. There were armed guards on the road that led to the hotel, halting and peeking into cars before letting them pass. I wondered on what basis they were letting people through, or not. To be sure, there have always been armed guards at both venues, but Alhamra\u00a0imbued a certain \u201ceveryone is welcome\u201d feel that a luxury hotel, which is inherently privileged, cannot.<\/p>\n The atmosphere and spirit of the festival suffered too. In the past, we have seen packed halls, long queues outside food stalls in the grounds, a camaraderie of sorts between everyone in attendance. The atmosphere outside the halls\u2014spring in the air, the recent memory of a new year, new beginnings, new ideas, new books, new food stalls\u2014has always been as much a part of the LLF experience as the scheduled events taking place inside.<\/p>\n At its best, the LLF gives us a chance to re-engage with our history, our place in the broader world, to frame our responses to varying issues \u2013 art, politics, literature, food. To examine the present and imagine the future. And every year, the LLF organisers bring us a fantastic showing.<\/p>\n And #LLF2017<\/a> begins. pic.twitter.com\/od689705g4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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At its best, the LLF gives us a chance to re-engage with our history, our place in the broader world… To examine the present and imagine the future.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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