The third annual LLF in NYC was a smashing success
The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) returned to Asia Society New York for a third year on May 12, exploring contemporary Pakistan through artists, writers, and commentators. The festival aimed to present American audiences with a more nuanced view of Pakistan and included discussions on fiction and nonfiction writing, art, architecture, history and politics.
The one-day, ticketed event featured such distinguished personalities as Ambassador Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, artists Shahzia Sikander and Waqas Khan, authors Kiran Desai and H. M. Naqvi, legendary architect Nayyar Ali Dada, poet Muhammad Umar Memon, and journalists Kathy Gannon and Zahid Hussain, among others. Historian Ayesha Jalal delivered the keynote address and the event concluded with a qawwali performance by Muhammad Qawwal and Brothers.
A smattering of praise and insight on the day’s events, as gleaned from Twitter, follows:
Excited to be part of discussion on South Asian Fiction with kiran desai, HM and @MahaKhanPhillip #llfnyc2018 #NobodyKilledHer @HarperCollinsIN https://t.co/8yCNi2d2xq
— Sabyn Javeri (@SabynJaveri) May 10, 2018
And #LLFNYC2018 has kicked off at the Asia Society!!! #asiasocietylive pic.twitter.com/kLIfABszLE
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
“Ideas are very important in today’s world, where borders are being drawn.” @razi_ahmed_ @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 #Asiasocietylive pic.twitter.com/vqxWvx4SQN
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
#LLFNYC2018 #Asiasociety pic.twitter.com/RH9i7BGPed
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 12, 2018
“There’s nothing like the free flight of imagination and ideas” @LodhiMaleeha @lhrlitfest @razi_ahmed_ #LLFNYC2018 #asiasocietylive
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
@mchidarazvi @shahziasikander Zehra Jumabhoy and @VishakhaDesai in the first panel session at #LLFNYC2018 @lhrlitfest @razi_ahmed_ pic.twitter.com/52MO2ISEUX
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
@mchidarazvi “Artists from so many religious backgrounds were brought together in the Mughal empire” @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
#Lahorelitfest #LLFNYC2018 #Asiasocietylive pic.twitter.com/qX9plK6IGs
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 12, 2018
#LLFNYC2018 – @shahziasikander is speaking about her work – hybrid imagery &how it investigates layered histories – on a panel on Mughal art and aesthetics and its progression. pic.twitter.com/rlzGz7PvhM
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 12, 2018
“How can culture help from getting away from tribalism?” A question currently being tackled by @mchidarazvi @VishakhaDesai @shahziasikander and Zehra Jumabhoy @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY #asiasocietylive
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
#Lahorelitfest #LLFNYC2018 #LahoreasPalampsest pic.twitter.com/3Bgl8T1Tib
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 12, 2018
“The female narrative should be free to create its own history.” Exploring the Mughal Aesthetics and Progression to Progressive Artists @LahoreLitFest #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/1B1tqkeQvl
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 12, 2018
A member of the audience at @lahorelitfest asks about lack of libraries in the history of Muslims. And what to do about it. Panelists refute the assertion. Rich traditions of scholarship. Things were not always like this. #LLFNYC2018
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 12, 2018
Next up: Never a Dull Moment for Fiction in #SouthAsia: Is New Literature from South Asians Healing and Humanizing a Region Racked by Crime and Volatility? #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/VqMgtq98hC
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
Kiran Desai talking about her work circling back to older stories of migration and the emotional journey between the past and present #LLFNYC2018 #NEVERaDULLMoment4FictionInSouthAsia #BookerPrizeWinner pic.twitter.com/h3IVPjBJLo
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
“Violence needs to be contextualised in certain historical contexts” @HMNAQVI reflecting on his early life in #Algiers and the realisations he came to as he grew more educated. @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018 #asiasocietylive pic.twitter.com/YjscT2X9FA
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
“Is the role of the writer changing? Does the writer have a responsibility to shape the political sphere?” @SabynJaveri @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
“There has to be more fiction coming out of our region” @SabynJaveri talking about fiction in South Asia @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
@SabynJaveri on the perils of stereotyping: after reading American Psycho, does that mean that you assume all Americans are Psychos #LLFNYC2018
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
.@MahaKhanPhillip: the more narratives, diversity, and different types of fiction we have, the better- it shouldn’t be limited to political angles. #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
“It can be very restricting for a female fiction writer to write in a different genre than is associated with South Asia” @SabynJaveri @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 #asiasocietylive @AsiaSocietyNY
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
“There’s no contemporary American novelist who has engaged with the failure of American foreign policy” – @HMNAQVI @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
May 12, 2018
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Lahore Literary Festival#LLFNYC2018
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Wonderful… https://t.co/NzbDTMTk8Y— Shahzia Sikander (@shahziasikander) May 12, 2018
Third session of Lahore Literary Festival NYC – ‘On the dot’ with Waqas Khan and Alistair Hudson @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 #asiasocietylive @AsiaSocietyNY pic.twitter.com/5YFtClbZ28
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
Waqas Khan discussing techniques and process he uses to create his fantastic art pieces. @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/qr0HdK5Kga
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
@mchidarazvi @shahziasikander @VishakhaDesai and Zehra Jumabhoy with @razi_ahmed_ @AsiaSociety @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/8bCOjexs4a
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
#Lahorelitfest #LLFNYC2018 #extraordinary architecture in every day Lahore pic.twitter.com/0uzwWQ2ekd
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 12, 2018
Inspiring Pakistani architect #NayyarAliDada on: extraordinary Architecture, everyday Lahore. : “Architecture has to be grounded in culture. It needs to have a sense of continuity & identity.” @lhrlitfest @AsiaSociety @AKF_Global Image: worlds largest mosaic wall LHR #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/1IlThKn7re
— Madeeha Merchant (@madeehamerchant) May 12, 2018
Afternoon session underway at #LLFNYC2018 – first up…Extraordinary Architecture, Everyday Lahore with the legendary Nayyar Ali Dada and Tanvir Hasan, and Attiq Ahmed moderating @AsiaSocietyNY pic.twitter.com/WIBr4NsyLC
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
Nayyar Ali Dada and Tanvir Hasan discussing the extraordinary details behind architecture in #Lahore. @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/GVO25Haj4b
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
Attiq Uddin Ahmed highlighting Mughal miniature paintings encorporated into frescos in historical #Lahore @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/GRG6DINixf
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
“We have barbed wires, high walls, and barriers, a gift of the Afghan War. We have mutilation, a gift of modern commercialization. And then we have tanks and planes, a gift of the Pakistan Army.” #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @LLF pic.twitter.com/pqwktiqweu
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 12, 2018
Spellbinding session Urdu ki na’ii bastiyan #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY with Tahira Naqvi @nyuniversity Younas Sharar & Saeed Naqvi (chair) pic.twitter.com/EhpokomDvx
— Razi Ahmed (@razi_ahmed_) May 12, 2018
Younus Sharar says children of South Asian diaspora in America need greater incentive to learn Urdu- bring your children out to such events, teach them using English/Urdu translation. #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
Humanizing trauma from partition to war on terror #NobodyKilledHer @HarperCollinsIN #LLFNYC2018 https://t.co/o5RUXDkgG3
— Sabyn Javeri (@SabynJaveri) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/analysisnytimes/status/995384835962269696
Up Next: Ghost Wars Redux- Have we learned nothing from history? Featuring @BRRubin, @Kathygannon, @hidhussain, and Moeed Yusuf. #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY pic.twitter.com/g5TxGCzI9D
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
About to hear from the knowledgeable @BRRubin, @Kathygannon, and @hidhussain at the Lahore Literary Festival in NY. And better yet it is moderated by Moeed Yusuf. #LLFNYC2018 #Afghanistan #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/MbHSVkPkDD
— Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) May 12, 2018
After a thesis hiatus that prevented me from mixing and mingling, I'm finally at #LLFNYC2018 – thanks to the urging of the persuasive @asifnshah. At the well-titled "Ghost Wars Redux" panel with @BRRubin, @Kathygannon, and @hidhussain (moderated by Moeed Yusuf).
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
.@BRRubin: In the overall picture, @SteveCollNY’s Directorate S doesn’t support Taliban sanctuary in Pakistan as the biggest problem in the Afghan War- the situation is more complex #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
@LodhiMaleeha, Pakistani UN ambassador at @lhrlitfest in #NYC showing her support for discussion of arts and literature in Pakistan. @razi_ahmed_ @AsiaSociety #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/kSekvuvNVz
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
The big heartbreaker is that the Afghan people have been ignored over and over again in the decision making process: @Kathygannon at #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
Tahira Naqvi, Younus Sharar, and Saeed Naqvi on the emergence of Urdu poetry and prose in the West at #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @LLF pic.twitter.com/55v6vXCqRz
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 12, 2018
.@hidhussain: The major challenge remains that the Americans never fully understood what they were getting involved in- they’re heading toward a third war in Afghanistan. #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
Education levels and healthcare standards are better in #Afghanistan today than they were in 2001, says @BRRubin at #LLFNYC2018. Wonder whether the same claim can be made about standards in 1971? Before the world decided to intervene?
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
"Pakistan is basically a part of the Afghan crisis forever," says @hidhussain at #LLFNYC2018. What are the contours of the fallout of bad politics in Afghanistan on lived experiences in the rest of South Asia?
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
. @BRRubin on the future of Afghanistan: as long as current US administration in place, no hope of stability in the region. You can't have a government picking fights with China, Iran, and Pakistan and then expect Afghanistan to be stabilized #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Asif Nawaz Shah (@asifnshah) May 12, 2018
Mistakes have been made because there’s a level of arrogance (on the part of decision makers) and disengagement of the people- all the solutions come from outside and aren’t workable within #Afghanistan: @Kathygannon at #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 12, 2018
. @Kathygannon on the Afghan Crisis: need understanding of the level of despair, disillusionment, hopelessness INSIDE Afghanistan to reach effective solution. Solutions being imposed on Afghans will not lead to stability #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Asif Nawaz Shah (@asifnshah) May 12, 2018
Coming up,keynote address by historian Ayesha Jalal, Liberalism and the Muslim Question #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY @Razarumi #SpecialFeature
— Razi Ahmed (@razi_ahmed_) May 12, 2018
. @Kathygannon: "I learned a long time ago to not make predictions on Afghanistan, and I also learned a long time ago that there are no experts on Afghanistan" firecracker of a session #GhostWarsRedux at #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Asif Nawaz Shah (@asifnshah) May 12, 2018
“Achieving peace was not the reason the United States went into Afghanistan, they went in to punish the terrorists and those who harmed them. They didn’t even think about peace.” – @BRRubin #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/d2TK6aG8Do
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 12, 2018
I was just fortunate enough to momentarily meet the @LodhiMaleeha who is a talented diplomat and academic. #Pakistan #LLFNYC2018
— Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) May 12, 2018
Incredibly excited to hear Ayesha Jalal at #LLFNYC2018! She'll be speaking on "Liberalism and the Muslim Question." Fitting that she's giving the keynote address.
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
Ayesha Jalal to start keynote speech on Liberalism and the Muslim question at #LLFNYC2018 @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/FUb6wNmyVm
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
Listening to Dr. Ayesha Jalal whose books have most explained #Pakistan to me. #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/PfGE9LTsEh
— Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) May 12, 2018
Fascinating introduction, through light, into how liberalism is infused into Muslim thought and practice by Ayesha Jalal. "Nurun ala nur" (light upon light) to "Nur ud Din" (light of religion), come from the Surah an-Nur. Blending poetry with history. #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/CLlS9Xym9y
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
“Deen and duniya had a strange relationship- according to Saiyid Ahmad Khan…’Leaving #religion does not mean leaving the world but leaving the #world meant leaving the religion’” – Ayesha Jalal #LLFNYC2018 #Islam #Liberalism #modernity @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/ooQaVTpjiL
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
Ayesha Jalal delivering her keynote address on Liberalism and the Muslim Question at #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/tjLVd2evAr
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 12, 2018
Many manifestations of enlightened thinking within Muslims – Din and Duniya were both important. On women’s education his views were no different than others of the times. ~Ayesha Jalal @lahorelitfest #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/cvI03T6u7Y
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 12, 2018
Against which notion of ‘liberal’ are Islam and Muslims judged? Muslim reaction was not against liberal ideas but against European colonialism. ~Ayesha Jalal @lahorelitfest #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/fs80x4rmzN
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 12, 2018
Faultline, frontlines, failed state; these are the terms that come to mind in the US – Bilal Qureshi @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
A talk on #Pakistan at 70 with Ayesha Jalal, Bilal Qureshi , Saroop Ijaz, and @Razarumi at #LLFNYC2018. pic.twitter.com/ARpF88QOP6
— Adam N Weinstein (@AdamNoahWho) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/zahradsouza/status/995418437643063297
“Mr Jinnah’s speech did not come up in my studies until I was in my 20s” @Razarumi @lhrlitfest #LLFNYC2018
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/zahradsouza/status/995419800615768065
All things Pakistan must circle back to Jinnah, and so has @lhrlitfest's #LLFNYC2018. Ayesha Jalal, @Razarumi, Saroop Ijaz and Bilal Qureshi discuss whether Pakistan has lived up to its ideals – and how those ideals have changed over the years.
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
"I never read Jinnah's inaugural address growing up. The first time I engaged with it was when I was in my 20s," says @Razarumi at #LLFNYC2018. Wonder if Indians growing up in the years to come will have the same experience with Nehru's "at the stroke of the midnight hour."
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
Bilal Qureshi quotes Article 19 of the Pakistani Constitution at #LLFNYC2018 to uneasy laughter: freedom of speech is "subject to any reasonable restrictions … in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof"
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
#LLFNYC2018 Ambassador @LodhiMaleeha with CEO of @lhrlitfest @razi_ahmed_ and @eela5 @AsiaSociety pic.twitter.com/SmsF4HD2ck
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 12, 2018
Ayesha Jalal wraps up her comments at #LLFNYC2018 with a warning: Pakistan will come of age only when there is a decolonization of the mind, when we break free of colonial knowledge structures. And with that, what a great note to end the day on!
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) May 12, 2018
@Razarumi @saroopijaz thank you for the burst of optimism & reason for hope in Pakistan at the end of the panel discussion #LLFNYC2018
— Bilal Lakhani (@MBilalLakhani) May 12, 2018
What a treat to hear Prof Ayesha Jalal deliver her keynote address at the #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/vQBhvTLwXl
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 12, 2018
“There’s a pushback where, unlike the 70s and 80s, now new media technology enables people to express themselves. If a movement is being censored, we use Facebook live and that is becoming difficult for the state to negotiate.” – @Razarumi #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/Rbx1rQQlKF
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) May 13, 2018
@Razarumi speaking on #qawwali and #sufism, setting the stage for what promises to be an incredible performance. #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/YjrlUxuBL6
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) May 13, 2018
A fantastic day filled with art, architecture, history, politics and literature rounded off with a musical finale – Qawwali performance by Fareed Ayad, Abu Mohammed Qawwal and Brothers #LLFNYC2018 @lhrlitfest #asiasocietylive pic.twitter.com/FUmR6gvWas
— Humaira Patel (@HumairaPatel1) May 13, 2018
#LLFNYC2018 Fareed ayaz Abu Mohammed, Qawwali performance in a packed hall! pic.twitter.com/h1AkwTCCbN
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 13, 2018
Transcendent #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/W91AxWfKUc
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) May 13, 2018
Qawwali #LLFNYC2018 #newyork https://t.co/qtscS976Bv
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 13, 2018
#FareedAyazAbuMuhammad closing out #LLFNYC2018 @AsiaSocietyNY @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/FtIXw5Rx9p
— Asif Nawaz Shah (@asifnshah) May 13, 2018
What an inspiring day at the Lahore Literary Festival! Thank you @lhrlitfest @razi_ahmed_ for the thought-provoking discussions & rich program of brilliant artists, authors & thinkers. Means much to us in the diaspora to taste the fullness and complexity of home #LLFNYC2018
— Humera Afridi (@MadSufi) May 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/devigoes4alpha/status/995517669443977216
“Achieving peace was not the reason the United States went into #Afghanistan, they went in to punish the terrorists and those who harmed them. They didn’t even think about peace.” – @BRRubin #LLFNYC2018 #AsiaSocietyLive @lhrlitfest https://t.co/b7mFPPSoho
— Diva Patang (@DivaPatang) May 13, 2018
What an amazing day yesterday. A range of diverse and fascinating voices came together to discuss art, literature, politics, and much more. Thrilled to have been a part of it. Thank you @lhrlitfest @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2018 pic.twitter.com/CgiiO8TXMD
— Maha Khan Phillips (@MahaKhanPhillip) May 13, 2018