A heaving hit!
Despite the downpour, tens of thousands flocked to the inaugural day on Friday of the third Lahore Literary Festival for intellectual respite, queuing patiently in the rain to attend the day’s 15 scheduled talks featuring a host of local and foreign luminaries, including historian Romila Thapar, actor Naseeruddin Shah, columnist Roger Cohen, and author Mohsin Hamid.
The festival officially kicked off at 11 a.m. with Iqbal Z. Ahmed, chairman of the LLF Board of Governors, and Nusrat Jamil, president of the LLF Advisory Board, welcoming delegates in Hall 1 and declaring the festival open. This short ceremony was followed by Ayesha Jalal introducing Thapar, whose keynote address received a standing ovation.
Day One saw many popular sessions, including Politics, Pluralism and Khushwant Singh’s Punjab with Aitzaz Ahsan, Basharat Qadir, Rahul Singh, Shobhaa De, and F. S. Aijazuddin; The Trials of Writing a First Novel with Bilal Tanweer, Mahesh Rao, Saba Imtiaz, Soniah Kamal, and Mohsin Hamid; and Hero and Antihero with Shah, Mira Hashmi and Sarmad Khoosat.
All five halls were packed to capacity for the majority of the sessions. LLF’s Streaming Lounges at the Alhamra Arts Center provided the spillover crowds with live feeds from Halls 1, 2 and 3.
Other Day One speakers included Laurent Gayer, Aakar Patel, Jean Lambert, Naresh Fernandes, Unver Shafi Khan, Andrew Small, Laila Bokhari, Rashed Rahman, Salil Tripathi, Lyse Doucet, Razia Iqbal, Aminatta Forna, Kamila Shamsie, Richard Heller, Peter Oborne, Nayyar Ali Dada, Intizar Husain, M. Asaduddin, Kishwar Naheed, Zulfikar Ghose, Muneeza Shamsie, Ahmed Saleem, Saeed Bhutta, Mushtaq Soofi, and John Zubrzycki. The rock band Poor Rich Boy also performed in the evening.
LLF is being supported by the Punjab government, which provided several layers of security at the newly refurbished Alhamra Arts Center (which now has ramps for wheelchair access to four of the five halls where LLF sessions are taking place).
Undoubtedly beat time of the year. #Lahore is never this happening. #Rain is in the year as #LLF2015 is all set to kick start shortly.
— abdul|a (@cheems_) February 20, 2015
Despite torrential downpour, Lahoris turn out in large numbers for #LLF2015. The fun begins!
— Zeeshan Suhail (@ZeeshanSuhail) February 20, 2015
Here's to @mohsin_hamid & Zahra @saimamohsin @shaimaakhalil . Here's to #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/5VMx89GlH9
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) February 20, 2015
#lahoreliteraryfestival is all set to get literary hearts racinghttp://t.co/v4annZWHSu@mohsin_hamid @bbclysedoucet pic.twitter.com/kwXmOF7xFv
— Saqeena Quasim (@SaqeenaQuasim) February 20, 2015
Standing ovation for Romila Thapar as she concludes. #LLF2015
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2015
True colours of Lahore #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/fzyfa9tYCt
— Shumaila Jaffery (@ShumailaJaffery) February 20, 2015
Lahoris divided on the weather but agree on the brilliance of the #LLF2015. @lhrlitfest
— Bela Irfan (@belairfanmua) February 20, 2015
#LLF-ers, start making your way over to Bilal Tanweer, Saba Imtiaz & Mahesh Rao's session, superb writers, witty and thoughtful speakers.
— Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) February 20, 2015
Laurent Gayer and Khaled Ahmed just entered Hall 2. Starstruck! #LL2015
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 20, 2015
Guys at #LLF2015, don't miss the session 'Reflections of Seraiki Literature' featuring Ashiq Buzdar.
— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) February 20, 2015
Some very powerful poetry at the Seraiki literature session at the #LLF2015
— Madyha Leghari (@MjlLeghari) February 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/tehminarashid/status/568705536172138496
Session on restoration of old Lahore underway along with a documentary being displayed #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/vCuElenN4A
— Mohammad Farooq (@MohammadFarooq_) February 20, 2015
A talk on Wodehouse. Brilliant. #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/uHg1B41Kmw
— desi babushka ???? (@pashminakhan) February 20, 2015
Politics, Pluralism & Khushwant Singh's Punjab #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/mZWXTOeQ3k
— Youlin Magazine (@youlinmagazine) February 20, 2015
There's a huge crowd here to listen to @mohsin_hamid talk about his latest book accompanied by Razia Iqbal Brilliant!! #LLF2015
— Ali Hafeez (@_alihafeez) February 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/Tussymarx/status/568729450730422273
#LLF clearly going from strength to strength. Venue spruced up, brand new seats in auditorium and whole place already heaving on day one.
— Jonathan Boone (@Jon_Boone) February 20, 2015
Let me salute to Lahori people who showed up in Lahore Literary Festival: Laila Bokhari #LLF2015 @LailaBokhari @bbclysedoucet @lhrlitfest
— Raza Zaidi (@Razaazaidi) February 20, 2015
Lyce Doucet leading a thought-provoking and well conceived talk in Hall I. #LLF pic.twitter.com/fxvobe7dkx
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) February 20, 2015
Talk in Urdu fiction Intezar Hussain talking about Alif Laila #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/vB1FJsEdT5
— Jahanban (@jahanban) February 20, 2015
With #IntezarHussain (Living Legend of Urdu Adab) in Lahore Literary Festival, #Alhamra #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/llo7yuNdup
— Rehan Hashmi (@hashmi_rehan) February 20, 2015
Naseeruddin Shah has FILLED Hall 1 to complete capacity. #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/LFHg9kR6pr
— Rimmel Mohydin (@Rimmel_Mohydin) February 20, 2015
Security at #lahoreliteraryfestival might just be there to save volunteers closing doors for Naseeruddin Shah session pic.twitter.com/IKjwb2bN9C
— Sanam Maher (@SanamMKhi) February 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/Ushna1996/status/568864147984805888
WOW! What a great kick-off of Lahore Literary Festival.
If you are in Lahore or nearby, attend the #LLF2015. pic.twitter.com/EHujECois4
— Shahbaz Cheema (@ImShahbazCheema) February 20, 2015
Nadia Jamil and Bilal Lashari at Lahore Literati Festival. @NJLahori #LLF2015
pic.twitter.com/jySDn3PDTC— Laiba Yousufzai. ???? (@Khanlaibay) February 20, 2015
There should be more events like #LLF2015 , to give this highly polarized society sanity and softness.
— Whatever (@ShuaibAzhar) February 20, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyed the inaugural day at the Lahore Literary Festival. #LLF #LLF2015
— embittered (@embitteredprgsv) February 20, 2015
A little sampling of the day's final event, a set by Poor Rich Boy pic.twitter.com/ivwpcS9nhn
— embittered (@embitteredprgsv) February 20, 2015
#LLF2015 #NayyarAliDada, architect of Alhambra #lahore – a nice pile indeed @razaalidada pic.twitter.com/Va1zbyRp6v
— Mehvash Amin (@MehvashAmin) February 20, 2015
Impressed by the turnout and the quality of discussions/seminars at the #LLF2015
— Munizae Jahangir (@MunizaeJahangir) February 20, 2015
Lahoris literally poured in at @lhrlitfest as hard as the rain did earlier today. Delightful Sight. #LLF2015 pic.twitter.com/LbXaXdj06G
— abdul|a (@cheems_) February 20, 2015
just came back from #LLF2015 it was amazing and well organised.security was extraordinary and all halls were packed
— Raashid Ahmed (@Rsdahmd) February 20, 2015