Wandering through the overrun grounds of Beach Luxury, it seemed as if the 6th KLF had ways to offer everything for the visitors to quench their intellectual hankerings, from discussion on books, Karachi, art, society, politics, economics, acting, and so much more.
Yet, the general air was that of disappointment. People could be heard complaining about the bad quality of sound in various sessions, the programs being dull, topics being repetitious and similar to what was discussed last year, the book launches not as exciting and the panels’ participants not as engaging. As is usually the case with such annual events, visitors tend to compare the current proceedings with past ones. It would seem that this year, people expected more but received less. Many felt that the KLF had missed some great opportunities to highlight some new and amazing literature that had come out of Pakistan, particularly from Karachi, which was either intentionally ignored or unwittingly overlooked. The organization seemed to be in disarray, as the transitions between various sessions were not as smooth as last time, constant technical problems (such as with the sound) kept propping up and the whole event seemed to suffer from a bad case of hiccups. It would seem that fresh blood is required to run the KLF and the organization would benefit from having younger, fresher and more contemporary minds in the ranks.
Yet, even through muttered woes of disproval, the KLF nevertheless turned out a lively affair. Many have criticized the KLF for being an elitist event catering only to the elite, but this is far from the truth. Even though a large stratum of the “literati” does tend come from the elite classes, one only had to walk around the hotel grounds to see that the KLF did not discriminate. Rather, it encouraged people from all walks of Karachi life to assemble and be part of a vast cultural and literary environment and experience. Young students from many different small schools from across Karachi were perhaps the most prominent. It was heartening to hear one of the kids from Lyari share not just his experiences with violence and frequent closure of their schools, but also his inspirational mindset, of how he was determined to attend college and become a doctor.
One of the things that stood out was the parallel art scene aside from the usual literary forums. Several of the sessions were focused on art and artists, including Asim Butt, a famous Karachi-based painter, whose political and social commentary is quite well known through his graffiti. Aside from highlighting Butt’s work in a documentary that he was working on, several other very relevant artworks were also on display in one of the halls. This made for some good interactions between curators, artists and collectors.
Music also played an integral part in the proceedings. Starting with the riveting dance recitals by Nighat Chaudhry during both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the musical performances by the band Fuzon and Ali Sethi’s raag-based love songs of Pakistan.
KLF has grown tremendously in terms of its scope of activities and the ideas that it has to offer. Film actress Meera Jee even confused it as being a “Local Film Festival,” providing a humorous interlude to the idea that given how music and art also played an integral role in this year’s sessions, it would be much more prudent to rename this event as the Karachi Literature and Arts Festival.
The KLF is a good initiative that has to be condoned and encouraged but the organization needs to revamp its set up and improve line ups to make sure that they have something fresh and new for us in store next year, otherwise I fear that it would end up becoming just another commercialized event. The organizers have to take heed and not let it devolve into something that can be trivialized and be deemed farcical.
Yet, the general air was that of disappointment. People could be heard complaining about the bad quality of sound in various sessions, the programs being dull, topics being repetitious and similar to what was discussed last year, the book launches not as exciting and the panels’ participants not as engaging. As is usually the case with such annual events, visitors tend to compare the current proceedings with past ones. It would seem that this year, people expected more but received less. Many felt that the KLF had missed some great opportunities to highlight some new and amazing literature that had come out of Pakistan, particularly from Karachi, which was either intentionally ignored or unwittingly overlooked. The organization seemed to be in disarray, as the transitions between various sessions were not as smooth as last time, constant technical problems (such as with the sound) kept propping up and the whole event seemed to suffer from a bad case of hiccups. It would seem that fresh blood is required to run the KLF and the organization would benefit from having younger, fresher and more contemporary minds in the ranks.
Yet, even through muttered woes of disproval, the KLF nevertheless turned out a lively affair. Many have criticized the KLF for being an elitist event catering only to the elite, but this is far from the truth. Even though a large stratum of the “literati” does tend come from the elite classes, one only had to walk around the hotel grounds to see that the KLF did not discriminate. Rather, it encouraged people from all walks of Karachi life to assemble and be part of a vast cultural and literary environment and experience. Young students from many different small schools from across Karachi were perhaps the most prominent. It was heartening to hear one of the kids from Lyari share not just his experiences with violence and frequent closure of their schools, but also his inspirational mindset, of how he was determined to attend college and become a doctor.
Many felt that the KLF had missed some great opportunities to highlight some new and amazing literature that had come out of Pakistan
One of the things that stood out was the parallel art scene aside from the usual literary forums. Several of the sessions were focused on art and artists, including Asim Butt, a famous Karachi-based painter, whose political and social commentary is quite well known through his graffiti. Aside from highlighting Butt’s work in a documentary that he was working on, several other very relevant artworks were also on display in one of the halls. This made for some good interactions between curators, artists and collectors.
Music also played an integral part in the proceedings. Starting with the riveting dance recitals by Nighat Chaudhry during both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the musical performances by the band Fuzon and Ali Sethi’s raag-based love songs of Pakistan.
KLF has grown tremendously in terms of its scope of activities and the ideas that it has to offer. Film actress Meera Jee even confused it as being a “Local Film Festival,” providing a humorous interlude to the idea that given how music and art also played an integral role in this year’s sessions, it would be much more prudent to rename this event as the Karachi Literature and Arts Festival.
The KLF is a good initiative that has to be condoned and encouraged but the organization needs to revamp its set up and improve line ups to make sure that they have something fresh and new for us in store next year, otherwise I fear that it would end up becoming just another commercialized event. The organizers have to take heed and not let it devolve into something that can be trivialized and be deemed farcical.