ALTHOUGH ostensibly not as well-attended as last year’s event, KLF this year boasted several tantalising panels. Unfortunately several of them were scheduled alongside each other, making it very difficult for the audience to do justice to them insofar as attendance was concerned. Such logistical concerns, however, did not deter people from making the most of the occasion and the mentioned below sample of panels testify to the general richness and topical diversity of the sessions.

Beach Luxury Hotel’s lush main garden hosted a session on the famous mystical poet, Rumi. The festival’s keynote speaker Fahmida Riaz noted that the influential and mysterious Rumi was deeply concerned with the placement and position of man in the universe. According to her, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai kept a copy of Rumi next to his Quran throughout his life. Amar Sindhu then passionately observed that one of the most remarkable things about Rumi was his ability to make the ordinary seem extraordinary. The highlight of the panel was Bari Mian’s mellifluous recitation of poetry that held the audience spellbound. Riaz enlightened the audience about the fact that Bari sahib’s illustrious Lucknow family goes back to the times of emperor Aurangzeb who personally honoured them.

Art and poetry made up the backbone of Faraz Maqsood Hamidi’s panel held on the Tulip terrace which examined the interactions between various disciplines. Seasoned critic Asif Noorani opined that all forms of art are closely related, claiming that several composers, most notably Naushad, were “entrenched in poetry”. He boldly went so far as to assert that many people would never have known either Ghalib or Faiz’s major works had they not been set to music and sung.

Implicitly underscoring the truism that fine moderators make all the difference as to whether a panel succeeds or not Hamidi encouraged Bina Sarkar to show a unique presentation demonstrating the links between art and poetry. While Sarkar showed some moving paintings by various international artists Hamidi read the poems that accompanied them. His resonant baritone and clear diction enabled the audience to fully appreciate the connection between Sarkar’s chosen images and the accompanying words that enhanced them. One particularly moving poem recited by the moderator was Samuel Hazo’s ‘The Necessary Brevity of Pleasures’ aptly illustrated by Mithun Dasgupta.

For another panel, ‘Fiction, Memory and Colonialism’, moderator Dr Framji Minwalla pulled out the psychoanalyst’s couch for his panellists — metaphorically speaking. His charming ‘bedside manner’ and typically probing questions enabled all of them to recount personal family memories. Novelist H.M. Naqvi spoke of an entertaining childhood episode that took place in Algeria and involved a mitten and a monkey. German scholar Christoph Peters commented on the strange point that narration strengthens and enhances one’s memories — due to which narrated accounts of his parents’ experiences in Essen during World War II are more real to him as ‘memories’ than several of his own.

Kamila Shamsie was the only panellist who actively brought up the issue of national memories as opposed to personal ones, which was necessary in order for the panel to conclusively establish links with colonialism. While the nature of the topics made the reflective and long-winded speeches of the panellists understandable, it was a shame that absolutely no time was left for any questions from the floor, especially since this panel took place before a jam-packed audience of about 200 people in the 007 room. I am sure the audience was, however, left with plenty to personally reflect on as they filed out under the watchful eye of James Bond’s image, proudly and slightly ironically displayed at the entrance to the venue.

Shamsie also appeared on a panel alongside Bina Shah and Uzma Aslam Khan that explored the question of how myth and history relate to South Asian English fiction. Author of the prizewinning Thinner than Skin, Khan noted that “all myths are invented stories” and hence very crucial from any writer’s perspective.

However, Shah (herself a prizewinning writer) said that based on her own experience while writing A Season for Martyrs the blurring of lines between legend, myth and history had enabled her to approach her narrative more holistically. Echoing Riaz’s point about Bhitai mentioned earlier, Shah mentioned his fabled myth of the seven queens. She explained that within the precincts of her fiction she had linked the figure of Benazir Bhutto to a mythical eighth queen thereby inventing a whole new myth surrounding the assassinated Pakistani leader. Shah’s claims garnered applause from an enthralled audience.

The panellists dwelt at considerable length on the related issues of myth, matriarchy and feminism, a point that was actualised by the set-up of the panel itself. Not only did it consist solely of female writers, its moderator Muneeza Shamsie was hosting her own daughter Kamila as part of it, thereby underscoring many gender and matriarchy-related issues touched upon by them.

One of the main strengths of KLF has always been its emphasis on topical diversity. The managing director of the OUP, Ameena Saiyid, who is also one of the festival’s founders, took time out of her undoubtedly hectic schedule to serve on a couple of panels. One of these was on the role played by publishers in channelling quality writing, and the other was on the importance of intellectual property rights. The CEO of Sang-e-Meel Publications, Afzaal Ahmed, stated that his ambition was to have his publishing house reach a stage where no worthy author would ever be turned away — a point much appreciated by the audience.

However, Saiyid stressed that authors often become unreasonably dictatorial and territorial when working with editors. Only half-humorously, she recounted that one author had presented her with a “fat mediocre manuscript” that potentially contained a “thin good book”. Since he determinedly refused to admit that anything was wrong with his editing, OUP had to return the manuscript to him. When asked why she had moved from heading her own press to OUP, she candidly shared that OUP could offer her far more resources to work with, especially financially, which is one definite advantage that large publishers have over small, independent ones.

Saiyid’s obvious realism provided a sound counterpoint to the effusive tones of some of the other panellists. When commenting alongside the veteran journalist Babar Ayaz on intellectual property rights, she informed the audience that she wished to demolish the myth that book piracy assisted the poor. She said that pirated works hurt writers financially, as has been the case for some of our most respected authors such as Qurratulain Hyder, for instance.

Exhibiting a sense of practical caution, Ayaz urged the audience to disregard claims that piracy is noble in a ‘Robin Hood’ sense, bluntly noting that it is illegal and damages both individuals and governments alike. While the sessions mentioned here are just a sample of many that took place over three days, they do reflect a sense of the way in which KLF continues to foster collective intellectual stimulation.