HYDERABAD: The seventh Hyderabad Literature Festival (HLF) got under way here on Sunday with activities set around theme of saving environment, ‘eco is our echo, we love life, birds and lakes’.

Speakers at inaugural session emphasised the need for promoting ethnic harmony, especially forging a strong bond between Urdu- and Sindhi-speaking communities.

HLF had, however a lacklustre start this year. It was being held for the first time on the premises of a builder’s project at Hyderabad bypass.

Bhitai’s ragi faqir Manthar led Ghulam Fatima, Sabira and Yasmin to present sur Marvi followed by different tableaux that highlighted issues of tree felling and environmental degradation.

Mystic renditions, tableaux on environment and ecology feature at different sessions

The session was badly affected by strong winds, making speakers like Mehbtab Akbar Rashdi and poet Fatima Hassan somewhat uncomfortable.

The inaugural session began after presentation of many tableaux by students of private schools and a college.

Chairing the session, Ms Rashdi said that the festivals were aimed at providing an opportunity for forging unity between Urdu- and Sindhi-speaking Sindhis. This was the first festival after the pandemic, which would lead to similar festivals in Karachi and Lahore soon, she said.

She said that people should defeat the mindset that sought to create divide among people.

Poet Fatima Hassan read out her prose and poetry and said an artist created beauty. If people believed in good deeds it would have an impact on overall environment, she said.

Munawwar Mahesar, a government officer, said that people would have to care about their surroundings and creatures like trees, animals etc. People must also care for quality education of children, he said.

He said that Nazim Jokhio was murdered for raising his voice for protecting environment. “We will have to be strong so that nobody can behave like those who killed Jokhio,” he said. He was also critical of recent political bickering with ethnic undertones.

Sindh Agriculture University vice chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Marri appreciated the theme of HLF and said that the festival had diversity and continuity and it would lead to meaningful discussions and talk centered around different topics.

At a session on Indus delta and ecosystem, moderator Kashif Siddiqui said that Indus delta faced a multifaceted crisis.

Zain Daudpota, a forest activist, called for protecting forests and said that they needed special care which parents gave to their children. If civil society remained silent it would spell disaster for future generations, he said.

Nasir Panhwar, an environmentalist, said that Indus was a declared Ramsar site. If sea intrusion was not checked then Karachi, Hyderabad and Tando Mohammad Khan would be affected by 2040, he said.

Mohsin Joyo’s book – a compilation of articles – was also launched at a session where Ms Rashdi also discussed why Sindhi language had not yet been accorded the status of national language.

She expressed concern that even Sindhi families did not speak Sindhi with their children and it would undermine survival of the language. “We ourselves neglect our language,” she said.

Noor Ahmed Jinjhi spoke at a session on Sheikh Ayaz’s opera on Doday Soomre ji maut which he had translated into English. Ayaz had presented Dodo in a modern way through the opera. Baghi’s character was very important – rather more than that of Dodo – in this opera, he said.

Pakistan’s celebrated classical dancer Sheema Kermani said that she was doing her PhD on Thar’s folk songs. This translated work would be read by many, she said.

Prof Dr Fateh Marri discussed agro-economy at another session. He said that education would have to be focused to overcome poverty and unemployment. Students must opt for higher education in different departments like agriculture etc, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2022