Truncated schedule, new venue no barrier to crowds.
A truncated schedule and last-minute venue shift wasn’t enough to deter the thousands that flocked to Avari Hotel in Lahore for fourth annual Lahore Literary Festival on Saturday.
Featuring such popular draws as actress Sharmila Tagore, journalist Steve Coll, artist Rasheed Araeen, authors Mohammed Hanif, Viviana Mazza, and historian Nancy Dupree, among others, the open-to-all event ended its first day with a production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, directed by Hameed Haroon.
Amazing to see people just pouring in for @lahorelitfest – so excited to be here #culture #Lahore #LLF2016
— Syima Aslam (@SyimaAslam) February 20, 2016
Excited to attend #LLF2016 today ☺️✨ Team @WeekEndWorldPTV with Sophie reporting at the venue soon! ???? https://t.co/oorMUqkFz9
— Sophiya (@SophiyAnjam) February 20, 2016
I can't say how delighted I'm to be in #Lahore, thanks to #LLF2016 says Sharmila Taigor @lhrlitfest
— Raza Zaidi (@Razaazaidi) February 20, 2016
Sharmila Tagore talked about countering stereotypes of #women in her films and her joy at visiting #Pakistan #LLF pic.twitter.com/baLYA5WimE
— Shaista Aziz (@shaistaAziz) February 20, 2016
Sharmila Tagore at LLF on love, cinema and cultural diplomacy – Beautiful and articulate pic.twitter.com/ghlmsZv5c8
— Atika Rehman (@AtikaRehman) February 20, 2016
Sharmila Tagore's session is packed to capacity. #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/ljyXXFxAAq
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 20, 2016
#LLF2016 starting. Good to see many people attending. pic.twitter.com/dJffSfbpH6
— JeanFrançois Cautain (@JFCautainEU) February 20, 2016
Gorgeous day and here we are at Whose Narrative Is It Anyway with Susan Abulhawa, Tanya James and Mohammed Hanif among others #LLF2016
— Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) February 20, 2016
"Whose Narrative Is It Anyway?" I'm here for @taniajam! #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/cWMKanm6K9
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) February 20, 2016
#LLF2016 starts with @salmanAraja , I A Rahman, Khalid Ahmad & Farzana Shaikh with a talk on 'Mazar & Maddrassah' pic.twitter.com/5v8A2WiBxJ
— Lahore Nama (@LahoreNama) February 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/nadeemK87/status/700935727073337344
so #LLF2016 kicks off with Mohamed Hanif riffing on the "security threat" we've been told about. Delighted audience pic.twitter.com/bKtWz1kDVv
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) February 20, 2016
#LLF2016 cancelled Friday, moved bc "Finest govt in #Pakistan can only offer security on Sat, Sunday, at a 5 star hotel." @mohammedhanif
— Nadia Naviwala (@NadiaNavi) February 20, 2016
There should be a memorial of Intizar sahab in Lahore, as the city is incomplete without him- Asif Farrukhi at #LLF
— A Mehmood (@happylarka) February 20, 2016
We're setting up at the #LLF2016 #LibraryAtLLF @pkBritish pic.twitter.com/R4nG7Gzozv
— Maarya (@MaaryaR) February 20, 2016
Tania James, @sjabulhawa, Claire Armistead,Mohammed Hanif,Zukiswa Wanner discussing narrative & perspective #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/7YiUuOfNK0
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) February 20, 2016
.@mohammedhanif's creative writing students in #Karachi ghostwrite Victorian erotica & Amish romance novels but have never traveled #LLF2016
— Nadia Naviwala (@NadiaNavi) February 20, 2016
Contempory Great Games. Right now #Pakistan #world #change #LLF2016 #LLF #hinarabanikhar #stevecoll #ahmedrashidi pic.twitter.com/EWgZZmUwBb
— sarcasm_LMG (@sonofsoil_asia) February 20, 2016
Steve Coll & hina Ahmed Rasheed #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/o4nEfzEIen
— Maiza Hameed Gujjar (@MaizaHameed) February 20, 2016
The biggest diff between the old and new great game is that the new great game has a new player – the non-state actor- hina Rabbani at llf
— Chiki Sarkar (@Chikisarkar) February 20, 2016
With the legendary actor, producer, dir & Tele broadcaster Mr. Zia Mohyeddin at #LLF2016 thanks to @lhrlitfest pic.twitter.com/3ZMJP5KQ9A
— Raza Zaidi (@Razaazaidi) February 20, 2016
Zukiswa Wanner: I've met people who say "I don't read" – I like to entertain them with my novels so they read another #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
"I've met people who say they've never read any books but they've read my books. That's kind of scary." – Mohammed Hanif #LLF2016
— oK (@TaleahKhan) February 20, 2016
Nasir Abbas Nayyar speaking eloquently on Intizaar Hussain's art.#LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/uUS0bVQMmb
— Umair Khan (@umair4v) February 20, 2016
#Day1: Jinnah was the first to realise the problems Pakistan was going to face if it stuck to its Islamic identity- I.A.Rehman at #LLF2016
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) February 20, 2016
Behind the scenes: Prepping for their session. @kamilashamsie #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/6LMVK7jV9M
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 20, 2016
Since I track down & collect old Pakistani magazines, this sessions is like my holy grail. Beginning in 5! #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/3DPf8flKbZ
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) February 20, 2016
George Orwell's son, Virginia Woolf's grand niece, the editor of Guardian Books, editorial head of Bloomsbury, Sharmila Tagore all at LLF
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) February 20, 2016
#LLF2016 is off to a rocking start! Kudos to the @LhrLitfest organisers for showing grit in extremely difficult circumstances.
— Desi Writers' Lounge (@desi_writers) February 20, 2016
Arfa Zehra: Qawwali about forgetting yourself and finding yourself in the same moment. (She said it much more eloquently in Urdu) #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
#AneesaHelou before her session at #LLF. pic.twitter.com/BBeM2iDOGt
— Ruby Gul (@gulas98) February 20, 2016
Kudos to the #LLF team for putting on a great show. Enjoyed participating in session Contemporary Great Games
— Hina R Khar (@HinaRKhar) February 20, 2016
Steve Coll:"LLF is the best example of Pak's resilience.Fest was shifted,days were cut,schedule was truncated but here we are" #LLF2016
— Sameen Khan (@sameenhakhan) February 20, 2016
Mona Elthaway along with Rachael Hommes,Anita are conducting this amazing session of #Feminism and #GlobalPolitics #LLF #2016 #Lahore
— Momna Mahmood मोमना महमूद (@IamBabyMomo) February 20, 2016
Arfa Zehra: Qawwali about forgetting yourself and finding yourself in the same moment. (She said it much more eloquently in Urdu) #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
Mary Shemza Amrita Jhaveri Iftikhar Dadi and Shezad Dawood with Salima Hashmi #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/tplizPkQGw
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) February 20, 2016
This British Council pop up library is the cutest thing I've seen at #LLF2016 (and they have free lemonade) pic.twitter.com/FdHz6IaUUM
— Atika Rehman (@AtikaRehman) February 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/nadeemK87/status/700954596374671360
And now Nancy Dupree. #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/425m1h5mau
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 20, 2016
Life with my father, George Orwell with Richard Blair, @mohammedhanif , Navid Shahzad. #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/ahajoN4iVm
— Rabiya Altaf (@RAltaf) February 20, 2016
Mohammed Hanif remembers Sabeen, discussing the wars we are living through right now in #Pakistan. #LLF2016
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) February 20, 2016
"Pakistanis have abandoned civilization and ethics. Because we think it represents weak nations."
Arfa Syeda Zahra #LLF2016— Umair Khan (@umair4v) February 20, 2016
At The Arab Spring: A Frank Obituary with Susan Abulhawa, Mona Eltahawy, Texas Deghati and more. They feel an obituary is premature #LLF2016
— Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) February 20, 2016
Favourite panelist, Razia Sultanova. #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/ltTMwKhjJm
— Hamayle (@Hamayle_) February 20, 2016
Ahdaf Soueif: Who does the city belong to? The people who live in it or the state? There is that conflict going on in Lahore too. #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
EU Amb to Pak: "I wondered why I should support this fest, & now that I'm here, I understand why" @lahorelitfest @Europarl_EN #LLF2016 #EU
— Sameen Khan (@sameenhakhan) February 20, 2016
Every man should call himself a feminist. It means you are fighting for a just world: Anita Anand. #LLF2016
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 20, 2016
Artist Musarrat Mirza receives lifetime achievement award from Salima Hashmi and EU ambassador to Pakistan #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/4KyBl8i71H
— A Mehmood (@happylarka) February 20, 2016
Queues keep getting longer each year. #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/7NlxJ5FBJ6
— Rimmel Mohydin (@Rimmel_Mohydin) February 20, 2016
At Satire as Self-Defence with Rachel Holmes, Mohammed Hanif and Ned Beauman #LLF2016
— Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) February 20, 2016
Friends, Not Masters
Post Obama US-Pak equation@Fahdhusain with @sherryrehman Steve Coll & Shuja Nawaz at #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/NWlmlJT9Sz— Bull's Eye (@iTsTaLaT) February 20, 2016
Shuja Nawaz: the film Groundhog Day would be a very apt description of the relationship between the US and Pakistan. #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
At the Friends Not Masters? Session #LLF2016 @sherryrehman @VicePresPPPP pic.twitter.com/8io8LRCFMR
— Anis Memon (@anismemon1) February 20, 2016
Sherry Rehman: the US averting it's gaze a bit won't hurt Pakistan. #LLF2016
— Mariam TS (@mariamtee) February 20, 2016
PPP VP senator @sherryrehman is at #LLF2016 , pic.twitter.com/1puxLafZsM
— Fayaz Chachar (@ChacharFayaz) February 20, 2016
"You've got to be punching something that can punch back for it to be satire" – Ned Beauman #LLF2016 #Satire
— Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) February 20, 2016
Thanks for hope & vision @JawanPakistan @mir_sana05 @SaifMagsi @Gulalai_Ismail & @waqasaday @lolzstudiospk #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/F87s1rvql8
— Marc-André Franche ???????? (@MAFrancheUN) February 20, 2016
The PakUS relationship is bogged down with intense emotion, high value targets & too much misdirected cash #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/cuDlr9YQ0u
— SherryRehman’sTeam (@SRehmanOffice) February 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/nabeelimtiaz07/status/701024901776465920
https://twitter.com/ismuhammadali/status/701033654433280001
"Love letters" a play directed Hamid Haroon full house, no room … featuring Imran Aslam & Rehana saigal at #LLF2016
— shariq (@shariqiq) February 20, 2016
The venue was literally jam-packed with listeners. It was Zia Mohyeddin! #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/spgIDnSsk1
— Khalid Khattak (@Khalid_Khattak) February 20, 2016
UK Pak Poetry collaboration showcases the beauty of the Urdu & English languages @lahorelitfest #LLF2016 pic.twitter.com/2BkaEAkQX5
— BradfordLitFest (@BradfordLitFest) February 20, 2016
Became an instant fan of @monaeltahawy after her session on feminism! Dedication in her cause pours out in each word she speaks. #LLF2016
— Ali Hafeez (@_alihafeez) February 20, 2016
Zia Mohiuddin #LLF2016
tarz-e Bedil mein rekhta likhna
Asadullah Khan qayaamat hai pic.twitter.com/KD9ay0bwBm— Midhat Ali Zaidi (@MidhatZ) February 20, 2016
Well done against all odds Lahore Literary Fest They cant stop a progressive Pakistan #farhadhumayun #LLF2016 #LLF pic.twitter.com/mBJM8j6lFv
— Farhad Humayun (@farhadoverload) February 20, 2016
So an overwhelmingly amazing day 1 of #LLF2016 comes to a close.
Geared up for another exciting day tomorrow.
Hats off to team @lhrlitfest— Bull's Eye (@iTsTaLaT) February 20, 2016