Sindh Literature Festival

Last updated

Sindh Literature Festival
SLF-NewLogo.svg
SLF
Statusactive
FrequencyAnnually
VenueBeach Luxury Hotel Karachi (2016 - 2019)
Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi (2022) present)
Location(s) Karachi
CountryPakistan
Years active2016-present
Inaugurated2016
Founder Sindh Literary Foundation (Sindh), Naseer Gopang
Zohaib Kaka
Most recent18-20 March 2022
Attendanceapprox. 9,450 (2016)
15,123 (17)
34,312 (2019)
50,920 (2021)
70,002 (2021)
90,592 (2022)
LeaderNaseer Gopang & Zohaib Kaka
Organised bySindh Literary Foundation (2016 - Present)
Website https://sindhliteraturefestival.com

Sindh Literature Festival is an annual international literary festival organized by Sindh Literary Foundation. It is one of the largest and fastest growing literary festival in Pakistan. SLF celebrates the power of words, culture, music, and the teachings of peace and tolerance. The purpose is to highlight that Sindh boasts rich and vibrant cultures and traditions and gives a different flavor to the province. It aims to provide a venue for established and emerging writers to meet with their readers and engage with fans. Literary and cultural traditions of the province are being celebrated at the three-day event.

Contents

Along with live coverage, a variety of stories, reports, programs, and packages are also produced. A number of TV channels and newspapers publish news and columns. Different sessions including book launches and discussions on various topics, theater, music, and mushaira are also planned over the course of three days. [1]

Mission

Sindh Literature Festival strive to promote and preserve the diverse languages, cultural assets, heritage, history, fine arts, music, education, archaeology, and anthropology of the region. Through book launches, discussions, theater, music, and mushaira sessions, SLF committed to encouraging and providing substantive space to female and young writers in our events, thus fostering a more inclusive literary community in Sindh.

Aims and Objectives


Organisers

Naseer Gopang and Zohaib Kaka are both journalists who are in charge of the festival. SLF was founded by Naseer Gopang and Zohaib Kaka is the festival advisor and managing director. [2] [3]

History, timeline

2016

The festival was first held in November 2016 at Beach Luxury Hotel Karachi. [4] A number of prominent public figures have participated in the event including Sufi singers Abida Parveen, Saif Samejo, Amb Jogi, journalists Hamid Mir, Wusatullah Khan, politicians Raza Rabbani, Ayaz Latif Palijo, Sassui Palijo, Aitzaz Ahsan, actresses Sanam Baloch, Sabreen Hisbani and others. [5]

2017

The second event was held in 2017 from 27–29 October at Beach Luxury Hotel Karachi. The event comprises a number of sessions that aim at highlighting the social issues of Sindh, Sindhi Culture, issues related with Sindhi language, developments in Sindhi literature. Book stalls, handicraft stalls, mushaira sessions, and musical sessions of folk singers are also arranged during the event. [6]

2019

For the third time festival was jointly organised by the Sindh Literary Foundation, information department of the Sindh government and the Endowment Fund Trust from 22–24 February 2019 at Beach Luxury Hotel Karachi as in previous events. [7] This time festival had many sessions on culture, language, politics, sufism and literature. [8] Karachi's past was one of the main discussions of event. [9]

2021

Annual gathering scheduled in March 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then it was scheduled from 12 to 14 March 2021 in Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi. [10]

2022

Fifth SLF held from 18-20 March 2022, under the theme Centennial Celebration of Mohen-jo-Daro in Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi. The 5th Sindh Literature Festival (SLF) was organized from 18th to 20th March, 2022, at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi. This event was attributed to the “Mohenjo-Daro” of Sindh as the Centennial Celebration of the discovery of Mohenjo-Daro, an ancient archaeological site of immense historical significance in the world. For the occasion, a special theme song Mohenjo-Daro was prepared to sing the glory of this prehistoric city of Indus Civilization, written by renowned Sindhi poet Ali Akash, and composed by musician Saad Alavi. The opening ceremony of SLF started with this song, received well and cheered by the audience.

Old Logo of SLF (Before Dec 2023) SLF NEW LOGO.png
Old Logo of SLF (Before Dec 2023)

The main stage of the 5th Sindh Literature Festival was also designed to represent the importance of Mohenjo-Daro. In the 5th SLF, 28 sessions were conducted on various themes including a special session regarding the splendor “Mohenjo-Daro”, in which archaeologists from Pakistan and abroad participated; ten books were launched; and a “multilingual” Mushaira, a poetic sitting participated by poets of different languages of all provinces of Pakistan, was also part of the event. Besides that, two musical nights added the aroma of the festivity to the program. The festival was attended by a large number of people of all ages especially families and youth. The event was covered remarkably by print, electronic and social media. On the 1st day, an international session was held. [11]

2023

Naseer Gopang and Zohaib Kaka, the Managing Director of SLF, announced the saving dates for the 6th Sindh Literature Festival on social media. It is scheduled to take place on March 3, 4, and 5, 2023. 6th SLF is focusing on the topic of "Aalam Sabh Abaad Kareen" in order to raise public awareness about global warming and climate change. The Festival will be included sessions, music, arts, and other festivities.

Criticism

In 2017, during Sindh Literature Festival, Jaleel read a story خدا گم ٿي ويو (Khuda gum thee wayo, The God disappeared). Video of the session went viral on social media in March 2021. The video irked religious fundamentalists and they took his views as blasphemy of God. Jaleel and organisers was threatened to death by religious extremists. His opponents used Twitter and other social media networks to get him arrested and hanged publicly. While his supporters showed solidarity with him. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindh</span> Province of Pakistan

Sindh is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province by population after Punjab. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan to the west and north-west and Punjab to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east; it is also bounded by the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindhis</span> Ethnic group native to Sindh, Pakistan

Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the Pakistani province of Sindh. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by the southeastern part of Balochistan, the Bahawalpur region of Punjab and the Kutch region of Gujarat. Having been isolated throughout history unlike its neighbours, Sindhi culture has preserved its own uniqueness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amar Jaleel</span> Fiction writer

Kazi Abdul Jaleel, popularly known as Amar Jaleel, is a Sindhi fiction writer and a Columnist whose columns appear in various Sindhi, Urdu and English-language dailies of Pakistan. He has authored 20 books, and received awards including Pride of Performance (Pakistan), and Akhal Bharat Sindhi Sahat Sabha National Award (India).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larkana District</span> District of Sindh, Pakistan

Larkana District is a district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Its largest city is Larkana, which sits on the banks of the Indus River. It is the home district of the influential Bhutto family.

Zehra Nigah is a prominent Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan. She is fondly known as 'Zehra Apa' in the nation. Among the pioneers of poetry by women, Nigah was one of the first Urdu women poets to make their mark in the male dominated field. Nigah's accomplishments especially shone in the domain of mushaira, as she is considered the first female poet to fully participate and make a visible mark in such events. Zehra is an occasional songwriter and scriptwriter too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sassui Palijo</span> Pakistani politician and columnist

Sassui Palijo is a politician and a columnist from Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan. Palijo is currently affiliated to Pakistan Peoples Party, served as a Senator on women's reserved seat from Sindh from 2015 to 2021. She is also a two-time Member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly from PS-85 (Thatta-II).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Sindhology</span> Research institution in Sindh, Pakistan

Institute of Sindhology is a resource for knowledge of the Sindh region in present-day Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Sindh</span> Culture in the Indus Valley

The Culture of Sindh has its roots in the Indus Valley civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it has available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus or Sindhu River, which passes through the land, and the Arabian Sea also supported the seafaring traditions among the local people. The local climate also reflects why the Sindhis have a language, folklore, traditions, customs, and lifestyle that are so different from the neighbouring regions. The Sindhi culture is also practised by the Sindhi diaspora.

The province of Sindh is situated in a tropical region, with subtropical regions in the northern sections; it is hot, humid and very rainy in the summer and cold and dry in winter. Temperatures frequently rise above 46 °C (115 °F) between May and August, and the minimum average temperature of 2 °C (36 °F) occurs during December and January. The annual rainfall averages about nearly 14 inches (360 mm), falling mainly during June and September. The southwesterly monsoon wind begins to blow in mid-February and continues until the end of September, whereas the cool northerly wind blows during the winter months from October to January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Sindh</span>

Sindh is a province in Pakistan.

The cultural history of Karachi goes back at least five thousand years to the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization in the third millennium BC. The early culture is mostly Neolithic with widespread usage of small cart implements and semi-precious stones. The many megalithic Arab graves around Karachi gave evidence towards megalithic movements of the Arabian Peninsula.

Mirokhan is one of the oldest tehsils situated in Qambar Shahdadkot District of Sindh province of Pakistan. It was established in 1915 and was considered to be the largest tehsil by area before the division of the Larkana district into Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, its own division into Mirokhan and Sijawal tehsils.

The Mohana, Mohano (singular) or Mallah, Mirbahar, Mirani, is an ancient tribe of Sindhi people who live in the province of Sindh.Mohano or Mallah tribe is one of the largest tribe of Sindh province whose population is more than 5 million. Sindh, Pakistan. Mohana are well-known for living on houseboats in the centre of Lake Manchar, entire families and communities subsisting off of the lake’s bounty of fish. They obtain these fish not only via traditional methods but through the use of trained birds, utilising cormorants and night herons; the birds are kept as companions in the houseboats and benefit from the excess fish caught by their human caretakers. In addition to Lake Manchar, populations of Mohana reside along Pakistan’s southern coast, as well as in Karachi, Thatta, and Keti Bandar.

Agha Saleem was a Pakistani writer, novelist, playwright and poet. He work was primarily focused on fiction writing, novels, dramas, regional films and travel literature. He is also credited for translating Sindhi language books into Urdu and English language, including Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's book titled Risalo.

Ali Baba, was a renowned short story writer, novelist, poet and playwright of Sindhi including Urdu-language. He received awards for Pride of Performance. He died on 8 August 2016 due to heart attack in his home Karachi.

Hyderabad Literature Festival is an annual literary gathering organized by Academy for Promotion of Art, Literature and Literacy (APAL) in Hyderabad, Sindh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaukat Shoro</span> Pakistani writer

Shaukat Hussain Shoro(Sindhi: شوڪت شورو, Urdu: شوکت شورو); in Sindh, a southern province of Pakistan) was a famous short story writer, playwright and columnist of the Sindhi language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaleemullah Lashari</span> Pakistani archaeologist, historian and author

Kaleemullah Lashari is a Pakistani archaeologist, historian and author. In March 2019, the government of Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the third highest honour and civilian award in Pakistan. He works to preserve the cultural heritage of Pakistan.

Tarique Ashraf was a Pakistani writer and publisher. He was the owner of Suhni printing press and editor-in-chief of Suhni Literary Magazine. His other works include his novel Meero Dharial and Jail Dairy. Ashraf introduced Sindhi short story writer Amar Jaleel by publishing his stories. Ashraf published Suhni's special edition called Amar Jaleel Number to promote him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amar Sindhu</span> Pakistani writer (born 1968)

Salma Laghari, better known as Amar Sindhu is a Pakistani author, poet, activist and academic.

References

  1. Tribune, The Express (28 October 2017). "Sindh Literature Festival kicks off" . Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  2. Karachi, Arts Council (15 March 2022). "5th Sindh Literature Festival 2022 will start on March 18" . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. Karachi, Arts Council (19 March 2022). "5th Sindh Literature Festival 2022" . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  4. Dawn, The (5 November 2016). "Sindh Literature Festival opens with Abida Parveen's performance". Dawn. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  5. SLF (PDF). Office # 411, 4th Floor, Mashriq Center,Near Expo Center, Karachi Sindh: Sindh Literary Foundation. 2016. p. 20.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. "Sindh Literature Festival 2017 offers glimpse into province's rich past". Geo TV . 28 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  7. Rafi, Haneen (23 February 2019). "Third Sindhi Literature Festival celebrates the Sufi teachings of peace and tolerance". Images. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. Mansoor, Hasan (25 February 2019). "The 3rd Sindh Literature Festival ends on high note". Images. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  9. Tribune.com.pk (24 February 2019). "Forgotten stories of Karachi's coastal islands uncovered | The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  10. "Sindh Literature Festival". m.facebook.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  11. "5th Sindh Literature Festival takes off today". The Express Tribune. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. "Amar Jaleel's 2017 freedom of expression comments attract right-wing anger | SAMAA". 7 October 2011.