Cultural Coup

The subject of the Sindh Festival was a contentious one in the country, prone to being dismissed by some as a whim of Bilawal’s which spoke more to the elite than to the proletariat. But  it has also been seen as a wild success, highlighting the positive components of a society that tends to be branded with doom and gloom. The beauty of having a cultural celebration that incorporates such disparate elements is that if you’re not one of those to cast aspersions, there is guaranteed to be a place for you. This was especially true for the Sindh Fest with its varied demographics and the miscellany of events on offer.

The Karachi Literature Festival was absorbed by the Sindh Festival this year, and offered lively, weighty debates, along with stand-up comedy, kathak dance by the entrancing Nahid Siddiqui, book readings and anything else deemed literary. One particularly interesting and pertinent talk was entitled Geo-Political Equation: Pakistan in the World; the speakers included Zafar Hilaly, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Riaz Khokhar and Hussain Haroon, moderated by Omayr Aziz Saiyid.  Hilaly, the revered diplomat, argued fervently that US and Pakistan interests are  discordant, not harmonious, saying they are “…different if not completely at odds.”  This seems a succinct summation of the two countries’ troubled relations; the official relationship status maintained is “allies,” while ideological infidelity betides in the background.

However, the Sindh Festival offered its fair share of levity, too.  The formalization of the long-held donkey derby tradition was enormous fun (a soupçon of suspiciously large donkeys seemed to cause little concern, thankfully). A long track was constructed by the ocean, attracting a noticeably different crowd than the literature festival. The finish line was flanked by enormous speakers, pumping out the sound of innovative DJs, and referees were equipped with Formula One-style checkered flags. A number of races took place before a winner could be determined. Immediately after the last race, the winning jockey was thrust onto people’s shoulders and a band of musicians erupted into traditional Sindhi music as everyone danced and cheered. The awards ceremony was held under a cloudless sky where the top three jockeys were presented with trophies.

[quote]At the deep sea fishing competition participants and audience were mostly comprised of local villagers[/quote]

The maritime equivalent followed the day after, with a deep sea fishing competition. Set in Mubarak Village, west of Karachi, the event didn’t attract many Karachi-ites. Participants and audience alike were mostly comprised of local villagers. The excitement surrounding the musical entertainment was comparatively more intense than other performances throughout the festival, given the remote location and the rarity of such an occasion. The show was hosted  by Nadeem Jafri and the main performer was Saleem Javed (o yea), accompanied by an energetic band. The songs brought scores of children to the foot of the stage, kicking up sand as they danced, while diffident onlookers bopped their heads from behind hut walls.

[quote]Diffident onlookers bopped their heads from behind hut walls[/quote]

The fortnight also saw the birth of the first Sindh International Film Festival, attracting major names like Shabana Azmi. Bilawal joined her at the star-studded red carpet event on opening night, which included filmmakers from across the world. Acclaimed director Hammad Khan (Slackistan) premiered his latest film, Anima State, on the second day.  A commonality amongst a number of the movies was the manipulation of memory and time in telling the story, an interesting reflection of consciousness as we seamlessly move between our present, memories and imagination. Documentaries and shorts accompanied the feature films and many of the screenings were succeeded by Q&As with actors and directors.

Basant took place on the beach and free kites donning traditional Sindhi prints were handed out. If Bilawal’s damming words against the Taliban and their Islamization of Pakistani culture weren’t enough, Basant (now outlawed in Punjab) and the ‘Sufi night’ were deft, little digs. It is to the credit of some impressive security personnel that the festival went off without incident, considering it was a natural target for a host of reasons. There was a suicide attack on a busload of policemen assigned to protect Bilawal — though the blast happened on the outskirts of Karachi, far from anything festival-related, and there were no civilian casualties.

The cultural extravaganza was also impressive in its ability to capture the sublime and ridiculous while avoiding a sense of disjointedness. In the space of two days I got hit by a wayward, speedy donkey cart and was intellectually challenged by a debate on the fate of the TTP negotiations, yet none of it seemed incongruous.