THE 2ND ISLAMABAD LITERATURE FESTIVAL HAD WRITERS, ARTISTS, PERFORMERS, AND JOURNALISTS COME TOGETHER TO OFFER A DISTINCT CULTURAL HUE TO THE CITY. FROM POPULAR PERFORMANCES BY DASTANGOS, TO SHORT FILMS BEING SCREENED ON POET AHMED FARAZ, THE FESTIVAL HAD SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AND NOT ALL THAT WAS OFFERED WAS LITERARY. THERE WERE PANELS EXPLORING POPULAR CINEMA, DRAMA AND THE SMALL SCREEN, ACTIVISTS COMMENTING ON THE INCREASING GENDER DISPARITY WITHIN THE COUNTRY, AS WELL AS FORUMS DISCUSSING REFORMS IN STATE SCHOOLS. BOOKS LAUNCHES, DANCE PERFORMANCES, A MUSHAIRA AND A PLAY BY NAPA WERE ALSO PART OF THE MIX.

The author of 14 books, Pran Nevile was the only nonagenarian among those who participated in the Islamabad Literature Festival. He was also upset that his book on Lahore was no longer available in Pakistan. “Even though it has been sold out for more than four years, I just don’t know why my publisher has not come out with a reprint, if not with a new edition,” he said, only to add “every time I come to Pakistan, I bring a few copies for my friends.”

Nevile is a late starter. He wrote his first book when he was in his early 70s. Prior to that he had a brilliant career with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and later with the UNCTAD. When he retired he took to writing. He showed his article on Lahore to Khushwant Singh, who encouraged him to encapsulate his nostalgia and knowledge of his native city in a book, which he did with flourish, writing about a number of people, some known, some unknown, or shall we say, those who have fallen into oblivion. The list includes his heart throb Tamancha Jan, a beautiful nautch girl. His heart, it seems, still misses a beat when he talks about her. He met her and some friends when he visited Lahore in 1997, 50 years after he migrated to India.

Nevile doesn’t harbour a grudge against anybody. Instead, he speaks warmly of one of his father’s Muslim friends who helped them cross the newly carved border safely. Answering a question at the literature festival, Nevile said that he did not write about the riots of Partition and about his family’s ordeal as enough has been written about the tragic turn of events. For his part, he would only recall the fond memories of his early life in a city which even now enchants him in no uncertain terms. His old friends may have all died, but he has made some new ones during his visits to Lahore and his alma mater, Government College.

Nevile’s books are largely about the Raj days. Five of these volumes are coffee table books. “How come you are obsessed with nautch girls?” he was asked.

“If you realise the difference between nautch girls and prostitutes, you too will feel about them in much the same way as I do,” he said. After a pause he added, “They were cultured women, who were into not just dance but were also immersed in music and poetry.”

“You have written a well-researched book on the singer K.L. Saigol, and have written for magazines on Noor Jehan and Suraiya, but not about singers of other regions, such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt, not even about the most versatile singer Mohammed Rafi,” I asked him. “The singers I have chronicled are singer-actors,” came the reply. Not convincing enough, though. But if there is one thing indisputable about Pran Nevile, it is that the grand old man has an unfailing memory.