NEW YORK: Following the success of the second edition of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) at Asia Society earlier this month, the festival is on road to becoming ‘institutionalised’, says LLF’s founder and chief executive officer Razi Ahmed.

“We had an encouraging response…the presence of so many people proves that the event has a fan following,” Mr Ahmed said at the conclusion of the event packed with literary and cultural discussions as well as music sessions.

The subjects featured in the fifth year of the festival were mainly of academic nature and specific to Lahore. A session on Lahore’s standing as Pakistan’s cultural hub highlighted Emperor Jahangir’s fascination for the city. Historian F.S. Aijazuddin and Metropolitan Museum of Arts curator Navina Najat Haidar drew attention to Lahore’s past and present contributions to art, culture and music in the region and its patronage of artists.

Fitting the occasion was a performance by renowned singer Tahira Syed whose golden voice evoked huge applause. She sang some of her best kafis, ghazals and folk songs in a segment titled “The Sounds of Data Darbar,” moderated by journalist Raza Rumi.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2017