KARACHI: The second day of the 5th Sindh Literature Festival (SLF) saw various events including a session on ‘Sindh’s Feminist Movement’ and launch of a novel titled Ishq Tamam Birih Tamam at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi on Saturday.

The session on feminist movement was participated by activist and classical dancer Sheema Kermani, author and activist Amar Sindhu, Qurrat Mirza, Aliya Bakhshal and Aisha Dharejo.

Speaking on the subject and forwarding an argument presented by an earlier speaker about who is a feminist, Ms Sindhu said a woman who talks about freedom within her house or a woman who does the same on the stage… all are feminists.

She said individual freedom begins at home. All questions related to freedom are feminist questions.

“If apna khana khud garm kero is a feminist question then a woman who commits suicide because she can’t provide for her children is also a feminist question,” she added.

Book launch

One of the books launched on the second day of the SLF was a novel Ishq Tamam Birih Tamam by Prof Sahar Gul.

There were three participants, alongside the author, who discussed the book with the moderator, Bakhtawar Mazhar, who nicely conducted the session.

The first speaker was Mahtab Akbar Rashdi. She said she has half read the novel but the characters and their approach to the story is understandable. The technique that the writer has adopted involves narration and letter writing. A lot of people don’t know the scenario or the backdrop against which the novel is written. It includes locale such as Laddakh and touches upon Buddhism and its followers. The reader needs to connect the dots as to why the writer has mentioned all those things.

“To me, the book appears to be a combination of a few things — its philosophy, its approach to writing and a distinct subject. In other words, some people might talk about whether it redirects them to Sufism. In the beginning the reader needs to be patient with the content after which s/he will be able to connect the main character Kabir’s journey,” she said.

After Ms Rashdi, the author read a small excerpt from the novel.

Eminent writer Amar Jaleel, who joined the session via video link, said he’s half way through the novel. “I’m enjoying it. It’s a spiritual experience to go through the book. It talks about Gautam Buddha… [But] let me finish it.”

However, Mr Jaleel made a few points. He said he needs to learn from Ms Gul. “Nirvana is achieved after death. While you’re alive you can attain enlightenment not nirvana. This novel can be read by those who have a leaning towards Buddhism. It’s not meant for the ordinary reader. I think it’s a reference book on Buddhism.”

Writer Shah Muhammad Pirzado said he’s lucky that he’s read the book. “My opinion is the opinion of a common reader. As a reader I find it an important novel because once you start it, you will end up reading the whole book. The language used in it is fluid. There’s purity of language. As a piece of fiction it’s a sign of success. I enjoyed it. It also has the quality of making the reader reread certain passages. It gets the reader involved. Fiction is an art form and the novel in totality succeeds as that form.”

The author of the book, Prof Sahar Gul, said the story is not a pre-planned or engineered one. “I used to write a diary every day.”

She said although the book is in a finished state now, she began writing it in bits and pieces some years back. It’s a result of a ‘flow’ and she didn’t think about the audience. There are different kinds of audiences. “When I wrote it I was in a trance, a flow. [So much so] that it was very difficult for to forget my characters.”

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2022