Programme
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017
TIME |
ABDUL KARIM SAHITYA BISHARAD AUDITORIUM |
POET SHAMSUR RAHMAN SEMINAR ROOM |
LAWN |
VASKAR NOVERA EXHIBITION HALL |
COSMIC TENT | NAZRUL STAGE |
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9:30am-10:15am |
[101] SPIRITUAL SONGS Bahá'i Writings Neda Shakiba |
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10:00am-11:00am |
[102] Pung Cholom Manipuri Theatre |
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11:00am-12:00pm |
[103] Inaugural ceremony DLF directors and honourable Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor
Opening Adonis |
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12:15pm-1:30pm |
[104] Adonis with Kaiser Haq |
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1:45pm-2:45pm |
[105] Mujib: Taking history to the next generation Radwan Mujib Siddiq, Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy, Luke Neima and Arzoo Ismail with Jerry Pinto |
[106] The short of it Nadia Kabir Barb, Salahdin Imam and Aamer Hussein with Nadeem Zaman |
[107] A Life in Letters Imdadul Haq Milon with Ahmad Mostofa Kamal |
[108] Beautiful Animals Lawrence Osborne with Eleanor Chandler |
[109] বাংলার নারী, দুর্জয় ঘাটি Mithila Farzana, Nobonita Chowdhury, Masuda Bhatti and Selina Hossain with Papree Rahman |
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3:00pm-4:00pm |
[110] Staging stories David Hare and Asaduzzaman Noor with Iresh Zaker |
[111] ফেক নিউজ Zulfiqer Russell, Arif Jebtik, Rumeen Farhana and Garga Chatterjee with Probhash Amin |
[112] Words of conscience? Poetry and activism Nausheen Eusuf, Kaiser Haq and Sophia Walker with Syed Shehzar Doja |
[113] The Bengalis: A race divided Sudeep Chakravarti, Kushanava Choudhury, Ikhtisad Ahmed and Ananya Kabir with David Davidar |
[114] গল্পকার - সীমানা যখন কেন্দ্র Sayed Azad, Kana Basu Misra, Marina Nasrin and Masudul Haque with Mohammad Moheuddin |
[115]
কবিতা - কিশোর মান্নান ও আবৃত্তি Khalek Bin Joinuddin, Aslam Sani, et al |
4:15pm-5:15pm |
[116] Magical tales Ben Okri with Ashok Ferrey |
[117] সাহিত্যের স্বদেশ বিদেশ Nazmun Nesa, Alim Azij, Rafique-um-Munir Chowdhury and Mojaffor Hossain with Zahid Shohag |
[118] Caustic workplaces and commutes David Szalay with Kelly Falconer |
[119] America: Asia's setting sun Dominic Ziegler, Victor Mallet, Lawrence Osborne and Jeff Kingston with Zafar Sobhan |
[120] LECTURE The (mis)rule of the British Raj Roderick Matthews introduced by Sadaf Saaz |
[121] Ampersand performance poetry in English and Bengali by young poets |
5:30pm-6:30pm |
[122] Gemcon Awards |
[123] Ghosts of the tsunami Richard Lloyd Parry with David Davidar |
[124] বাঙালী মুসলমানের মন Sajjad Sharif, Zakir Talukder, Samia Huq and Syed Saifuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari with Sumon Rahman |
[125] From page to screen Sharbari Ahmed with Ikhtisad Ahmed |
[126] I want a poem Mousumi Banerjee, Bigoa Chuol and Jerry Pinto, introduced by Nausheen Eusuf |
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6:45pm-7:45pm |
[127] FILM PREMIERE Paperfrogs Nuhash Humayun with Luba Khalili
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[128] A past divided Ananya Kabir, Ali Riaz and Perween Hassan with Parsa Sanjana Sajid followed by presentation of a virtual Museum of Shared Pasts by Fahmida Zaman and Taufiqur Rahman Khan |
[129] কবিতা বাংলার মুখ - ১ Habibullah Siraji, Asad Mannan, Muhammad Samad, et al |
[130] রোহিঙ্গা - বিপন্ন মানবতা Bakhtiar Uddin Chowdhury, Tapodhir Bhattacharjee, and Harun Ur Rashid with Sheriff Al Sire |
[131] Religion in politics: Absolutism or democracy? Azeem Ibrahim, Charles Glass, Jeff Kingston and Zafar Sobhan with Samrat Choudhury |
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
TIME |
ABDUL KARIM SAHITYA BISHARAD AUDITORIUM |
POET SHAMSUR RAHMAN SEMINAR ROOM |
LAWN |
VASKAR NOVERA EXHIBITION HALL |
COSMIC TENT | NAZRUL STAGE |
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9:00am-10:00am |
[201] SPIRITUAL SONGS Kirtan Mohaprobhu Shongho |
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10:00am-11:00am |
[202] From Xanadu to nine lives William Dalrymple with Shazia Omar |
[203] অক্ষর ও অঙ্ক |
[204] Out of the jungle |
[205] Critical Muslim: Launch of Bangladesh issue |
[206] CHILDREN'S SESSION (<12yrs) তোতোন মামার ম্যাজিক ঝোলা reading by Nazia Jabeen
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[207] [11am - 11:15am] The historian's eye Opening of William Dalrymple's photo exhibition **next to V Novera Exhibition Hall |
11:15am-12:15pm |
[208] We need to talk about Shriver Lionel Shriver with André Naffis-Sahely |
[209] Em and the Big Hoom |
[210] Mothers and daughters Nandana Sen with Sara Zaker |
[211] Integrating science Belal Baaquie with Ashok Ferrey |
[212] Kabul in our hearts Nasreen Sattar and Ameerah Haq with Salahdin Imam |
[213] মেয়েদের লাঠিখেলা Bir Sreshtho Noor Mohammad Lathiyal Dol |
[214] 12:30pm-1:30pm |
[214] Performances as authorship Tilda Swinton with Ahsan Akbar |
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[215] চলচ্চিত্রকার হুমায়ুন Riaz, Matin Rahman, Meher Afroz Shaon and Mahfooz-ur Rahman Khan |
[216] প্রকাশনা - একাল সেকাল Dipankar Das, Rajib Che and Syed Zakir Hossain with Firoz Ahmed |
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2:00pm-3:00pm |
[217] Hideous Kinky |
[218] Memoirs of a publisher John Makinson with Mahrukh Mohiuddin |
[219] #metoo Sabina Faiz Rashid, Samia Zaman, Sophia Walker and Bachi Karkaria with Jyoti Malhotra |
[220] সম্পর্কের এপার ওপার |
[221] The story in a portrait Sandro Kopp with Katerina Don |
[222] CHILDREN'S SESSION Presenting Sukumar Ray Bottola (A play) |
3:15pm-4:15pm |
[223] The Famished Road Ben Okri with Jerry Pinto |
[318] CHILDREN'S SESSION Poran the Postman: Storytelling and Doodling Sharada Kolluru, Saiq'a S Chowdhury and Sabyasachi Mistry with Muhammad Sohel |
[224] POETRY RECITATIONS The Promised LandAndré Naffis-Sahely and Sophia Walker with Ritu Menon |
[225] Colonial hang-up and/or hangover Deepak Unnikrishnan, Roderick Matthews, Stephen Alter and Anuk Arudpragasam with Kushanava Choudhury |
[226] CHILDREN'S SESSION (<8yrs) Mambi and the Forest Fire and Not Yet! Nandana Sen
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[227] CHILDREN'S SESSION সাত ভাই চম্পা ও অন্যান্য গল্প reading by Anisul Hoque
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4:30pm-5:30pm |
[228] HerStories: Homegrown Supergirls Mabia Akhter, Madiha Murshed, Nayma Hoque, Nishat Mazumder and Tamanna-E-Lutfi with Seuty Sabur 5:20pm - unveiling by Asaduzzaman Noor |
[229] Intangibles Ananya Kabir and Syed Jamil Ahmed with Shuprova Tasneem
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[230] SPECIAL RECITATIONS Adonis introduced by Sadaf Saaz |
[231] Djinn City |
[232] Rohingyas: Landless future Azeem Ibrahim, Ameerah Haq, Jeff Kingston, Justin Rowlatt and Michael Vatikiotis with Zafar Sobhan |
[233]
CHILDREN'S SESSION The puppet master Mustafa Monwar |
5:45pm-6:45pm |
[234] ASIAN FILM PREMIERE Shadow World introduced by Anadil Hossain [5:45pm-7:15pm]
[7:15pm - 8pm] Andrew Feinstein with Dominic Ziegler |
[235]
Temporary People Deepak Unnikrishnan and André Naffis-Sahely with Rifat Munim |
[236] [5:45pm - 6:30] Selected Poems Poet Kamal Chowdhury in conversation with Shamim Reza
[6:45 - 7:30] কবিতা বাংলার মুখ - ২ with Jahidul Huq, Muhammed Sadique, et al |
[237] রূপকথা - পূরনো কথা যখন নতুন করে আসে Farida Hossain, Bibhas Roy Chowdhury, Moinul Ahsan Saber and Anisul Hoque with Parvez Hossain |
[238] কবিগান Azit Roy Sarkar and Nirmalchandra Ray Sarkar [5:30pm-6:30pm] |
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2017
TIME |
ABDUL KARIM SAHITYA BISHARAD AUDITORIUM |
POET SHAMSUR RAHMAN SEMINAR ROOM | LAWN | VASKAR NOVERA EXHIBITION HALL | COSMIC TENT | NAZRUL STAGE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9:00am-10:00am |
[301] SPIRITUAL SONGS Marfoti Ujan Bhati Shilpi Goshthi |
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10:00am-11:00am |
[302] Women, art and politics Esther Freud, Nandana Sen, Bigoa Chuol and Sadaf Saaz with Bee Rowlatt |
[303] Blown to bits Anuk Arudpragasam, Catherine Lacey and Karan Mahajan with Eleanor Chandler |
[304] PEN: Measured speech John Makinson, Andrew Feinstein, CR Abrar, Justin Rowlatt and Jyoti Malhotra with Sudeep Chakravarti
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[305] Displacements David Szalay and Jesse Ball with Sharbari Ahmed |
[306] CHILDREN'S SESSION (8-12yrs) Magic of Math Imran Ahmed, Srabanti Datta and Shahriar Rahman
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[307] CHILDREN'S SESSION Bonku the Superdog storytelling by Biva Siddiki
বনের গল্প storytelling by Farzana Ahmed |
11:15am-12:15pm |
[308] The Story of Kohinoor William Dalrymple
introduced by Sadaf Saaz |
[320] Dhaka University looking back Firdous Azim, Fakrul Alam, Khademul Islam and Syed Manzoorul Islam with Shamsad Mortuza |
[310] Ceaseless Chatter of Demons Ashok Ferrey with Ikhtisad Ahmed |
[311] 1974: The Silent Year Naomi Hossain and Syed Badrul Ahsan with Garga Chatterjee |
[312] CHILDREN'S SESSION (8-14yrs) Talky tumble Nandana Sen |
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12:30pm-2:15pm |
[313] FILM PREMIERE The seasons in quincy: A tribute to John Berger readings by Tilda Swinton, introduced by K Anis Ahmed |
[314] ভাষার রাজনীতি, ভাষার অর্থনীতি Moinul Ahsan Saber, Sebanti Ghosh, Kinnar Ray and Altaf Shahnewaz with Hamim Kamrul Haque |
[315] Syria: War Without End Charles Glass and Azeem Ibrahim with Justin Rowlatt |
[316] PEN: কলমকে কেন এতো ভয় Lovely Bashar, Ballari Sen, Ahmad Mustafa Kamal and Mahbub Aziz with Tanim Ahmed |
[317] Daughters of Jorasanko Minoti Chatterjee, Averee Chaurey, Sharmila Bakshi, Jayati Ghosh followed by Aruna Chakravarti with Neeman Sobhan |
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2:30pm-3:30pm |
[319] The Blue Touch Paper David Hare with Khademul Islam |
[309] Communism and Zionism: Unexpected futures Charles Glass, Richard Lloyd Parry, K Nabil Ahmed and Dominic Ziegler with Bee Rowlatt |
[321] Whose culture is it, anyway? Lionel Shriver, Lawrence Osborne, Karan Mahajan and K Anis Ahmed with Kelly Falconer |
[322] The Invisible Universe Belal Baaquie with Talal Ahmed Chowdhury |
[323] ধর্ষণ - পৌরুষের ক্ষমতা, পৌরুষের অক্ষমতা Anwara Syed-Haq, Sadeka Halim, Rita Das Roy, Bina Biswas with Munni Saha |
[324] স্বরচিত কবিতা ও বঙ্গবন্ধুকে নিবেদিত কবিতা আবৃত্তি Jahar Sen Majumdar, Jewel Mazhar, et al |
3:45pm-4:45pm |
[325] GRANTA LAUNCH Best of Young American Novelists Jesse Ball, Catherine Lacey, Karan Mahajan with Eleanor Chandler and Luke Neima, introduced by Ahsan Akbar |
[326] Ganges: A river runs through it Victor Mallet with Stephen Alter |
[327] মিছিলের দিনগুলি - মুক্তিযুদ্ধের পূর্বাপর কবিতা recitations by Helal Hafiz introduced by Shamim Reza |
[328] In Hot Blood Bachi Karkaria with Manjula Narayan |
[329] YOUNG ADULT SESSION MindKraft Maruful Hoque, Tabassum Salma Islam, Saiq'a S Chowdhury and Imran Hasan with Shakil Ahmed |
[330] CHILDREN'S SESSION Tiny Jumps In storytelling by Inshra Sakhawat Russell |
5:00pm-6:30pm |
[331] Closing and DSC Prize-giving by honourable Minister of Finance Abul Maal Abdul Muhith |
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HIGHLIGHTS
Plenary: Adonis with Kaiser Haq
Role of poetry is to diffuse perfume against ignorance, fundamentalism – Adonis.
The greatest living poet in Arabic will share his views on poetry, philosophy, writing, fundamentalism, and about his own works that span seven decades, taking him from the small village of al-Qassabin to Paris, where he has lived since the 1950s. His works and influence have been compared to TS Eliot’s in the Anglophone world, and he has won numerous international prizes, including the Goethe Medal in 2001 and the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature in 2017.
Adonis talks to Kaiser Haq, the leading Bangladeshi poet in English.
The Seasons in Quincy: A Tribute to John Berger
Readings by Tilda Swinton, introduced by K Anis Ahmed
“The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger” is the result of a five-year project by Tilda Swinton, Colin MacCabe and Christopher Roth to produce a portrait of the progressive late art critic, author, painter, and intellectual John Berger. His best-known work was Ways of Seeing, a book and British TV series that for many redefined the way we understand art. Tilda Swinton will read the words of John Berger, a man who became a mentor and friend to the actress. Introduced by author and co-director of the Dhaka Lit Fest, K Anis Ahmed.
Shadow World: Asian Film Premiere
Introduced by Anadil Hossain
Andrew Feinstein with Dominic Ziegler
DLF is proud to present the Asian premiere of the documentary based on Andrew Feinstein’s critically-acclaimed book ‘The Shadow World: Inside the global arms trade’. This award winning film reveals the corruption, greed, and lies behind covert links within politics, business, the military, intelligence agencies and the arms industry, exposing the secretive world of the global arms trade. Introduced by Bangladeshi producer Anadil Hossain, the screening will be followed by campaigner and writer Andrew Feinstein in conversation with journalist Dominic Ziegler.
Rohingyas: Landless Future
Azeem Ibrahim, Ameerah Haq, Jeff Kingston, Justin Rowlatt and Michael Vatikiotis with Zafar Sobhan
The Rohingyas were deemed the "most persecuted" of peoples even before new purge by the Myanmar army led to the influx of over half a million of them into Bangladesh. If this pattern continues, someday more Rohingyas may come to reside as refugees in Bangladesh than inhabit their traditional Arakan homeland in north-western Myanmar. Can a people survive without a land? What will it take for them to be able to return to their homes? Azeem Ibrahim, author of Rohingyas, and Ameerah Haq, former Under Secretary General of the UN, take up this vexing topic with academics and journalists from the region. Moderated by Zafar Sobhan.
The Historian’s Eye
Opening of William Dalrymple’s photo exhibition
Through a collection of black and white images taken during his travels around the world, the celebrated historian William Dalrymple showcases his rediscovered passion for photography which he pursued in his teenage years, only to be superseded by his greater love: writing. The exhibit of 24 images show a different side to a writer, who happens to be a star on Instagram, and this special show will be inaugurated by the writer-photographer himself, who'll share the story of how it all started.
We need to talk about Shriver
Lionel Shriver with André Naffis-Sahely
Telling other people’s stories is quintessentially what writers do. But what does it mean for fiction if writers must steer clear of experiences that don’t belong to them? Where is the line between appropriation and artistic license? Journalist and author Lionel Shriver talks to poet, critic and translator André Naffis-Sahely about stepping into others’ shoes and trying on their hats.
Mambi and the Forest Fire and NOT YET!
Nandana Sen
A playful and fun interactive bilingual session by children’s writer Nandana Sen. Suitable for young children up to 8 years.
HerStories: Homegrown Supergirls
Mabia Akhter, Madiha Murshed, Nayma Hoque, Nishat Mazumder and Tamanna-E-Lutfi with Seuty Sabur
Unveiling by Asaduzzaman Noor
HerStory Foundation is launching HerStories: Adventures of Supergirls at Dhaka Lit Fest. Narrators will include writers, illustrators and activists from the HerStories project. Meet the supergirls—Nishat Mazumder (Everest Summiteer), Mabia Akhter (weightlifting champion), Syeda Madiha Murshed (MD of Scholastica Group) and Nayma Haque and Tamanna-E-Lutfi (BAF combat jet pilots). Moderated by Seuty Sabur.
The Famished Road
Ben Okri with Jerry Pinto
Ben Okri is a living legend of contemporary fiction, who has drawn from such diverse influences as Western mythic and fabulist traditions and melded them with his own Nigerian folk narratives to create a form of storytelling that is virtually his own. He captivated the world with his trilogy about the life of Azaro and now readers around the world are dazzled by the unique vision in his fiction, which transcends reality while cutting into its core more deeply than ordinary realism. In conversation with Jerry Pinto.
A Life in Letters
Imdadul Haq Milon
Marks the launch of eminent Bangladeshi writer and poet Imdadul Haq Milon’s Two Novellas by Bengal Lights Books.
From Page to Screen
Sharbari Ahmed with Ikhtisad Ahmed
From the success of her off-Broadway hit ‘Raisins not virgins’, to writing for the drama series Quantico as the first Bangladeshi scriptwriter on a major USA TV series, American-Bangladeshi writer Sharbari Ahmed talks about her journey navigating different mediums to tell stories, with Ikhtisad Ahmed.
Beautiful Animals
Lawrence Osborne with Eleanor Chandler
Hailed as a modern Graham Greene, Lawrence Osborne transports readers to Greece, Morocco, Macau and Cambodia with his “exotic literary thrillers” which explore the deeper, darker side of human nature. He talks to Granta's Eleanor Chandler about his latest novel, Beautiful Animals—a critically acclaimed bestseller in the UK, which, along with several of Osborne’s other works, is currently being adapted for the screen.
Words of Conscience? Poetry and Activism
Nausheen Eusuf, Kaiser Haq and Sophia Walker with Syed Shehzar Doja
At a time when we are desensitized to horrific acts around us, as well as the business of just going about our daily lives, how is it that poems make us stop and think, and remind us of our humanity? How does the craft of poetry render itself to the voice striving for a cause? Poets from different generations and regions ponder on the power of poetry. Kaiser Haq, Nausheen Eusuf and Sophia Walker in conversation with Syed Shehzar Doja.
Marking the launch of Nausheen Eusuf’s debut poetry collection Not Elegy, But Eros and Kaiser Haq’s new edition of Pariah and Other Poems.
The Bengalis: A Race Divided
Sudeep Chakravarti, Kushanava Choudhury, Ikhtisad Ahmed and Ananya Kabir with David Davidar
Bengalis may speak the same language, but are they still one people? They now have their own nation-state in the form of Bangladesh, but reside in plentiful numbers in the Indian states of Bengal, Tripura, and Assam. They also constitute substantial immigrant groups in the US, UK and Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. As one of the earliest colonies of the British Raj, Bengal was also a crucible – though not a beneficiary – of modernity. From famous figures Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray, to scientist Satyen Bose, entrepreneur Amar Bose, and statesman Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman all came from Bengal. But who are the Bengalis today, and how have political lines led to diverse identities? David Davidar leads the discussion.
Integrating science
Belal Baaquie with Ashok Ferrey
Why is rubber elastic? Why can a gecko climb a wall? Come and find answers to this and a myriad of other puzzles of nature that arise from our daily experiences. Eminent physicist Belal Baaquie talks to mathematician-turned-novelist Ashok Ferry, about the most fascinating principles in science, drawing on biology, mathematics, chemistry and physics to bring light to the most complex and intriguing phenomena.
Mujib: Taking history to the next generation
Radwan Mujib Siddiq, Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy, Luke Neima and Arzoo Ismail with Jerry Pinto
The Mujib graphic novel series, launching its first English iteration today, uses the ever-accessible medium of visual storytelling to present the unfinished memoirs of Bangladesh’s founding father to a new generation of readers. Publisher Radwan Mujib Siddiq and cartoonist Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy join Arzoo Ismail, Granta online editor Luke Neima and writer and journalist Jerry Pinto in discussing the importance of new tools of engagement and personal narrative in making history come alive for the next generation.
Marking the launch of the English translation of the graphic novel.
Syria: War Without End
Charles Glass and Azeem Ibrahim with Justin Rowlatt
The Syrian civil war has effectively ended after six very bloody years, with Bashar-al Assad still in place. This harrowing war saw the full depth of modern war crimes, including the use of barrel bombs and chemical weapons. Syria quickly became the site of internecine sectarian rivalry, benefiting the rise of the Islamic State. Even as ISIL is militarily defeated, it is not clear what it will morph into, or what will take its place. Will the Assad regime re-assert control over all of Syria again? Or will Syria turn into another "Somalia" – fractured and fractious? Legendary journalist Charles Glass, author of Syria Burning, is joined by other keen observers in a discussion led by the BBC's Justin Rowlatt.
#metoo
Sabina Faiz Rashid, Samia Zaman, Sophia Walker and Bachi Karkaria with Jyoti Malhotra
#metoo went viral in October 2017, as thousands of women shared their experiences of sexual harassment and assault. The impetus for this emerged after numerous allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. While many men seemed shocked at the sheer number of women speaking out, women were surprised (or perhaps not!), that men did not know this. How does one tackle the code of silence that protects the rich and powerful? Will anything change with a few trophy ‘convictions’ (be they trial by social media, or other), and is ‘naming and blaming’ the answer? Feminist poet Sophia Walker, film-maker Samia Zaman, researcher Sabina Faiz Rashid and writer and festival director Bachi Karkaria discuss what needs to be done to bring about a meaningful change in the status quo. With journalist Jyoti Malhotra.
Women, Art and Politics
Esther Freud, Nandana Sen, Bigoa Chuol and Sadaf Saaz with Bee Rowlatt
Hate in the form of rising fundamentalism and extremism around the world has been cited by the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights as being a major threat to artistic expression. This normalization of extremist and fundamentalist ideology in the cultural, media and political landscape in all regions of the world, and the embracing of these in mainstream politics is a threat to cultural diversity and dissent. Writers, artists, intellectuals and women are particularly targeted as they are seen as a particular threat to the monolithic structures that these groups want to establish. Actor and novelist Esther Freud, children’s writer and activist Nandana Sen, performance poet and cultural facilitator Bigua Chuol and poet and cultural organizer Sadaf Saaz discuss the challenges ahead for women, with writer and biographer Bee Rowlatt.
Staging Stories
David Hare and Asaduzzaman Noor with Iresh Zaker
From putting the role of journalism under the spotlight to presenting contemporary Britain comprehensively, Sir David Hare’s distinguished career has explored an extensive range of issues theatrically. One of the foremost names in the history of Bangladeshi theatre and the nation’s serving Minister of Culture, Asaduzzaman Noor, converses about the art of theatre with the two-time Academy nominated playwright. Moderated by Iresh Zaker.
DSC Prize
A key highlight of Dhaka Lit Fest this year is the DSC Prize Award Ceremony to announce the winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017. The US $25,000 DSC Prize instituted in 2010 is one of the most prestigious international literary awards specifically focused on South Asian writing. It is open to authors of any ethnicity or nationality as long as the writing is about South Asia and its people. It also encourages writing in regional languages and translations, and the prize money is equally shared between the author and the translator in case a translated entry wins. Its key vision is to showcase and reward the best talent writing about this region and present it to a global audience. The five shortlisted novels which are in contention for the DSC Prize 2017 are:
1. The Living by Anjali Joseph
This is the story of two lives. Claire is a young single mother working in one of England’s last remaining shoe factories. Arun makes hand-sewn chappals at his home in Kolhapur. These are lives woven through with the ongoing discipline of work and the responsibility and tedium of family life. Lives laced with the joys of friendship, the pleasure of sex, and the redemptive kindness of one’s own children. This is the story of the living.
2. The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam
Dinesh is a young man trapped on the frontlines between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers. Desensitized to the horror all around him, life has been pared back to the essentials: eat, sleep, survive. All this changes when he is approached one morning by an older man who asks him to marry his daughter Ganga. Told in meditative, nuanced and powerful prose, this shattering novel marks the arrival of an extraordinary new literary voice.
3. Selection Day by Aravind Adiga
Manjunath Kumar, 14, knows he is good at cricket—if not as good as his elder brother Radha. He knows that he fears and resents his domineering and cricket-obsessed father, admires his brilliantly talented sibling and is fascinated by the world of CSI and by curious and interesting scientific facts. But there are many things about himself and about the world that he doesn’t know.
4. The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
On a hot May day in 1996 a car bomb detonates in a Delhi marketplace. Just a ‘small’ bomb, but it is fatal for two Khurana school boys. Their friend Mansoor survives the blast bearing the physical
and psychological effects of the bombs.
Humane and clear-eyed in equal measure, The Association of Small Bombs tackles the most urgent issue of today with astonishing empathy
5. In the Jungles of the Night by Stephen Alter
Who was the real Jim Corbett? In this novel, we see Jim first as a young boy of 14, growing up in Nainital. In the second part of the book, he hunts the man-eater of Mayaghat, a tigress who preys on labour camps in the foothills of Kumaon. The final section of the novel takes us to Kenya, where Corbett settled after 1947. In the Jungles of the Night will surprise and delight Corbett’s many fans and attract new readers who have yet to experience his books.
The winner of the DSC Prize 2017 will be announced at the Shah Abdul Karim Sahityabisharad Auditorium at Dhaka Lit Fest on November 18 afternoon where Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, the Honourable Minister of Finance of Bangladesh will be presenting the award to the winner.