Last Day of Dhaka Lit Fest Literature too can be a party

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The last day of the 10th Dhaka Lit Fest began yesterday on a calmer note than weekends.

The morning sessions opened with conversations on the future of urbanism, the plights of street children as explored in Rubaiya Murshed’s “Nobody’s Children” (UPL), the future of poetry, micro tales by Sehri Tales, and sexism in the world of gaming.

Besides, Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah discussed his novel “Desertion” with Bloomsbury publisher Alexandra Pringle.

The Bangla Academy grounds began to fill up as the afternoon sessions began. Prof Firdous Azim moderated a session on feminist scholars and writers, with Prof Sabiha Huq, emeritus reader of postcolonial literature Denise deCaires Narain, and International Booker Prize-winning translator Daisy Rockwell.

Political and cultural analyst Pankaj Mishra discussed “Run and Hide”, the first novel he has written in 25 years, in conversation with writer Vivek Menezes. Daily Star Books’ discussion on “Is a Book Worth Reading: Who Decides?”, moderated by DS Books editor Sarah Anjum Bari, brought forth discussions about the value of book reviews, the politics of selecting school and university curricula, and censorship in the literary world.

Alongside workshops and sessions on haiku poetry, “Dhaka and its dystopia”, and translation, crowds were drawn to Kishwar Chowdhury’s DLF Innovation Talk on the culinary arts.

Right before the closing ceremony, 2022 Booker Prize winner and Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka discussed his Booker-winning novel “The Seven Moons of Maali Almedia” with one of South Asia’s most prolific literary agents Kanishka Gupta.

The premises filled up to brim when the musical performance of the night by Coke Studio began at 7:00pm. Despite delays in starting and less than satisfactory sound quality, hundreds of audience members gathered to watch Animes Roy, Pantha Kanai, Momtaz, Ritu Raj and other Coke Studio artists.

This year’s edition began amidst much apprehension, with ticket charges drawing doubts on how many people would attend.