Dhaka Hay Fest 2013
For the love of words
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Photo: HayFestivalDhakaIt's that time of the year again. Monsoon has left town, the leaves are turning colours. Poets and writers are finding new inspiration with the transformation of the sky, musicians are playing new tunes. As if in perfect sync with nature, bringing it all together under the same umbrella, Hay Festival Dhaka 2013 will take off just four days from now at the grounds of Bangla Academy. Following the success of the last two years, Hay extended itself to a three-day festival this year, starting on the morning of November 14th and ending on the evening of 16th.
Those who will come to Hay this year will definitely be in for a treat as the line-up of writers, poets, change-makers, media personalities, filmmakers and publishers, both international and national, is of a unique combination. There are those like Arundhathi Subramaniam and David Shook who have decided to return again to Bangladesh for the second time and then there are new comers like Tariq Ali, Pankaj Mishra, Rosy Boycott and Ahdaf Soueif –names which changed the face of the international literature scene.
Under the slogan "Imagine the world" Hay Festival Dhaka this year will put together a series of different themes which include words and images, translation, spirituality and literature, politics and literature, graphic novels, screenplay writing and children's literature. Under these themes, different panels will present the enthusiastic Dhaka audience with discussions which are highly relevant and interesting at the same time. Although most of the sessions will draw considerable attention, there are a few which should not be missed: "Is there a World Literature?" with Pankaj Mishra, Eliot Weinberger, Florence Noiville and K. Anis Ahmed; a rare session titled "Shahittokarder Alap" where Syed Shamsul Haq and Hasan Azizul Huq will come together in conversation with Sajjad Sharif. Also, sessions such as "Two Americas: Writing A New Real" with Mario Bellatin, Chris Heiser and David Shook, and "Small is Beautiful" with Aamer Hussein, Prajwal Parajuly and Syed Badrul Ahsan marking the launch of Syed Manzoorul Islam's translated short story anthology will offer one with multi-faceted perspectives.
There are also sessions featuring William Seighart, one of which will see him giving out poetry prescriptions to your very own problems. Rosy Boycott will discuss the future of publishing; Romesh Gunesekara will talk about his extensively successful writing career; Rahul Bose will be in conversation about words and screen and Arunava Sinha will discuss different aspects of translation and how to break the boundary of language.
Poets will also be a big part of the Hay scene. David Shook, Tishani Doshi, Arundhati Subramaiam, Jerry Pinto are some of the names which you will be sure to hear from.
Ned Bauman will be also part of the Hay team talking about the Granta's top 20 young Novelists with Tahmima Anam.
There are not only more publishers like HarperCollins and Penguin but also some literary agents from the United Kingdom will come this year to gauge the vibrant literary scene of Bangladesh.
To add more excitement to the mix, there will be launching of several books such as 'Partition' with editor Vishwajyoti Ghosh and Bangladeshi contributors Syeda Farhana, Khademul Islam and Kaiser Haq. Samir Rahman will be bringing out his comic book and Ronni Ahmed will also hold a session on his book "The Cosmic Ark."
Children will be a big part of the festival this year. A series of children focused programs will be running in the imagination tent where poetry, fiction and storytelling will be a big part.
Lastly a few sessions must be mentioned which will give the audience a lot of food for thought. These sessions are: "In other tongues" where the richness and diversity of our Bangla language will be celebrated with activists, experts, and the people who speak them; and "Egypt and Beyond" where writer and politician Ahdaf Soueif and philanthropist William Sieghart will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Zafar Sobhan. Also, there will be a session on commonwealth writers which will surely benefit any aspiring writer in the country.
There will also be a number of performances by Shadhona on the 1500 years of mystical dimensions, lalon shah songs and baul performances spread out through the three days.
The Hay program schedule is now available at http://www.facebook.com/haydhaka. The entry is free this time. We hope to see you with us this weekend, and for the love of words, thoughts, future and past one must be a part of it.
Iffat Nawaz is a writer. She is also part of the Hay Organising team.
Photo: HayFestivalDhakaIt's that time of the year again. Monsoon has left town, the leaves are turning colours. Poets and writers are finding new inspiration with the transformation of the sky, musicians are playing new tunes. As if in perfect sync with nature, bringing it all together under the same umbrella, Hay Festival Dhaka 2013 will take off just four days from now at the grounds of Bangla Academy. Following the success of the last two years, Hay extended itself to a three-day festival this year, starting on the morning of November 14th and ending on the evening of 16th.
Those who will come to Hay this year will definitely be in for a treat as the line-up of writers, poets, change-makers, media personalities, filmmakers and publishers, both international and national, is of a unique combination. There are those like Arundhathi Subramaniam and David Shook who have decided to return again to Bangladesh for the second time and then there are new comers like Tariq Ali, Pankaj Mishra, Rosy Boycott and Ahdaf Soueif –names which changed the face of the international literature scene.
Under the slogan "Imagine the world" Hay Festival Dhaka this year will put together a series of different themes which include words and images, translation, spirituality and literature, politics and literature, graphic novels, screenplay writing and children's literature. Under these themes, different panels will present the enthusiastic Dhaka audience with discussions which are highly relevant and interesting at the same time. Although most of the sessions will draw considerable attention, there are a few which should not be missed: "Is there a World Literature?" with Pankaj Mishra, Eliot Weinberger, Florence Noiville and K. Anis Ahmed; a rare session titled "Shahittokarder Alap" where Syed Shamsul Haq and Hasan Azizul Huq will come together in conversation with Sajjad Sharif. Also, sessions such as "Two Americas: Writing A New Real" with Mario Bellatin, Chris Heiser and David Shook, and "Small is Beautiful" with Aamer Hussein, Prajwal Parajuly and Syed Badrul Ahsan marking the launch of Syed Manzoorul Islam's translated short story anthology will offer one with multi-faceted perspectives.
There are also sessions featuring William Seighart, one of which will see him giving out poetry prescriptions to your very own problems. Rosy Boycott will discuss the future of publishing; Romesh Gunesekara will talk about his extensively successful writing career; Rahul Bose will be in conversation about words and screen and Arunava Sinha will discuss different aspects of translation and how to break the boundary of language.
Poets will also be a big part of the Hay scene. David Shook, Tishani Doshi, Arundhati Subramaiam, Jerry Pinto are some of the names which you will be sure to hear from.
Ned Bauman will be also part of the Hay team talking about the Granta's top 20 young Novelists with Tahmima Anam.
There are not only more publishers like HarperCollins and Penguin but also some literary agents from the United Kingdom will come this year to gauge the vibrant literary scene of Bangladesh.
To add more excitement to the mix, there will be launching of several books such as 'Partition' with editor Vishwajyoti Ghosh and Bangladeshi contributors Syeda Farhana, Khademul Islam and Kaiser Haq. Samir Rahman will be bringing out his comic book and Ronni Ahmed will also hold a session on his book "The Cosmic Ark."
Children will be a big part of the festival this year. A series of children focused programs will be running in the imagination tent where poetry, fiction and storytelling will be a big part.
Lastly a few sessions must be mentioned which will give the audience a lot of food for thought. These sessions are: "In other tongues" where the richness and diversity of our Bangla language will be celebrated with activists, experts, and the people who speak them; and "Egypt and Beyond" where writer and politician Ahdaf Soueif and philanthropist William Sieghart will discuss the situation in the Middle East with Zafar Sobhan. Also, there will be a session on commonwealth writers which will surely benefit any aspiring writer in the country.
There will also be a number of performances by Shadhona on the 1500 years of mystical dimensions, lalon shah songs and baul performances spread out through the three days.
The Hay program schedule is now available at http://www.facebook.com/haydhaka. The entry is free this time. We hope to see you with us this weekend, and for the love of words, thoughts, future and past one must be a part of it.
Iffat Nawaz is a writer. She is also part of the Hay Organising team.
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