Lahore has been considered the center of knowledge and literature for a long time, but for the past many years, no significant literary and cultural fair was organized. Now there is a good news for the tasters and that is that the three-day literary festival Jashan June Ilia is being held in the city under the auspices of “Ishqabad” website in Alhamra Arts Council Lahore, the opening session of which is today 26th May. It is being held at three o’clock in the afternoon. Chief Guest will be Caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir. The presidential panel includes prominent personalities from across the country.
Many sessions regarding literature, culture and current affairs have been held in Jashan June Eliya, and in the coming three days, the tastemakers of Lahore and other cities will be delighted with the ideas of literature, culture and journalism on various topics. The list of those who expressed their views in this celebration is very long, for now you should know that there is also Mahfil Music and All Pakistan Mushaira. Apart from this, special sitting programs have also been held with some of the elites, some names that I remember are Asghar Nadeem Syed, Anwar Maqsood, Iftikhar Arif, Kishore Naheed, Sohail Waraich, Hamid Mir, Hammad Ghaznavi, Arifa Saida Zahra, Kamran Shahid, Dr. Ali Usman Qasmi and other scholars are included. These are just a few names that I can remember otherwise this list contains all the people that people want to hear and see. Ahmed Shah, chairman of Alhamra Arts Council and Karachi Arts Council, has been at the forefront of such celebrations in the past. Very good festivals were organized in this regard in Faisalabad and Islamabad as well. But the organizers soon got tired and retreated. However, Ahmad Shah is steadfastly standing on this front. Now prominent poet Abbas Tabish has entered the arena with full preparation. He is not only a poet but also keeps a close eye on different dimensions of literature and culture. Along with an experienced team, they have also brought together the young generation of hardworking workers. In addition, he has long-standing relationships with organizers of literary events around the world and has attended them himself, so I’m sure his visual experience and enthusiasm will bring this three-day celebration of Jon Elya to life. It will be helpful in creating a memorial.
According to me, the entire nation is suffering from severe mental stress at this time, literature is something that also reduces mental stress and indicates positive ways for expression, so these days, events of this kind were especially needed. People will come, find positive solutions to their problems, talk to intellectuals, some will listen to them, some will tell their own, and so there will be a break in the endless gloom and the result will be a lasting positivity. It will lead to paths. However, one festival will not achieve all these results, but we need regular and constant events like this so that we can get rid of negative thoughts. If any institution for the promotion of literature and culture in our country is working on a solid basis, then it has to work more diligently on its manifesto than before. I will report to the government that in addition to such an institution, the small literary circles in Pakistan are also working in their own sphere, the government should also patronize them. If this work is done with all seriousness, then I can say with certainty that those who put thorn in the path of Pakistani nation will fail and Bihar will be welcoming us.
Let us now end this series of conversations and leave for those paths where there will be no despair and if there is apparently despair, hope will be peeking out from under it. Now the three-day gatherings of knowledge, music, poetry and literature are waiting for you.
