From 2011 to 2019, the Dhaka Lit Fest was an annual fixture, first in the Bangladeshi cultural calendar, and, eventually, in the South Asian and international literary festival calendars. We took immense pride in Dhaka, shucking off any colonial baggage, reflected in our name change in 2015 and subsequent growth. It was not merely a rebranding exercise: it was a reassertion of our mission of bringing the best of the world to Bangladesh and taking the best of Bangladesh to the world, on our terms.
Snapshots from the previous years of the festival
As we gear up to mark our 10th anniversary, it is worth recalling that the journey wasn’t always smooth or at all easy. Our change came at a time of great upheaval in our socio-cultural sphere and gave us a new purpose. At that time, writers, bloggers, publishers, free-thinkers, and LGBTQ+ activists were being brutally attacked and assassinated by Islamist extremists. That purge of 2015 and 2016, and the prevailing threat since then, have shrunk the space for free speech. At the same time, social conservatism and an authoritarian bent in governance have increased and rendered the need for free speech and its defence more urgent.
Guests at the past editions of the festival have included literary stalwarts like V S Naipaul
Even as we reeled — and recovered — from the assault on freedom of expression, we were thrust, along with the world, into a new crisis with the advent of the pandemic. The pandemic brought its own obstacles to freedoms of speech and expression. First came the enforced new social etiquette. Where once we hugged our nearest and dearest to show our love, we suddenly had to vow not to see them, to keep them safe. People gathering to celebrate, practise and preach intellectualism was no longer possible.
For years, the Dhaka Lit Fest has been a place for people to gather to 'celebrate, practise and preach intellectualism,' say the founders
Digital supplements provided respite, but the missing immediacy and intimacy of physical congregations diluted the hard-fought gains and their sustainability. Then came the falsehoods. Mis- and disinformation was rife globally. We were misled into listening less to experts and intellectuals, and more to bombasts. As the world moved, seemingly, further away from enlightenment, the need for altars to knowledge became greater. This new context where facts, rationality and tolerant discourse is more critical gives the Dhaka Lit Fest increased salience.
The founder directors of the lit fest
At this juncture, it is heartening for us to have the peerless Tilda Swinton to the Le Monde critic Florence Noiville, as well as Ranbir Singh Sidhu, debut novelist Iffat Nawaz and old friends who understand the challenges we have to overcome return to Dhaka. The renewal of their vows is our panacea for the logistical nightmares of putting the festival on, giving us the confidence to renew our pledge and our traditions. The hardest of them started in 2016, when we were able to bring V.S. Naipaul to Bangladesh. It was the first time that a Nobel laureate in literature made a public appearance in the country. Following that path is Abdulrazak Gurnah, and this will be his first international festival appearance since winning the Nobel. Along with Gurnah, we are delighted to welcome other iconic figures like Amitav Ghosh, Hanif Kureishi and Nuruddin Farah.
A Manipuri dance performance at DLF
As we celebrate the riches of world culture, Dhaka Lit Fest will also stage the best of Bangladeshi literature — in Bangla and in our myriad indigenous languages. These can only reach foreign shores in translation, to which our commitment remains unwavering. International Booker 2022 winners Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell will help us honour the art of translation. Booker 2022 winner Shehan Karunatilaka, ace columnist Janan Ganesh and cultural critic Sarah Churchwell will enliven wide-ranging discussions. A festival that has hosted a science Nobel winner (Harold E. Varmus) in the past will take pride now in presenting Vaccitech’s founder, Sarah Gilbert. Our polymathic interests and eagerness to hear from the best in the world, and to share our best questions and traditions with them, is undimmed.
The festival will be held from 5-8 January, 2023 at Bangla Academy in Dhaka
Dhaka Lit Fest is a champion of free speech. However, limited by space and duration, it is a place where not only can anyone say anything, but is encouraged to do so intelligently and respectfully, in a country and at a time when such practices are under strain in too many places. We are proud to contribute to fulfilling an existential imperative for a 10th time, and wish to continue fighting to serve and protect the cause of free speech with the earnest hope that someday the paramount importance of fiercely guarded spaces such as our festival will diminish since they will be prevalent, in this country, in this region, in this world.Find the schedule for DLF 2023 - Dhaka Lit Fest here.
(The authors are the founder-directors of Dhaka Lit Fest )
