They can easily be distinguished from the rest of their countrymen on the basis of their unique features, such as their dazzlingly beautiful cars of the latest model, their exquisitely designed dresses, an English brochure about the literary festival in their hands and above all, their strange kind of language which is neither English nor Urdu. As far as Punjabi is concerned, they are never expected to use it, as it is a horrifyingly contemptible, wretchedly inferior and unspeakably ugly language for them.
Thanks to the glitter and glamour of corporate wealth, this festival is now regularly held each year. The atmosphere of this festival is quite similar to that of catwalks in Paris. The only difference is that in Paris catwalks, the elegant dresses of the corporate aristocracy are displayed through some well-known models, while in Lahore Literary Festival, a wretched attempt is made to introduce and popularize the leading characters of the literature produced for the corporate aristocracy amidst colourfully designed dresses.
The dresses worn by the beautiful models on the catwalks at the fashion shows are beyond the taste and reach of the man in the street. In the same way, the literature presented and discussed in our literary festivals has nothing to do with our common man. It is only related to a small number of people produced in our country by the A and O level system during the past few decades. Their link to this land is only confined to the hanging of the traditional Chabas and the framing of Sindhi shawls (Ajraks) in their lounges and drawing rooms, or giving a local touch to their modern fashionable clothes by getting them embroidered by some poor village woman.
They like to read the stories of our past with the same contempt with which the stories of the Red Indians were read by the colonial Whites who came from Europe to occupy their lands and grab their resources. In order to present themselves as unprejudiced and Indians as savage and barbaric, the Whites used to write strange stories, poems and novels about them. Several Hollywood movies were also made about them. But all such activities are mainly meant for entertainment.
In our own country, we have a small group of writers, who are very dear to those who are vigorously pursuing the single point agenda of promoting a uniform culture throughout the world. This identical or homogeneous culture is described by them as “life style.” If people living all over the world do not eat the same type of pizza, burger and chicken, multi-national corporate companies would not be able to sell their products. In addition to this, for the success of their mission, they feel it necessary to create a similar type of literature for the whole world.
It is written by Western writers and its images, metaphors and symbols are also borrowed from the West. But it always tells the story of an impoverished community in some backward country. All such techniques are meant to transport the readers into a strange and fanciful world. The reason is that those who read these stories and novels, regard poverty, hunger, disease, tattered clothes, ugly teeth, worn out shoes and disheveled hair as peculiarities of an alien and unfamiliar environment.
This type of literature is produced to achieve some specific objectives and to promote some particular concepts. Some typical characters having typical attitudes are created in these novels, short stories and plays. If the aim is to create hatred for some individuals or groups of people, they are presented in a negative colour. Since the advent of the British in the Sub-Continent and the founding of Fort William College more than two centuries ago, we have seen thousands of local writers who have been continuously mocking and ridiculing the respectable figures of our society. While doing so, they vehemently claim that their sole object is the depiction of reality. In their books, a Maulvi often appears as Satan and a prostitute as an angel.
In the past, this so-called realistic approach of the writers was seen in regional languages, but no such thing is needed now, because now, for the purchase of this literature, there has come into existence a new class of people, who live in their own countries, but continue to practice an international life style, which is exhibited by their ways of eating, drinking and living, by their language and by their medium of instruction.
Even literature has now been enslaved by an international language. Now, if someone wants to know about Lahore and its culture or literature, instead of reading Ustad Daman, he will have to follow the tradition of Rudyard Kipling and get his required information from literary books written in English language and English style. These books are not for the common man, but for those few thousand people who ensure the continuity of literary festivals, like the one recently held in Lahore.
The book “Confessions of an economic hit man” by John Perkins created a stir in the whole world. For 25 years, no publisher was willing to publish it, because it had fully exposed the conspiracy of international donor agencies and interest-based capitalist system aimed at ravaging the economies of poor and under developed countries of the world. According to him, by providing loans for mega projects like the metro bus system, air ports, dams and motor way, international financial institutions like IMF and the World Bank take into their hands the economy and natural resources of poor countries. At the same time, they provide the means of leading a luxurious life to a small number of people belonging to these countries. Ultimately, these means and resources are used to buy the products of international corporate companies. John Perkins who used to negotiate with the governments of African and Latin American countries for the granting of loans, tells a strange thing about them.
He was astonished to see that while there was widespread hunger, poverty and disease in these countries, the number of international restaurants and shopping malls was also increasing rapidly. Such places are frequented by the officials of the companies which are set up to extort the resources of these countries and the leading members of NGOs which are funded by the governments around the world. These two sections of the elite class have their own separate schools, hospitals, clubs, shopping malls and special music and literary festivals. Such festivals truly reflect the global corporate society. Regional languages, music and literature are also represented in these festivals, just like a museum where one of the several galleries is reserved for the display of local culture.
Lahore Literary Festival also has a similar tale to tell. In the over all English atmosphere prevailing in the festival, the condition of Urdu and other regional languages was similar to that of a caged monkey, who dances on hearing the musical instrument played from outside. The question is, can we find the same type of literature being produced in Swat, Deer, Dadu, Shikarpur, Khuzdar and Sibbi, etc? There are thousands of gifted writers who create excellent pieces of literature based on their personal woes and sorrows. But they remain unappreciated and unnoticed throughout their life and are buried in some remote and unknown graveyard after their death. Gone are the days when even the poverty stricken writers could share their writings with the leading intellectuals of the country gathered in the Pak Tea House.
Those were the days when every notable literary magazine of the country loved to publish the writings of Majeed Amjad, in spite of the fact that he had spent his whole life in Sahiwal. Even today, such literature is being produced in our country. But it cannot gain access to the Lahore Literary Festival, which is a part of the corporate culture produced by the interest-based economy. The reason is that these writers like to describe the pains and sufferings of our common people in our own language and style, while literary festivals of corporate culture require a totally different environment and such literature that teaches the ethics of a global language, culture and civilization. Can we ever imagine that some organization would like to waste its money on holding an English literary festival in Paris? Similarly, it is simply inconceivable that a French Literary festival can be held in London. Such things can only be expected in the debt-ridden societies brought into existence by their shattered economy and the interest-based banking system. If a nation is to be destroyed, it is deprived of its original language as a first step. Afterwards, it can easily be led to any direction without any resistance or complaint.
Thanks to the glitter and glamour of corporate wealth, this festival is now regularly held each year. The atmosphere of this festival is quite similar to that of catwalks in Paris. The only difference is that in Paris catwalks, the elegant dresses of the corporate aristocracy are displayed through some well-known models, while in Lahore Literary Festival, a wretched attempt is made to introduce and popularize the leading characters of the literature produced for the corporate aristocracy amidst colourfully designed dresses.
The dresses worn by the beautiful models on the catwalks at the fashion shows are beyond the taste and reach of the man in the street. In the same way, the literature presented and discussed in our literary festivals has nothing to do with our common man. It is only related to a small number of people produced in our country by the A and O level system during the past few decades. Their link to this land is only confined to the hanging of the traditional Chabas and the framing of Sindhi shawls (Ajraks) in their lounges and drawing rooms, or giving a local touch to their modern fashionable clothes by getting them embroidered by some poor village woman.
They like to read the stories of our past with the same contempt with which the stories of the Red Indians were read by the colonial Whites who came from Europe to occupy their lands and grab their resources. In order to present themselves as unprejudiced and Indians as savage and barbaric, the Whites used to write strange stories, poems and novels about them. Several Hollywood movies were also made about them. But all such activities are mainly meant for entertainment.
In our own country, we have a small group of writers, who are very dear to those who are vigorously pursuing the single point agenda of promoting a uniform culture throughout the world. This identical or homogeneous culture is described by them as “life style.” If people living all over the world do not eat the same type of pizza, burger and chicken, multi-national corporate companies would not be able to sell their products. In addition to this, for the success of their mission, they feel it necessary to create a similar type of literature for the whole world.
It is written by Western writers and its images, metaphors and symbols are also borrowed from the West. But it always tells the story of an impoverished community in some backward country. All such techniques are meant to transport the readers into a strange and fanciful world. The reason is that those who read these stories and novels, regard poverty, hunger, disease, tattered clothes, ugly teeth, worn out shoes and disheveled hair as peculiarities of an alien and unfamiliar environment.
This type of literature is produced to achieve some specific objectives and to promote some particular concepts. Some typical characters having typical attitudes are created in these novels, short stories and plays. If the aim is to create hatred for some individuals or groups of people, they are presented in a negative colour. Since the advent of the British in the Sub-Continent and the founding of Fort William College more than two centuries ago, we have seen thousands of local writers who have been continuously mocking and ridiculing the respectable figures of our society. While doing so, they vehemently claim that their sole object is the depiction of reality. In their books, a Maulvi often appears as Satan and a prostitute as an angel.
In the past, this so-called realistic approach of the writers was seen in regional languages, but no such thing is needed now, because now, for the purchase of this literature, there has come into existence a new class of people, who live in their own countries, but continue to practice an international life style, which is exhibited by their ways of eating, drinking and living, by their language and by their medium of instruction.
Even literature has now been enslaved by an international language. Now, if someone wants to know about Lahore and its culture or literature, instead of reading Ustad Daman, he will have to follow the tradition of Rudyard Kipling and get his required information from literary books written in English language and English style. These books are not for the common man, but for those few thousand people who ensure the continuity of literary festivals, like the one recently held in Lahore.
The book “Confessions of an economic hit man” by John Perkins created a stir in the whole world. For 25 years, no publisher was willing to publish it, because it had fully exposed the conspiracy of international donor agencies and interest-based capitalist system aimed at ravaging the economies of poor and under developed countries of the world. According to him, by providing loans for mega projects like the metro bus system, air ports, dams and motor way, international financial institutions like IMF and the World Bank take into their hands the economy and natural resources of poor countries. At the same time, they provide the means of leading a luxurious life to a small number of people belonging to these countries. Ultimately, these means and resources are used to buy the products of international corporate companies. John Perkins who used to negotiate with the governments of African and Latin American countries for the granting of loans, tells a strange thing about them.
He was astonished to see that while there was widespread hunger, poverty and disease in these countries, the number of international restaurants and shopping malls was also increasing rapidly. Such places are frequented by the officials of the companies which are set up to extort the resources of these countries and the leading members of NGOs which are funded by the governments around the world. These two sections of the elite class have their own separate schools, hospitals, clubs, shopping malls and special music and literary festivals. Such festivals truly reflect the global corporate society. Regional languages, music and literature are also represented in these festivals, just like a museum where one of the several galleries is reserved for the display of local culture.
Lahore Literary Festival also has a similar tale to tell. In the over all English atmosphere prevailing in the festival, the condition of Urdu and other regional languages was similar to that of a caged monkey, who dances on hearing the musical instrument played from outside. The question is, can we find the same type of literature being produced in Swat, Deer, Dadu, Shikarpur, Khuzdar and Sibbi, etc? There are thousands of gifted writers who create excellent pieces of literature based on their personal woes and sorrows. But they remain unappreciated and unnoticed throughout their life and are buried in some remote and unknown graveyard after their death. Gone are the days when even the poverty stricken writers could share their writings with the leading intellectuals of the country gathered in the Pak Tea House.
Those were the days when every notable literary magazine of the country loved to publish the writings of Majeed Amjad, in spite of the fact that he had spent his whole life in Sahiwal. Even today, such literature is being produced in our country. But it cannot gain access to the Lahore Literary Festival, which is a part of the corporate culture produced by the interest-based economy. The reason is that these writers like to describe the pains and sufferings of our common people in our own language and style, while literary festivals of corporate culture require a totally different environment and such literature that teaches the ethics of a global language, culture and civilization. Can we ever imagine that some organization would like to waste its money on holding an English literary festival in Paris? Similarly, it is simply inconceivable that a French Literary festival can be held in London. Such things can only be expected in the debt-ridden societies brought into existence by their shattered economy and the interest-based banking system. If a nation is to be destroyed, it is deprived of its original language as a first step. Afterwards, it can easily be led to any direction without any resistance or complaint.
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