Lahore is famed for its architecture – but has also seen militant attacks

“It’s all about words.”

So says the slogan of the Lahore Literary Festival, scribbled in the earthy shades of this city’s exquisite Mughal architecture.

“Lahore has fired the imagination of writers, artists and thinkers over the ages,” remarked Razi Ahmed, founder and CEO of the first literary festival in a city long regarded as Pakistan’s cultural capital.

“We wanted to honour this Lahore,” he said.

“If I toss up the word, and close my eyes, it conjures up gardens and fragrances,” wrote novelist Bapsi Sidhwa who grew up in a city also cherished for its winding canals, magnificent mosques and graceful British colonial buildings.

Bapsi Sidhwa wrote acclaimed novels set in this city including Ice Candy Man, also published under the title Cracking India, which inspired the film Earth.

Urban designer Attiq Ahmed says many different groups have found a voice at the festival

Wherever she went, 75-year-old Ms Sidhwa, now frail and delicate in her elegant Pakistani shawls, was surrounded by admiring fans of all ages.

Thunderous applause

Zehra Nigah, the esteemed 76-year-old poet, delighted the packed halls with her evocative recital of Urdu verse.

Author Ahmed Rashid signed books at the festival

“There were tears in her eyes when she saw all the young people applauding her work,” marvelled artist and writer Salima Hashmi, Dean of the School of Visual Arts at the Beaconhouse National University.

“This lets Lahore see what Lahore is,” commented Mohsin Hamid, author of the Reluctant Fundamentalist who launched his new book How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.

Read the rest @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21578516