It’s not just Pakistani actors that are gaining recognition across the border, our writers are going places too. Long gone are the days when Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) was full to the brim with Indian authors, as the most recognised writers from South Asia. Now, Adnan Malik and Pakistani author Moni Mohsin among others, have been invited to contribute to an online literary festival by Penguin India.
The Sadqay Tumhare star has not only written a poignant piece on the shared history of the subcontinent, he coined the term ‘Books! Not Borders!’ for the online festival that aims to bring the stories of the subcontinent on one platform.
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He starts off his written piece with an endearing anecdote about his gardener in Islamabad named Sagheer, who wants a Smartphone to watch Indian films. The story hammers home the point that Pakistan must own it’s past, and not be considered a stepchild of Partition, with no history or culture of its own before 1947.
“I am Pakistani by birth, but my stories belong to the region, and to the greater sub-continent and I could not let the penciled-in lines of a border stop me from owning my shared history,” wrote Adnan.
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“It’s just the countries are different and that’s fine. We have our own identity as Pakistanis and the political scenario between our countries is not ideal, but that should not stop us from sharing a combined past,” Adnan told Something Haute.
Read Adnan’s written piece here:Â Books, not Borders
