Lahore

With this debate on Lahore, the CCCB opens the cycle "Origins", which is concerned with cities that act as points of cultural irradiation in the countries of origin of different immigrant groups presently living in Barcelona. The aim of the debate is to make known the most significant cultural references in these countries in order to build bridges between their cities and ours. Lahore is the cultural capital and the second most populous city of Pakistan with ten million inhabitants. With one of the major architectural legacies of the Indian subcontinent, thanks to what it was bequeathed by the Mogul Empire (1526 - 1857), the city is presently experiencing an emergence of civic and artistic initiatives that are seeking ways of combining the inevitable processes of modernisation with conserving its heritage. Again, Lahore is faced with massive immigration from rural areas and this is severely challenging its infrastructure. Moreover, a highly volatile political situation directly affects the daily life of its inhabitants, to the point of making it unviable at times.

Finally, the historic complexity of the region, with the religious and cultural heterogeneity that was the trigger of much turbulence and major conflicts in the twentieth century, offers a fitting pretext for reflecting upon what we should like coexistence with the Other in our own territory to be.

 

Lahore is the cultural capital and the second most populous city of Pakistan with ten million inhabitants. With one of the major architectural legacies of the Indian subcontinent, thanks to what it was bequeathed by the Mogul Empire (1526 - 1857), the city is presently experiencing an emergence of civic and artistic initiatives that are seeking ways of combining the inevitable processes of modernisation with conserving its heritage. Again, Lahore is faced with massive immigration from rural areas and this is severely challenging its infrastructure. Moreover, a highly volatile political situation directly affects the daily life of its inhabitants, to the point of making it unviable at times.

Finally, the historic complexity of the region, with the religious and cultural heterogeneity that was the trigger of much turbulence and major conflicts in the twentieth century, offers a fitting pretext for reflecting upon what we should like coexistence with the Other in our own territory to be.

Sunday 18 May

5 p.m. The Rock Star and the Mullahs. A documentary by Ruhi Hamid. United Kingdom, 2003, 50 min. (original version with Spanish subtitles).

Inspired by the ancient Sufi tradition Salman, a Pakistani rock star, attempts to convey the spirituality of Islam through his songs but the more conservative religious groups in his country see his music as paving the road to immorality.

Monday 19 May

7.30 p.m. DEBATE:

Speakers:
Mohsin Hamid. A writer of Pakistani origins, he is the author of Moth Smoke (Picador, 2000) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Penguin/Viking 2007), two novels that are closely linked with contemporary Lahore.

Mohsin Hamid will focus his talk on the evolving youth culture of the urbanized, educated middle-class of Lahore: the influx of drugs in the '80s, the arrival of satellite television in the '90s, the growth of domestic media and pop music in the '00s.

Rashed Rahman. One of Pakistan's most prestigious journalists, he is the former editor of The Post of Lahore and of The Nation and presently writes for several Pakistani and international publications.

Rashed Rahman will touch on Lahore's unique intellectual and cultural tradition, as well as its importance in the history of the Indian subcontinent. He will then explore how modernisation and population explosion have affected the character and daily life of the city.

Moderator: Jordi Puntí. Writer and author of the collection of short stories Animals tristos (Sad Animals, Empúries, 2002).

FILM SCREENINGS:

9.30 p.m. DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE, WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE DIRECTORS
Basant. The Kite War. A documentary film by Andrés Antebi, José González Morandi, Pablo González and Eva Serrats. Spain, 2007, 60 min. (original version with Catalan subtitles).

In the city of Lahore a political battle breaks out around one of the most deep-rooted traditions of its inhabitants: kite-flying. The Basant Festival is not far off and thousands of people are preparing for it but the government threatens to imprison anyone who goes up to the rooftops.

11 p.m. In Flesh and Spirit. A documentary film by Maheen Zia. Pakistan, 2006, 35 min. (original version with Catalan subtitles).

In Lahore's diamond market district, performers of traditional dance and music are struggling to keep their art alive as changes in leisure habits tip them towards marginality, while many women who once performed as singers or dancers are thrust into prostitution.