“Torn Apart”, a session dealing with separation of one's existence, was held at the Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad auditorium of Bangla Academy on the opening day of the Dhaka Lit Fest on Thursday.
Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah, Booker Prize winning Sri Lankan novelist Shehan Karunatilaka and Booker Prize winning Indian novelist Geetanjali Shree were present as discussants in the session.
The discussion was moderated by Barbara Epler.
Barbara said: “To me separation or ‘torn apart' always seems to be a loss of truth.”
Nuruddin described "torn apart" as a dangerous term.
“To be separated from one's roots is to lose one's existence. Those who are politically separated from their own land are the victims of the worst brutality,” he added.
Nuruddin Farah compared this separation to separation from the mother at birth.
Shehan Karunatilaka said: “At the end of the Sri Lankan civil war we thought we could be united now. We would be able to tell their stories with all of them. But the isolation created by anarchy never ended.”
“Our mentality has become one of isolation. We are living in terrible times, where there is no humanity,” Geetanjali said.
When host Barbara asked the panellists about the truth and falsehood of social media, they said, none of them use social media so much.
Following a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest officially raised its curtain on Thursday morning.