Dhaka in Defiance

The queues in front of the immigration desks were long, practically filling the hall, and people waited impatiently to get through to the equally overcrowded baggage reclaim area. At any other time, this scene would have elicited a frown or had me groaning in dismay but on this occasion the buzz of activity and the sheer number of people provided a huge sense of relief. It was business as usual at Shahjalal International Airport. The journey from the airport was slow and laborious with the traffic jams worse than I can remember. The streets were just as busy, overflowing with people going about their day-to-day business. The next two weeks in Dhaka reminded me that we are a nation that does not scare easily. Bangladesh is no stranger to natural disasters, economic upheavals and political turmoil. There must be an inherent streak of stubbornness in us that manifests as resilience in some cases and defiance in others. Fear can be psychologically paralysing and create a sense of powerlessness but the hustle and bustle was proof that Dhaka was not going to back down or be held hostage to the twisted ideologies of extremist militants.

From its inception, secularism has been one of the four fundamental principles on which Bangladesh was founded and on which it has prided itself. Despite being a country with a roughly 90 percent Muslim population, the concept of secularism was written into our constitution in 1972. In recent years, however, there has been a marked rise in Islamic fundamentalism and extremist views. We have seen the brutal murders of bloggers, activists and people from religious and ethnic minorities by machete wielding zealots. Earlier this year in July, the escalation of these atrocities culminated in the massacre of twenty-one hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery situated in an affluent and residential area of Dhaka. Amongst the victims were two Bangladeshis and eighteen foreigners. Two members of staff also lost their lives and two policemen were killed during the rescue mission.

The barbarity and brazenness of the attack shook not only the residents of Dhaka but the rest of the country to the core. The fact that the assault was a well-coordinated and pre-meditated act carried out by a group of young men, some hailing from well-to-do families, claiming to be affiliated to ISIS, generated a sense of fear and apprehension. This kind of incident could happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone. It was also a wake-up call for the government to acknowledge and tackle the threat of rising extremism.

Immediately afterwards there were reports of people avoiding public places for fear of another attack and restaurants and shops feeling the financial brunt with their clientele dwindling, especially those normally frequented by foreigners. There were even messages on social media stating that the lack of cars on the streets confirmed the sense of unease felt by the residents.

For those of us living abroad, our vision of these events and the aftermath were based on newspaper articles, news coverage and information passed on by family and friends. As so often happens, when we are geographically removed from a situation, the mind can overplay and we form a distorted, exaggerated view based on sensationalist press coverage. It was with this image in mind that I boarded the flight back home expecting to find a city living in fear.

Instead nothing could have been further from the truth. The city seemed defiantly vibrant. Life was in full swing. I had also arrived at a time where events such as the Folk Festival, which I had sadly just missed, the Dhaka Literary Festival (DLF) and The Bengal Classical Music Festival were being held. We have always had a rich culture of literature, poetry, music and art so it was encouraging to know that these aspects of our heritage were being nurtured and furthered by making the events free for the general public.

The three days of the Dhaka Literary Festival 2016 were a cultural extravaganza with animated discussions by panellists from around the world, poetry recitations, folk performances, children's programmes, book launches and film screenings taking place throughout the day. Held in the grounds of the beautiful Bangla Academy the atmosphere was lively and festive. I found myself swept up by the buzzing atmosphere around me. There were brightly coloured tents dotted around housing book stalls and food stalls, marquees set up for various sessions and of course the steady flow of people that helped make the festival a resounding success. According to the organisers, there were over 20,000 attendees. It was particularly encouraging to see the large number of young people at the event.

Despite a few speakers pulling out over fears of personal safety, there were a staggering 180 speakers in total of whom 60 hailed from 18 different countries. This year the international line-up included the 2016 Man Booker International winner Deborah Smith, Pulitzer Prize winner Vijay Seshadri and winner of the 2014 European Union Prize for Literature Evie Wyld to name a few. The list goes on and reads like a 'who's who' of the literary world. The highlight, however, was Nobel Laureate VS Naipaul who, at the age of 84, made the journey from London to inaugurate the festival. His interview which was both charming and candid took place to a packed audience and overflowing auditorium.

As the Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor aptly stated in the inaugural ceremony, "we need free thinkers to create a secular, progressive and liberal society". What better way than to place ourselves firmly in the global literary circuit, showing the world that we refuse to be intimidated. Due credit must go to the organisers and Directors of the DLF for enforcing added security measures, ensuring the safety of both the speakers and the public.

Over the last few years The Bengal Classical Music Festival has earned the accolade of being the world's largest classical music festival bringing to Dhaka musical maestros from around the sub-continent. According to the Bengal Foundation, the organisers of the festival, its ethos is "to uphold the cultural heritage of Bangladesh and to introduce a new dimension to the contemporary cultural dynamics of our nation" and "aspire to enrich popular taste, lifestyle and mind-sets through diverse forms of creative expression".

Fortunately for more than the 100,000 people who thronged to the army stadium over the course of the five days, the festival went ahead notwithstanding the concerns this year of hosting an event of such proportions after the Holey Bakery attack. Bag checks, metal detectors and strict protocol allowed for the smooth running of the programme. People of all ages, social and economic backgrounds had the opportunity to enjoy the collective genius of the artists performing at the show. It was just a question of sitting back and being enthralled by the beauty of the evening listening to the likes of Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia on the flute, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on the santoor, Ustad Rashid Khan, Dr. L Subramaniam on the violin and Vidushi Girija Devi on vocals.

Both the Bengal Classical Music Festival and the Dhaka literary Festival have changed the cultural and literary scene in Bangladesh. Not only do they put us on an international footing they also engage the minds of hundreds of thousands of people, especially the youth in our country.

I like to think that Dhaka has spoken and is sending out a clear message that it refuses to back down and will not be cowed by fear, paranoia or intimidation.

The writer is fiction writer and contributor to The Daily Star, based in UK.