Spirit Of Literary Festival

Sugam Gautam

The 11th edition of the Nepal Literature Festival recently concluded in Pokhara. The event, which commenced on the 15th of February, spanned until the 19th of February, featuring sessions on literature, arts, economics, politics, and more. Bookworm Foundation, the organiser of the event, has been hosting it for over five years on the banks of Phewa Lake, while the initial editions were held outside Pokhara. The venue for the festival is a ground owned by Nepal Trust.

Upon entering the event through the gate, one could have observed that the festival seemed to be an honest effort to commercialise literature. However, when the Chief Minister of Gandaki walked in to the loud uproar of Panche Baja, the name "Nepal Literature Festival" appeared to be double-standard. In Nepal, almost every event is inaugurated by politicians, and the public, accustomed to seeing political elites officiate events, regards it as a normal occurrence. The actions do not justify the name of the event in any way.

On the first day of the festival, Kalyan Shrestha, a keynote speaker, discussed the constitution and governance. Similarly, Durga Baral, a veteran cartoonist, took the stage and explained his craftsmanship. A book titled 'Batsyayana and His Barbs Volume 2' was released on the same day. The cartoon exhibition of Durga Baral was the main attraction of the five-day festival, and the organisers should be lauded for promoting satirical cartoons that speak equivalent to thousands of words.

From the second day onwards, two different halls simultaneously conducted sessions on various topics, bringing together people from different walks of life. The most anticipated session was Kunda Dixit conversing with Kai Bird, the man behind the blockbuster movie called "Oppenheimer" that took the world by storm in 2023. Journalist Kunda Dixit talked with Kai Bird on nuclear war and why every nation, including Nepal, should be aware of the threats it poses. 

Noted economist Swarnim Wagle and former Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Khatiwada discussed career prospects after returning from foreign countries. Shrinkhala Khatiwada sounded confident, believing that there's a lot to be done in Nepal. It wasn't surprising that the hall was a full house when the duo of Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya took the stage to talk about their friendship.

Schools like Motherland Secondary School and Nepal Bharat Maitri Vidyalaya took their students to the event, which is a positive sign for both literature and the creative upbringing of students. Additionally, two different sessions targeted the young age group, where students from various schools talked about their reading experiences and the importance of cultivating reading habits. At the end of each day, after all the sessions were held, a music band took the stage and eased the tension raised by the serious discourses. Although some sessions were relevant and much-needed, many people claimed the event lacked inclusivity. 

Their concerns revolved around the high participation of political figures. Their disappointment was apparent, with many discussions not linked to the essence of literature. To address this, let's revise and make the forthcoming editions more inclusive and true to the spirit of a literature festival.