Recentfusion.com–Pokhara: The sixth edition of the Nepal Literature Festival 2017 saw a tremendous amount of footfalls even in 2nd day on Saturday. The festival, which started its sixth edition in the premises of Nepal Tourism Board at Pardi, Pokhara, led the audience to participate and interact in 13 sessions that day. The festival is being organized by the Bookworm Foundation.
The first session yesterday was on ‘Gandharvas Songs’, the community famous for its traditional folk songs and music. Kusumakar Neupane, a Ph.D in folk music, engaged Haribahadur Gandharva and Narayan Gandarva in a musical journey on their ancestral knowledge, talent and profession.This was followed by a discussion between Editor Sudheer Sharma and Sociologist Chaitanya Mishra on “Samriddhi: Kati Najik?” (How near is prosperity?). They conversed on the means and possibilities of a more prosperous society and country.
The third session at the lawns was a discussion between journalist Yangesh and one of the finest contemporary authors writing in Hindi – Uday Prakash. Yangesh, who has also translated ‘Mohandas’ and ‘Nailcutter’ by Uday Prakash, unravelled Uday Prakash’s writing and thought processes. The session saw the launch of the Nepali translation of ‘Nailcutter’, an anthology of fiction. It was moderated by Writer and ThinkerCK Lal.At the same time, the hall dedicated a special session to one of the maestros of Nepali literature, Kamalmani Dixit. Linguist Kedar Sharma moderated a session discussing his work and contribution towards upholding Nepali language. The speakers were Bairagi Kainla, Dhruba Chandra Gautam and Rajendra Dahal.
The next session was a huge hit, with youngsters thronging to get a glimpse of popular Indian writer and speaker Durjoy Datta. Avid reader and critic Hima Bista conversed with him on tips and tricks on writing a bestseller, with him already having written 13 of them before hitting the age of 30. The parallel session in the hall was a discourse by Writer and Translator Basanta Thapa on the significance of translation.
The sixth session at the lawns transported the audience to a world of surrealism. Editor and Writer Narayan Wagle engaged three novelists – Narayan Dhakal, Nayan Raj Pandey, and Kumar Nagarkoti in conversation on the issue. Meanwhile, inside the hall, poets Neeva Shah, Bhupin and Tirtha Shrestha argued on the overuse of tropes, cliches and symbols in poetry. Poet Nabaraj Parajuli moderated the session.In the third last session held at the lawns, Author Amar Nyaupane talked to globetrotting entrepreneur and writer Jiba Lamichhane and world cycle traveler Pushkar Shah on the ways to tread all over the world.
The final session for the hall for the second day was focused on journalism – its past, contemporary situation, and future projection. Journalist Yangesh was back in this session, moderating it alongside the speakers – journalists and editors Harihar Birahi, Rajendra Dahal and Ameet Dhakal. This was followed by one of the major highlights of Nepal Literature Festival 2017 – a special performance put up by two of the country’s best loved actors, Madankrishna Shrestha and Haribansha Acharya. As the duo performed their act, the audience numbers swelled, and the session ended with thunderous applause and appreciation.
The final session was a conversation between Editor and Author Narayan Wagle and Singer Amrit Gurung on the happiness and challenges of having a hometown like Pokhara. The session, titled “Ghar Hamro Pokhara” met with maximum laughter and empathy. Exuberant by the reaction to the second day, Festival Director Ajit Baral said, “This enthusiasm by our audience to submerge themselves in the finer points of art, literature, music and expressions is exactly what we hoped to achieve when we started out with the Nepal Literature Festival.”
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