The fifth edition of the Nepal Literature Festival ended on a high note at the premises of Nepal Tourism Board in Pardi, Pokhara yesterday. The four-day festival that commenced on January 29 was organised by Bookworm Foundation and was supported by Random Readers Society of Nepal.

On the final day of the festival, Nepal Literature Festival Director Ajit Baral said, “Hosting the Nepal Literature Festival in Pokhara has been a wonderful experience, are we hope to make it an even more comprehensive and all-inclusive event in the coming years.”

Eight sessions were held throughout the day, with issues ranging from literary characters to writing techniques, movies and Nepali writing in English. In the first session, writers Buddhisagar, Nayan Raj Pandey and Subin Bhattarai were grilled by journalist and writer Narayan Wagle about the lengths and breadths of the people in their creations. This was followed by a session wherein bOOkahOlics founder Saguna Shah conversed with writers Pranaya Rana, Prawin Adhikari and Rabi Thapa about the challenges and beauty of writing in English for the Nepali market.

There were two parallel sessions held with writers Yug Pathak and Khagendra Sangraula.

The third session had actors Rajesh Hamal and Dayahang Rai express the pleasures and angst of being a ‘hero’ in the Nepali society, which was moderated by journalist Yangesh. This was followed by a session wherein veteran journalist Kishore Nepal talked to actors Gauri Malla, Rekha Thapa and Reecha Sharma. In the second-last session, writer and political leader Pradip Giri explored the characteristics, specialties and quirks of the chief characters of the epic Mahabharata.   

The day ended with a dozen poets coming together for a performance. The session was moderated by poet and writer Saraswati Pratikshya. The four-day programme was attended by more than 100 authors, artists, politicians, media persons, intellectuals, economists and sociologists among others, who participated in more than 31 panel discussions on a variety of topics.