According to Executive Director of the festival, Niraj Bhari, about 22,000 people visited the four-day literary affair which began on October 25, saw the participation of eight international authors and above 100 national authors, artists, politicians, media persons, intellectuals, economists, and sociologists among others. [break]
The festival this year has been affected a little by its timing, says Bhari. “However, we are happy that people turned out for the various sessions although the festival took place between two major national festivals and amidst an atmosphere of elections in the country,” he said.
35 various sessions on literature and topics that fall under the perimeter of literature were held at the event. “Through the festival this year, we tried to move away from the notion that literature is something elusive and for a very niche public,” shared Bhari. Tying literature and the society, the convention also held discourses on issues such as nationalism and invited figures such as comedians Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya as well as actor Rajesh Hamal to be a part of the festival.
The organizers share that the past four days have been testimony to the fact that the Nepali society is moving towards one that is hungry for knowledge. “The book sales and the enthusiastic participation in the sessions dictate that the readership in Nepali society is increasing. On top of that, it shows that the Nepali audience is also very curious to increase their skills and knowledge and is no longer satisfied with mediocre,” comments Bhari.
“Organizing an international event such as this involves a lot of unseen managerial tasks which make the whole process very hectic. Hence, sometimes, we feel like we wouldn’t want to continue next year,” admits Bhari. “But, like always, the response from the audience and their curiosity give us the energy to keep going on,” he adds.
That said, the organizers promise Nepal a convention of words no less, next year.
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