2-day Nepal-India literary festival kicks off in Kathmandu

The annual Kalinga Literary Festival, organised for the first time in Nepal, kicked off here on Saturday with over 200 noted writers and cultural figures from India and Nepal participating.

The 2022 edition of the two-day literary festival with the theme 'India & Nepal: Journey of Civilisations and Search for the Soul' was jointly inaugurated by Vice Chancellor of Nepal Academy Jagman Gurung, noted litterateur Tulasi Diwas and prominent Indian poet Ashok Vajpayee among others.

The festival is aimed at strengthening and promoting cultural and literary outlooks between the two neighbouring nations.

Over 30 noted writers and cultural figures from India including eminent personalities of Nepal are here to represent the world of art, literature, culture, and the media.

The Kalinga Literary Festival earlier conducted its annual international literary festivals in Bhubaneswar, India. This is the first time it has organised the annual festival in Nepal.

Speaking on the occasion as chief guest Vice Chancellor Gurung said, ''Nepal is the heart of India and India is the brain of Nepal which symbolises the strong people-to-people relationship between the two countries irrespective of geographical boundaries.'' ''The people of Nepal are bound together by the bonds of culture, music, art, religion, and literature,'' he pointed out.

Litterateur Diwas said that the centuries-old relations existing between the people of the two countries in the areas of art, culture, music, and literature have made the official relations between the two countries even much stronger.

Vajpayee said that litterateurs should protest against communalism and religious orthodox surfacing in society and should stand strong to protect the truth.

A host of speakers including Rashmi Ranjan Parinda, director of the Kalinga Literary Festival, senior journalist of Nepal Kanak Mani Dixit, poet Maya Thakuri and International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree addressed the event. They all shared similar thoughts on the festival, saying that such kinds of literary festivals will help the exchange of ideas and promote cooperation among poets, writers, artists, and musicians of Nepal and India.

Noted cultural expert and centenarian personality Satya Mohan Joshi of Nepal and renowned poet Ashok Vajpayee of India were awarded with Yashaswi Sahitya Samman.

The award has been launched this year by Yashaswi Sahitya Academy, Kathmandu in association with Kalinga Literary Festival.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)