14 December 2019, Pokhara
The eighth edition of ‘IME Nepal Literature Festival 2019′ kicks off from Friday on the bank of Fewa Lake in Pokhara. Inaugurating the event Chief Minister of Gandaki State Prithivi Subba Gurung stressed on that beside being economically rich, people should reach to high intellectual or moral level. Chief Minister Gurung said,” It is a matter of dignity that the event is being held in Pokhara. Gandaki State is rich in art and culture.”
After the inaugural session, Devendra Raj Panday, a Civil Society Leader conducted a speech on the theme “Democratic Development and Public Accountability’, being followed by six other sessions dealing with topics like literature, tourism, gender equality and federalism.
Similarly, in the beginning session, panelists of the literature festival talked on the vital need to rejuvenate the real beauty of Phewa Lake in order to maintain the ecosystem and tourism. Like wise, environmental Expert Debendra Bahadur Lamichhane; Chief of the Commission on Fewa Lake issues Bishow Prakash Lamichhane; Architect Engineer Kishore Thapa and Leading Tourism Entrepreneur Ganesh Bahadur Bhattarai spoke on the session which was moderated by journalist Dipendra Shrestha.
IME Nepal Literature Festival is the only international literary festival in the country, which provides a platform for authors, thinkers and literature connoisseurs. Some notable litterateurs such as Bhanubhakta Acharya, Lekhnath Poudel, Bhupi Sherchan, Dharmaraj Thapa, Ali Miya and national poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Gokul Joshi, Saru Bhakta, Haridevi Koirala and artiste Amit Gurung among others who were born in Gandaki State had significantly contributed to the development and promotion of Nepali art, culture and literature sector.
The literary festival organized by the Bookworm Foundation and Random Readers’ Society will be held in various 35 sessions comprising more than 110 litterateurs, journalists, artistes, media persons and imminent personalities from several sectors are convening in the event, according to the organizers.
In addition to this, panel discussions on the language, literature, philosophy and cultures, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature-2019, carrying a purse of USD 25,000, will be another highlight of the event.
