Kathmandu Kalinga Literature Festival Begins in Hotel Himalaya

Kathmandu. The fourth Kathmandu Kalinga Literature Festival, established as a common platform for South Asian literature, art, and culture, has begun today at Hotel Himalaya in Kathmandu. The festival will run for two days. The festival has started today. 

The festival, organized with the main theme of 'Beyond Borders: South Asian Literature in a Changing World', has participation from litterateurs, artists, thinkers, writers, diplomats, musicians, and intellectual personalities from various countries of Nepal, India, and South Asia.

With the inauguration of the festival, various sessions are being conducted on South Asian literature, culture, identity, inclusivity, spirituality, social transformation, and the role of literature in the contemporary world.

Festival founder, director, and curator Rashmi Ranjan Parida said that the festival has been organized with the objective of further strengthening the long-term literary and cultural relations between Nepal, India, and South Asian nations. According to him, the festival will celebrate literature, music, poetry, film, dance, and various artistic traditions.

This year's festival features the participation of distinguished personalities including famous singer and actress Ila Arun, renowned litterateur Pratibha Ray, spiritual thinker Acharya Prashant, actor and writer Piyush Mishra, and writer and filmmaker Raj Shekhar.

Similarly, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and researchers from various fields of South Asia including Vikas Swarup, Paramita Satpathy, Upendranath Behera, Badri Narayan, Malini Awasthi, Narayani Basu, Vikram Sampat, Buddhisagar, Yunus Khan are participating in the festival.

Panel discussions, keynote speeches, poetry readings, musical performances, book launches, interactions with authors, workshops, and cultural programs will be organized at the festival. The organizers have also stated that special priority has been given to cross-border literary collaboration and cultural exchange.

The Kathmandu Kalinga Literature Festival is organized in collaboration with the Successful Pragna Pratishthan. This festival, which has been operating its Kathmandu edition since 2022, has been playing an important role in expanding literary, cultural, and intellectual relations between Nepal, India, and South Asian countries.