A Literary Journey from Jaipur to Nepal

The rapidly increasing number of book fairs and literary festivals coming up in the Indian sub-continent is an indicator of the times we are moving towards; a more knowledgeable and educated generation that is eager to create an enlightened future for itself. Joining the world of books and literary discussions is the beautiful kingdom of Nepal where the country’s first ever literary festival was launched in 2011. In its third year now, the festival is due to be held in September this year in the capital city, Kathmandu. So what’s the Nepal Literary Festival all about and how is it different from our own mega event – the Jaipur Literary Festival? Here’s taking a look…

Literary Inspiration

Nepal’s Literary Festival has been inspired by the success of India’s Jaipur Literary Festival. While the organisers, authors and events that are a part of this festival are homegrown, it did take on help and advice from author Namita Gokhale, the co-founder of the Jaipur festival. The event is organised by the Bookworm Trust in association with the Nepal Academy. Even though relatively new, it has already experienced widespread support and encouragement from local literary bodies, students, and authors, both national and international. The first edition of the event took place in the historic and stunning Darbar Square in Patan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and saw participation from several popular Nepalese authors, students, journalists, book lovers and of course several well-known literary figures including William Dalrymple, journalist and author Tarun Tejpal, Pakistani author Mohd. Hanif and India based British writer Mark Tully. The second edition saw an even larger and more distinguished crowd with popular Indian names such as Vinod Mehta, Advaita Kala and Amish Tripathi.

Photo Credit: Swati Talwar

From Jaipur to Kathmandu

By its own admission, the Nepal Literary Festival takes inspiration and encouragement from the event in Jaipur. However, it will be a while before it is able to draw the kind of attention and frenzy that is now characteristic of the Jaipur Festival. While Jaipur now attracts some of the biggest names in world literature from JM Coetzee and the Dalai Lama to Ira Pande and Shobhaa De, Nepal is still a nascent ground and only now beginning to grab eyeballs. Nevertheless, it is a one of its kind event for the country and a great opportunity to not just visit Nepal, but to also be acquainted with its rich literary and cultural heritage.

What to Expect

Keeping up the tradition of literary festivals, there are several simultaneous panel discussions ranging on a variety of contemporary topics from the evolution of English writing since the 1990s to groundbreaking writing. Book launches, book signings, meeting the author sessions as well as enlightened conversations between leading literary figures are the norm. An interesting aspect of the festival is the importance it bestows to local Nepalese authors and literature in Nepali, which is quite unique.

Who Should Attend

The festival is open to authors, journalists, book lovers, literary figures, thinkers and students. So, anyone with a desire to attend the event and visit the beautiful city of Kathmandu can head here. The strength of the festival has steadily grown with the second edition seeing nearly 5000 people in attendance. Planning a trip to Nepal? Book your flight tickets and hotel in Kathmandu only on MakeMyTrip.com!