The twelfth edition of the Nepal Literature Festival kicked off on Thursday at Lakeside, Pokhara.

Chief Guest Prithvi Subba Gurung, minister of communications, information, and technology, addressed the crowd at the opening ceremony. He said, “The power of literature is immense. So, events like this should be conducted throughout the country.”

The festival set an insightful tone with a scholarly lecture by Professor Mahendra P Lama on ‘Borders, Relations, and Literature’. Adding to the festive ambience, fusion guitarist Anil Shahi and his group delivered a musical performance. The session was presented by writer Saraswati Pratiksha.

In the first session, ‘Ali Ali Har Ho Ali Ali Jit!’ actress Manisha Koirala engaged in a discussion facilitated by media personality Vijay Kumar. Koirala shared reflections on her cancer journey, life’s triumphs and setbacks.

In the ‘Smriti Ma Bhupi’ session, moderated by Basanta Thapa, Bhupi Sherchan's wife, Kanti Sherchan, and daughter, Kavita Sherchan, paid tribute to his literary legacy. They offered personal anecdotes and reflections on his work.

“It’s not true that my father died from drinking too much alcohol. My father stopped drinking when I was two years old,” shared Kavita.

Subhash Nepali, Geeta Chaudhary, and Suresh Dhakal were the speakers in the session ‘Raithane Gyan Ko Bigyan’ moderated by Sita Mademba.

Nepali said, “The more you understand your place, community, indigenous identity and knowledge, the more prosperous you become. Instead of disdaining indigenous knowledge and tradition, our government should connect it with nation development.”

Similarly, Chaudhary emphasised that preserving indigenous knowledge and skills will be challenging unless they are integrated into university curricula. This session urged everyone to promote local and indigenous skills, identity, and knowledge.

A session on ‘Gandaki Ma Gurung Ra Magar Bhasha’ illuminated the region’s linguistic heritage and identity and discussed the preservation and evolution of the Gurung and Magar languages. Overall, the first day of the festival featured nine sessions.