The second Tharu literature festival concluded recently in Patela, Dhangadi. The two-day literary fest saw discussions on various aspects of Tharu literature as well as involvement of Tharu community in fields such as journalism, Tharuhat protest, conservation of Tharu language and more.

The fest kicked off with a discussion by Ashok Tharu, an expert on Tharu folk literature. This was followed by a panel discussion where this year’s Madan Puraskar winner Ramlal Joshi and writer of Rolpa Suina, Nabin Bibhasi spoke about the art of writing Ghazals and stories. Speaking at the event, Joshi said, “The key to writing a good book or a story is using simple terms in an artistic way so that it can hook and inspire readers.” He added, “There have been few good books on Tharu culture and tradition but they are mostly written by non-Tharu people. It is important for the Tharu community to come forward with their stories and first-hand experiences.”

In another discussion—titled Sahitya Chintan ra Tharuhat Andolan—Krishna Kumar Chaudhary, activist Dil Bahadur Chaudhary, UN representative Fulman Chaudhary, and advocate Shantaram Dharkatuwa Tharu discussed about the consequences of the ten-year-long Maoist insurgency on the Tharu community. This session was moderated by Sushil Chaudhary. The fest also saw a discussion on women in Tharu literature where the panelists, Balika Chaudhary and Rabina Chaudhary shared the sad reality of discrimination towards women in the field.

Similarly, the event also had a discussion on Tharu journalism where the panelists discussed on how the lack of inclusivity in mainstream media has resulted in the news about the community being overlooked.   

One of the final discussions in the event was on Tharu language’s education where co-ordinator of Newabasti Newa Campaign, Dipak Tuladhar and Tharu language teacher, Swarman Chaudhary had conversation with Sushil Chaudhary on the ways of preserving and promoting Tharu language from grass root level.

The fest also saw launch of six Tharu language books as well as an announcement for the next literary fest at Bardiya.