The first-ever Nepalgunj Literature Festival, themed Pustak, Samaj ka Rangharu, concluded on Tuesday. The literature fest, which is part of the ongoing Nepalgunj Festival, saw a host of litterateurs, academics, journalists and artists engage in various panel discussions on issues ranging from gender equity and politics to culture and literature over the course of the three days.

The first day of the fest kicked off with a session titled Ma Janmiyeko Sahar, where author Sanat Regmi talked about the city of Nepalgunj, its culture, diversity and beauty. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring authors Mahesh Bikram Shah, Nayan Raj Pandey and Gopal Ashka, who came together to talk about issues concerning the Madesh and its place in Nepal’s contemporary political discourse. The first day also saw politicians including Dawal Shamsher Rana, Pashupati Dayal Mishra and Sama Suddin Siddhiqi discuss Nepalgunj and its infrastructural and economic development over the years; the session was titled Samriddhi ko Bato. The day ended with a Ghazal recital, featuring a clutch of poets from Nepal and India.

Among the highlights of the second day was a panel featuring authors Nayan Raj Pandey and Brajesh Khanal, who discussed the current condition of the Nepali film industry. In another session, titled Sushasan ra Raajneeti, Kantipur national daily’s News Editor, Hari Bahadur Thapa, and authors Narendra Jung Peter and Ganesh BK talked about the lack of integrity and transparency among the major players of Nepali politics. The discussion was followed by another panel discussion titled Madesh ka Muddha: Samadhan ko Bata, where political analyst Dr Janardhan Acharya, member of Madeshi Janaadhikar Forum Mohammad Isthihyak Rai and journalist Sarojraj Adhikari expressed their distress about the “apparent indifference of political leaders in addressing the Madhes issue.”

The final day of the fest opened up on a poignant note. Kicking off the day was a panel discussion on the struggle that goes into making a decent livelihood, for an outsider, in Kathmandu; the discussion saw National Human Rights spokesperson Mohna Ansari and author Nayan Raj Pandey share their respective stories of living in Kathmandu. The day also saw an interactive session with author Narayan Wagle on journalism and literature.

The fest drew to a close with a discussion titled Srashthha ra Puraskar, where three Madan Puraskar winners, Mahesh Bikram Shah, Narayan Wagle and Amar Neupane, discussed about literary awards, their worth and authenticity.

The Nepalgunj Fest morphs into the second Nepalgunj International Film Festival, starting today.