Comedian Haribansha Acharya’s Haribahadur Book Tour reached Birtamod on Monday. The book tour commenced on May 27 from Pokhara and travelled to Butwal, Dang, Surkhet, Kohalpur, Dhangadi and Narayanghat before reaching Birtamod.

The book tour is to take the comedian’s first novel, Haribahadur, which released recently, to the public in the far reaches of the country.

Haribahadur is based on the teleserial Haribahadur Madanbahadur which featured Acharya and his longstanding comedic collaborator Madankrishna Shrestha (together known as MaHa Jodi). Haribahadur is Acharya’s second book, following 2013’s acclaimed memoir Cheena Harayeko Manchhe. The book was published under the Fineprint banner.

According to the organisers, the events of the tour, which involves a short skit by Acharya as the character Haribahadur as well as discussions with scholars and enthusiasts, has been well-appreciated by the audience. Speaking to the Post about the book tour, Acharya said, “The concept of book tours is new and different so most of the audience love it. This new approach has also prompted more people to take interest in the book as they can interact with the author himself.” He added, “As the main purpose behind this tour was to create a wave of reading culture in Nepal and from the response that we are getting so far, I think we have achieved that goal to some extent.”

Talking about the memorable moments of the journey so far, Acharya said, “The whole journey so far has been wonderful but performing on the banks of Narayani River in Narayanghat on Saturday was a great experience. The ambience made it feel similar to performing at some beach in a foreign country but with a Nepali audience.”

Ajit Baral of Fineprint, speaking to the Post, said, “We organised this book tour to develop and promote reading culture.” He added, “When the author himself, who is

also a celebrity, meets the audience, there are more chances of people being inclined towards reading. We are hopeful that this programme will help cultivate reading culture in many new readers.”

Following an event in Birtamod, the tour will travel to Dharan and Biratnagar, before coming to a close with an event in Sinduli on June 8.