The 6th edition of 'Nepal Literature Festival' kicked off here on the premises of Nepal Tourism Board in Pardi, Pokhara on Friday. 

Senior litterateur Kulchandra Gautam inaugurated the four-day event that takes place on the bank of Phewa Lake amid a programme. 

The festival that aims to bring together people from different walks of life like litterateurs, writers, politicians, sociologists, artists and analysts has witnessed participation of representatives including from neighbouring India and Bhutan, said the programme coordinator Ajit Baral. 

Organised by Bookworm Foundation and Random Readers' Society, a book discussion group committed to the promotion of Nepali arts, culture and literature, the event is divided into 40 sessions. 

Indian renowned writer Ramachandra Guha, novelist Durjoy Dutt and poet Uday Prakash will participate in the event, the organiser said. 

Similarly, Health Minister Gagan Thapa, President of the Legislature-Parliament Development Committee, Rabindra Adhikari, litterateur Bairagi Kaila, novelists Dhruba Chandra Gautam, Khagendra Sangraula, Narayan Dhakal, and Nayanraj Pandey and essayist Chaitanya Mishra will also take part in different sessions. 

Also, artists and comedians Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bamsha Acharya, senior journalists Harihar Birahi, Narayan Wagle, Editor-in-Chief of Kantipur Daily Sudheer Sharma and educationalist Kedar Bhakta Mathema will also share the stage. 

Meanwhile, in his inaugural address, Gautam said the event has served as a platform for holding discussion and interaction on the enhancement of the firmament of Nepali literature, apart from boosting reading and writing culture. 

Likewise, saying political interference is draining the intellectual manpower of the country, educationist Mathema urged all to be serious about the trend.