Karnali Festival to begin from March 11

The third edition of Karnali Utasav – Kuda Karnalika (Karnali festival) will be beginning from March 11 at Birendranagar of Surkhet, the capital of Karnali Province.

The three-day annual event will see open debate sessions on multiple issues, particularly concerning Karnali and the issues of national importance as well, according to organizer Hriti Foundation. The event supported by the Karnali Province government, the Birednranagar Municipality, and other several organizations and corporate houses has been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier it was planned for March 1-3.

Poetry, Gazal recitations, cultural presentations, and book launching ceremonies are the parts of the festival.

During the festival to be held on the lap of Bulbule Park, 11 sessions dedicated to several topics from literature to socio-culture to development to media will be organized, according to the event coordinator and Foundation chair Kamal Raj Lamsal. It will also dwell on open discourses on climate change, disasters, and energy issues connecting them to the multiple dimensions of Karnali.

In a discussion forum about the federalism issue, participants will exchange their ideas about challenges/ hurdles in the exercises of rights granted to the province and local levels in federal Nepal. Likewise, Karnali-based folksingers, artists, and musicians will grace the session on the Karnali’s folklore.

Additionally, the event will present stories of success and struggles of those Karnali’s ‘heroes’ locally known as ‘Paikelo’ contributing to promoting the identity and image of Karnali nationally and internationally.

Nepal Academy vice-chancellor Dr Jagaman Gurung will be there to share his ideas about the ‘Khas' language on the opening day of the festival.

As the organizer describes, the festival is a campaign to get to know and identify Karnali through various aspects and it aims to explore the identity & potential of Karnali and to contribute intellectually to the prosperity of the entire province. The festival serves as a stage to discuss several genres from politics to literature.