Ten writers from Nepal to join as speakers at the Kalinga Literary Festival in India.
Kathmandu: Ten writers from Nepal to join as speakers at the Kalinga Literary Festival in India. Nepalese Billionaire, Philanthropist, literary figure Dr. Binod CHaudhary will join the festival as guest of Honour and speaker. Popular Nepal writers, Journalist Buddhi Sagar, Basant Basant , writer Rohini Rana, Ranjana Niraula, translator Ken Subedhi, Pawan Thapa will join the festival as speakers. Writers from will participate over 10 sessions on various global literature sessions. Two sessions are also exclusively dedicated in Nepali language.
Buddhisagar
Buddhisagar (Nepali: बुद्धिसागर; born 2 June 1981) is a Nepalese writer and poet. He is best known for his novels, Karnali Blues and Phirphire.His debut and most popular novel Karnali Blues is also set in these locations. He was passionate about writing from an early age. From a very early age, his poems were played on radios. He moved to Kathmandu after passing his School Level.
Buddhisagar published his first novel, Karnali Blues, in the Autumn of 2010, and it has since been warmly received and widely praised.[3] It is written in Nepali but several of its characters speak in Tharu and the Jumli dialect of Nepali. The novel is set in recent times and centres upon the central character’s relationship with his father, who lies dying in a hospital bed.
He published his second novel, Phirphire in 2016. His first novel, Karnali Blues was translated into English by Prof. Michael J. Hutt with same title and was published in 2021 by Penguin Books.[1] His third novel Eklo was released in December 2022.
Basanta Basnet
Basanta Basnet (Nepali: बसन्त बस्नेत) is a Nepalese journalist and writer. He is an editor at Onlinekhabar, an online news portal. He started working at Online Khabar since 17 July 2022, after resigning from Shilapatra. Earlier, He worked at Kantipur (daily) as a political correspondent. He was also an editor at Nepal Magazine, which used to be published by Kantipur Publications.
He has published three books. His first book 72 ko Bismay was published on 8 September 2018. The book is a political non-fiction about the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the events that followed after the promulgation of the constitution of Nepal in 2015 (2072 BS).
His second book, Mahabhara is a novel set in eastern Nepal during the Nepalese Civil War. It was published on 8 January 2022 by FinePrint Publication. He has published his third book, Simsara on 3 October 2024 by FinePrint Publication.
Dr. Binod K. Chaudhary
Dr. Binod Chaudhary is the chairman of Chaudhary Group, Nepal and CG Corp Global, a multi-dimensional conglomerate with a complementary business portfolio that comprises 160 companies, 123 brands present on five continents, 27 countries. It has a workforce of more than 15,000 people and a net worth in excess of $1.5 billion.
Chaudhary’s determination to expand his grandfather’s business across the globe has catapulted him into one of Nepal’s most innovative changemakers.
Chaudhary is a global player in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods and the brain behind Wai Wai, CG’s iconic brand that earned him the epithet, “Noodle King.” Thanks to Wai Wai, he has over 2.6 percent of the world’s shares in the noodle market.
His other business interests include education, hospitality and financial services, which are among the 9 business verticals he runs within CG.
Chaudhary’s drive and dedication are his inherent strengths. And contrary to popular belief, he proved an entrepreneur can do business in Nepal and still emerge a billionaire — the only one from the Himalayan republic listed by Forbes.
Rohini RanaRohini Rana was born in India and got married to General Gaurav S.J.B. Rana (former Chief of Army Staff, Nepal Army) in Nepal in 1977. During her meandering life as an army wife, she has played the part of a homemaker, social worker, entrepreneur and restaurateur. Cooking is her life’s passion. After the success of her first book, The Rana Cookbook: Recipes from the Palaces of Nepal (published in 2021), Rohini continues her foray into the rich culinary traditions of Nepal, which are as varied as its terrain. The culmination of this journey in The Nepal Cookbook: 108 Regional Recipes.
Ranjana Niraula
Noted poet, writer Ranjana Niraula is a multifaceted personality from Nepal who juggles multiple roles in her daily life with equal panache. From being a popular poet in Nepali and English literature with a penchant to weave magic with her beautiful words and pictures to being a poet, editor, panelist, researcher, philanthropist, Academic, humanist, literary critics, curator to being a speaker, she handles each role with élan and confidence with a sole motive to excel and live up to the high expectations from her legions of fans spread across Nepal as well as the Subcontinent. She received KLF Book Awards for her Nepali book “Anubhuti Ka Abataran”. Her new English poetry book “The Rhythm of Pain” to be officially launched during the festival.
Suman Barsha
Suman Barsha has made significant contributions to contemporary Nepali literature through her novels and short stories. Her recent work, Abhyantar, is a collection of 18 short stories that delve into themes ranging from social issues and environmental concerns to science fiction and robotics.  This anthology showcases her versatility and depth as a storyteller, reflecting the complexities of modern society.
Prior to Abhyantar, Suman authored two novels, further establishing her footprint in the literary world. Her storytelling is characterized by a unique blend of traditional and contemporary narratives, offering readers fresh perspectives on familiar themes.
Ken Subedi
Ken Subedi is a professional Nepali translator and runs a translation company, Wordinvent. He is a part of the translation team at Global Press Journal, inDrive, Translated, British Council among others. He has translated four children story collections from English to Nepali, originally written by Cao Wenxuan in Chinese. He is a feature writer at Annapurna Express, an English national daily where he reviews books and covers arts and literature. He also writes regularly in Nepali for Nepali national dailies, especially books reviews.
Pawan Thapa
Pawan Thapa Magar is a writer, translator, filmmaker, and social/political activist. Thapa recently translated the Hindi play “Loi Chalai Kavira Sath” into Nepali. He has also created video archives on YouTube featuring Nepali poetry, including works in Hindi and numerous other local languages, and has been running a campaign to promote reading culture through these video-based initiatives. Thapa has long advocated for social justice, consistently speaking out and fighting for the cause. He upholds the belief that literature should dismantle the political borders erected between nations. Currently, he is actively involved in Nepal’s civil movement groups while simultaneously writing narratives documenting these efforts.
The annual iconic Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) is all set to run from 21st March – 23rd March 2025 in the temple city of Bhubaneswar at Mayfair Convention. Marking its tenth year, the festival will showcase a powerhouse of writers, speakers, thinkers, and humanitarians from all walks of life. The literary extravaganza will see a spectacular range of language diversity in the program, represented by 10 countries and over 25 languages.
For its 2025 edition, the festival will host over 500 speakers from across a vast array of nationalities, as well as recipients of major awards such as the Sahitya Akademi, and many more. It will feature a range of themes including the ongoing climate justice debate under the urgency of borrowed time theme; the great women writers and artists focusing on the female voice and identity, crime fiction, memoir, translation, poetry, economics, tech morality, and Artificial Intelligence, the global crisis, cutting-edge science, India and the World, art and photography, health and medicine, amongst others.
Kalinga Literary Festival is well known for its socially relevant themes and in a way compels all ‘creative’ people to think and articulate ‘the contemporary’. Like its past editions the KLF, this year also has a hard-hitting theme for writers, poets, and artists to ponder on. It should be noted that on March 21 to 23 2025 – The temple city of Bhubaneswar is poised to unfurl the timeless sagas of literature. Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) is humbly set to embark on its 11th edition, knitting together a mosaic of diverse literary forms ranging from poetry and politics to art and athletics. The Festival’s beating heart, themed “Literature and the world: Inclusion, Identity and Belonging,” will pulse with the collective rhythm of over 400 esteemed speakers, including poets, musicians, artists, and performers. In a reverent celebration of our shared heritage, the festival aims to rekindle the flame of inspiration from our ancestors’ wisdom, demonstrating its profound relevance in today’s world.
