Nepali folks in Baltimore mesmerised by Poetry Festival-2008

Nepalis living in Baltimore city of United States of America got a much needed break from their usual monotony last Thursday as they attended a Nepali Poetry Festival -2008 where they were mesmerised by some fine Nepali verses.

On the occasion 'Sharma Mudhvari Poetry Competition' was also organised where a number of established and aspiring Nepali poets had participated. Although the poems recited during the competition were fabulous, it was Gautam Dahal who took away the first prize for his poem titled 'Malai Mero Nepal Chahincha'. Similarly, the second and third prize went to Prabhat Adhikari and Sirjan Tamrakar respectively for their poetry titled 'Bideshiyeko Swadesh' and 'Jestha Ko Gham'.

Noted litterateur and educationist Dr Tara Nath Sharma gave away cash prizes and certificates to the winners of the poetry competition.

The poetry festival was jointly organised by International Nepali Literature Society (INLS) and Association of Nepalese in America (NA).

Other poets who participated in the competition were Dr Bhim Kattel, Shailendra Khanal, D.B Tamang, and Kavindra Sitaula.

On the same occasion, Biswas Dip Tigela, the chief editor of online Nepalese literature forum (www.sahitya.com.np) was awarded the 'INLS Narayan Jayanta Prasai Web Journalism Award' for "his outstanding contribution to the development of Nepali literature by being the first literary journalist to organize an international poetry conference'. nepalnews.com July 06 08