KATHMANDU, Jan 20: Dodging aside the forecasts of a gloomy weather, La.Lit, a literary magazine deemed to be the first of its kind in Nepal, was launched on January 19 in the inner courtyard at the Patan Museum in the Patan Durbar Square. A production of Safe Publications, the editorial team for La.Lit comprises of Rabi Thapa, Anbika Giri, Pranab Man Singh, Prawin Adhikari, NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, Kanchan G. Burathoki, and Ananda Shrestha.
The inauguration started with readings of excerpts from the inaugural issue and a short talk by eminent Nepali writer Khagendra Sangroula who shared his opinions on translations through a personal anecdote.
Writer Khagendra Sangroula on stage with Rabi Thapa, Editor of La.Lit, during the inaugural of the literary magazine at Patan Museum on Saturday. (Bhswor Ojha/Republica)
Set out to be La.Lit will be published both in print and online at www.lalitmag.com. The magazine is a celebration of literature, both from within and outside of Nepal, it was said. It will feature fiction, non-fiction, translations, poetry, photography, graphic art, exclusive interviews and news from the world of literature. The printed version of the magazine will come out “at least once a year” while the online content will be update regularly on a weekly basis. La.Lit features writings in both Nepali and English languages.
The current content on the first printed volume of La.Lit is a compilation of works from a list of impressive contributors including Abha Eli Phoboo, Abhay K., Aditya Adhikari, Amar Neupane, Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Archana Thapa, Ashutosh Tiwari, Bandana Dhakal, Farah Ghuznavi, Jeet Thayil, Jhalak Subedi, Kanchan G Burathoki, Khagendra Sangraula, Manu Manjil, Momila, Narendra Mainali, Nirman Shrestha, Prajwal Parajuly, Rajani Thapa, Ratnamani Nepal, Roshan Sherchan, Sarah Kay, Sharada Sharma, Shehan Karunatilaka, Smriti Mallapaty, Smriti Ravindra, Thomas Bell, Tom Healy and Wojciech Jagielski.
The vision with La.Lit, Editor Rabi Thapa says, “…Is to bring world literature to Nepal and to take Nepali literature to the world.”
Why La.Lit?
Rabi Thapa, Editor, La. Lit
With La.Lit, we’re trying to not only bring in the best of literature we can find in Nepal, but also to interact with the world. I think a lot of literary magazines in Nepal are weak with their publicity and don’t involve international interaction. Through La.Lit, we will compile and collect works from Nepal and send it ‘out there’, into the world as well as bring in works of international contributors to Nepali audiences.
The first issue of La.Lit is bilingual and you said the vision is to incorporate as many languages as possible.
Yes. An important part of what we’re doing is bridging the gap or removing the barrier between the ‘English speaking’ and ‘Nepali speaking’ set of audiences. We will be incorporating works from other indigenous languages in Nepal and foreign languages as well. We will also include translations from various languages because a story is a story and one shouldn’t miss out on it just because it’s written in a different language.
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