Bhutan’s Mountain Echoes fest set to climb a notch higher

Thimphu, June 14: Bhutan’s annual literary gathering, the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival, an like no other thanks to its magnificent backdrop, will return this August for its ninth edition, featuring a diverse set of speakers who will participate in sessions ranging from spirituality and philosophy to films and environmental conservation. The festival is scheduled to take place here from August 23 to 25 and will celebrate 50 years of formal diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan, as also pay a tribute to the rich cultural ties between the two nations. “Mountain Echoes, the Bhutan Literary Festival, is an exuberant celebration of cultural connectivities, resonating with the joys of books and cinema, the shared narratives of music and folklore , food and sport, as well as deep spiritual perspectives, and the challenges of our changing world,” said Namita Gokhale, founder and co-director of Mountain Echoes. “This year, we also have a special and important focus honoring the strong ties between India and Bhutan in their 50th year of diplomatic relations,” Gokhale, no mean writer herself, added.

Organised by Siyahi, a Jaipur-based literary agency headed by Mita Kapoor, the annual event is known for bringing together literary stalwarts from across the world in the lap of the Himalayas. This year’s edition will open with a discourse on the five-decade friendship between India and Bhutan, where General V. Namgyel (Bhutan’s Ambassador to India) and Jaideep Sarkar (India’s Ambassador to Bhutan) will be in conversation with Dasho Chewang Rinzin (Deputy Chamberlain to Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck). (IANS)