International Mother Language Day: National Mother Language Poetry Festival held

– Arjun Bhusal

A poetry recitation programme themed ‘National Mother Language Poetry Festival’ has been organized by the Nepal Academy in Kathmandu today, marking the International Mother Language Day.

The Day observed by all the UN-member nations on this day since 2000 aims to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

During the one-day event, poets and poetess recited altogether 65 poems in various mother languages spoken in Nepal such as Sanskrit, Bambule Rai, Awadhi, Aathpahariya, Urdu, Kumal, Taajpuriya, Thami and Dumi among others.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Ishwor Pokharel, during the inaugural of the one-day event, said that Nepal was a country where no specific caste and community had its dominance. "Nepal is a country rich in diverse languages, arts and cultures."

Calling for the new generations to make more efforts to safeguard the foundation of unity laid by our ancestors, DPM Pokharel said, "Nepal is a country with more than 100 spoken languages."

Stating that one should not discriminate one another on the basis of language and religion, Pokharel urged the programme organizer to organize programmes promoting languages, arts and cultures all over the country.

Academy’s Chancellor Ganga Prasad Uprety asserted that although Nepal was a small country in terms of land, it was a rich country from the language and cultural viewpoint. "We organized this event to encourage people to embrace each others’ cultures and languages."

Also speaking at the programme, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal emphasized preservation of the mother languages.

Likewise, Language Commission’s President Dr Labadev Awasthi said that various mother languages were on the verge of extinction in Nepal.

Programme coordinator and the Academy’s member Laxmi Mali underlined the need for adequate research and studies of the literatures of various mother languages.

Nepal Academy of Fine Arts’ Chancellor KK Karmacharya lamented that although many legal provisions were put in place for preserving mother languages, it was not reflected in reality.

According to the census of 2011, there were altogether 126 castes and ethnic groups speaking as many as 123 languages in Nepal.