The best cultural platforms eventually outgrow their founders

Kalinga Literary Festival founder Rashmi Ranjan Parida discusses literary autonomy, regional translation, and why cultural platforms must eventually belong to local communities.

Cross-border cultural initiatives in South Asia have rarely been simple affairs. In a region tightly bound by shared histories but deeply fractured by contemporary geopolitics, artistic exchanges often carry the heavy baggage of diplomatic posturing. When the Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF)—fundamentally rooted in Odisha, India—established its footprint in Nepal, it was met with a familiar undercurrent of scepticism.