Kathmandu - With the aim of linking classroom learning to real-life understanding, the ‘Himalaya to Ocean’ book journey by author and traveler Ashok Silwal was successfully conducted at Peace Angels’ School, Gokarneshwor, offering students a rare opportunity to engage directly with literature beyond prescribed textbooks.
The interaction programme was held in the presence of Silwal himself and brought together students from different age groups for open discussions, reflections, and storytelling. The session focused on three of Silwal’s works-Everest: An Unfinished Story, Appa Deepo Bhava, and Sri Lanka Smriti-each addressing different dimensions of life, self-reflection, and global understanding.
Rather than a formal book introduction, the programme unfolded as an interactive dialogue. Students listened to stories, explored the underlying messages of the books, and shared their own interpretations, demonstrating thoughtful engagement and curiosity.
Speaking on the occasion, Principal Rajesh Kumar Bista highlighted the educational value of such interactions.
“Students were able to listen carefully and understand the deeper messages within the books. Direct interaction with an author significantly helps expand their thinking, expression, and overall outlook on life,” he said.
Author Ashok Silwal also expressed his satisfaction with the students’ responses.
“For an author, it is a rare joy to find students who can sense the soul of a book even before reading it,” he remarked.
Through Everest: An Unfinished Story, students reflected on life’s struggles, choices, and human values set against the symbolic backdrop of Mount Everest. Appa Deepo Bhava introduced the idea of self-awareness and inner responsibility through the message that one must become one’s own guiding light. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Smriti encouraged students to understand the world through travel, cultural encounters, and lived experiences.
Teachers and school representatives observed that the programme helped students question, think, and connect reading with their own lives. The initiative was widely seen as contributing positively to students’ creative thinking, life perspective, and reading culture.
A similar session under the ‘Himalaya to Ocean’ campaign had earlier been conducted at Golden Horizon Academy, and Silwal shared that the journey will continue in other schools in the coming days.
The programme reaffirmed the growing importance of experiential learning in schools, where literature serves not only as a subject but as a bridge between knowledge, values, and real-world understanding.
