A literary festival succeeds when readers leave with better questions about a book. Giving translators a substantive place in the program would add questions about language, interpretation and the work of bringing one readership into contact with another. South Asia's literary stages can acknowledge that work by giving its practitioners a name…
Regional cooperation could begin with practical comparisons. Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and other labour-sending countries can exchange working solutions without pretending their systems or bilateral agreements are identical.
South Asia often discusses youth mobility after a student has already decided to leave the region. A stronger regional system would give students another option before that point: international experience that is close enough to be practical, but different enough to change what they learn.
