Rama Adhikari, TGT
Kathmandu, April 6
Banita, a premier literary trimonthly, has felicitated singer, lyricist and senior gynecologist Dr. Bhola Rijal with ‘Banitashree Sahitya-Ratna Multidimensional Honor 2021’. At the annual felicitation and award distribution ceremony held on Tuesday in Kathmandu, the honor was conferred on Dr. Rijal by the Chancellor of Nepal Academy Mr. Ganga Uprety, who attended the event as Chief Guest. The event was chaired by Banita’s chairperson Laxmi Uprety. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rijal said, medicine and art, including literature, are indispensable parts of his life and he cannot dispense with any of these.
Banita also awarded several other writers and artists, whose names are as follows:
- Devkumari Thapa Children’s Literature Banita Award 2020 to Vijaya Chalise and 2021 to Bashushree Pandey
- Banitashree Dr. Narendra Chapagain Criticism Award 2020 to Dr. Gopal Bhandari and 2021 to Prof. Dr. Govinda Raj Bhattarai
- Banitashree Dev Kumari Story Award of Distinction 2020 to Narayan Tiwar and 2021 to Dhruva Madhikarmi
- Bhadra Kumari – Usha Thakur Banita Language Honor 2020 to Bikram Mani Tripathi and 2021 to Rumi Laskar Bora
- Banita Ranjushree-Damodar Multidimensional Award 2021 to Pawan Alok
- Banitashree Purushotam Raj Pandey Award 2020 to Mahesh Paudyal and 2021 to Harisharan Sayami
- Banitashree Unnati Music Award 2020 to Sudha Palpali and 2021 to Anchit Dhungana
- Banita Bashushree-Madhu Special Award 2020 to singer Sarita Shahi and 2021 to Kedar Sanket
- Banita Jaleshwari Child Talent Award 2020 to Prashanna Shrestha and 2021 jointly to Sumala Rai and Sandesh Poudel
Addressing the event, Chief Guest Mr. Uprety lauded Banita’s commitment and dedicated work over the past three decades, and appreciated its chief Laxmi Uprety for her hard work. Writers Vijaya Chalise, Narayan Tiwari and Mahesh Paudyal said, the awards had added sense of responsibility on them. Singers Sarita Shahi, Anchit Dhungana, Sandesh Poudel and Sudha Palpali sang songs and entertained the audience.
Dr. Usha Thakur, Chief of the Department of Translations at Nepal Academy, threw light on various dimensions of the personalities of the award winners. Also one of the award sponsors, Dr. Thakur reiterated Banita’s commitments towards the promotion of talents, and thanked all the guests and audiences.
Chair Laxmi Uprety expressed hope that Banita would continue receiving public support and guidance all the time.