Poet Bastakoti awarded

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Feb. 12: US-based Nepali poet and environment enthusiast Dr. Rishi Bastakoti was honoured with Hari Utkrista Prativa Puraskar-2080 BS (Hari Outstanding Talent Award) in the presence of a number of literary figures held recently in North Carolina, USA.

Poet Bastakoti was awarded for his collection of Muktaks 'Bisangat Basti'.

Novelist Neelam Karki Niharika, chair of North Carolina Nepali Literary Society, Shikhar Dulal, and Trustee of Hari Cultural Centre, Ishwar Devkota jointly handed over the award to Bastakoti. 

The event was jointly organised by the North Carolina Nepali Literary Society (NCNLS) and the Hari Cultural Centre.

Prabha Kaini, president of the Hari Cultural Centre, addressed the event from Kathmandu via Zoom, discussing Bastakoti's literary contributions.

The Hari Cultural Centre was established in 2046 BS by politician and novelist Rajeshwar Devkota in honour of his father Haribhakta Devkota.  Rajeshwar established an endowment for the prize by using the money he had received from the Madan Puraskar and Sajha Puraskar. 

The centre annually honours creators born in Gorkha or associated with Gorkha for their literary contributions on the day of Shree Panchami.

Kaini mentioned that Bastakoti, born in Liglig Pathibhara of Gorkha, has been contributing to Nepali literature for the past three decades and was awarded this year for his book.

Kedarnath Khanal, advisor of Hari Cultural Centre from Chitwan, announced poet Narayan Prasad Pokharel as the recipient of the Rajeshwar Devkota Fellowship Award and unveiled the Centre's yearly publication, 'Aabartan'. 

Chairman Shikhar Dulal mentioned the significant impact of the awarded book 'Bisangat Basti'.

A poet from Gorkha, Bastakoti is recognised also as a ghazalist, and lyricist, with over a dozen songs recorded to his credit. He holds a PhD in Environmental Policy from the University of Calgary in Canada, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. 

He currently works as a Senior Environment Specialist in the Department of Environment for the State of North Carolina, USA.