Ministry of Culture presents talent awards to 46 persons, TV show

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 17: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey, has expressed concern over the potential loss of talented individuals due to a lack of their timely recognition and appreciation.

Speaking at the National and Provincial Talent Awards distribution ceremony organised by the ministry on Wednesday, Minister Pandey stated, “There is a growing risk of losing talented individuals simply because they are not honoured or acknowledged when they deserve it.” 

He further remarked that society was witnessing a troubling trend where people often refrain from praising good deeds or condemning wrongdoing.

“This has created a confusion about who is actually doing good work and who is not,” he added. 

Minister Pandey also urged creators, writers, and intellectuals to take up their pens and communicate this social trend to the public, emphasising the need to restore a culture of recognition and accountability.

The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation decorated 46 individuals with various awards across various categories while one TV serial was also presented an award. 

Minister Pandey presented the National and Provincial Talent Awards 2081 to 32 persons in four categories—Language and Literature, Culture, Music and Drama, and Fine Art.

Among other national awards distributed on the occasion included the Mahakavi Devkota Award, Aadikavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya National Award, Gopal Prasad Rimal National Award, Yogmaya National Award, Bhagat Sarvajit Manav Maryada National Award, Yugkavi Siddhicharan Shrestha National Award, Itihas Shiromani Baburam Acharya National Award, and Shatabdi Purus Satya Mohan Joshi National Award.

Amrit Yonja Tamang from Ramechhap was presented National Talent Award of Language and Literature, Som Bahadur Dhimal from Morang was decorated with the National Talent Award of Culture, Rajendra Bahadur Shah from Bajura was decorated with Music, Drama National Talent Award and Mukesh Malla from Kathmandu was honoured with the National Talent Award of Fine Art. 

Among the recipients of the Provincial Talent Awards in the Language and Literature category were Bimala Tumkhewa from Morang (Koshi), Shyam Shah from Siraha (Madhes), Narmadeshwari Satyal from Kavrepalanchok (Bagmati),  Min Raj Basanta (Regmi) from Baglung (Gandaki), Bhagwan Das Yadav from Banke (Lumbini), Samir Shah from Khalanga Salyan (Karnali) and Narendra Prasad Bhatta from Baitadi (Sudurpaschim). 

In the Culture category, awards were presented to Kamal Jung Rai from Dilpa-Nagi, Bhojpur (Koshi) Shital Giri from Rautahat (Madhes), Tara Devi Sunuwar from Dolakha (Bagmati), Bhakti Prasad Sharma from Gorkha (Gandaki), Idris Kha from Banke (Lumbini), Motiraj Bam from Kalikot (Karnali) and Devendra Prasad Bhatta from Achham (Sudurpaschim). 

Under the Music and Drama category, the awardees were Bipin Poudel Kiran from Sunsari, Shivashankar Rijal from Sarlahi, Sudeshraj Sharma from Kathmandu, Deeya Maskey from Kaski, Udiram Khadka from Rolpa, Tilak Pariyar from Rukum West, and Prakash Bahadur Thapa from Bajura.

In the Fine Art category, the awardees included Himmat Bahadur Nemwang from Jhapa, Gita Kumari Thakur from Siraha, Pramila Bajracharya from Lalitpur, Shashi Dhoj Tulachan from Mustang, Hariram Adhikari from Gulmi, Thekchhok Tamang from Humla, and Mithu Chaudhary from Kailali.

The Mahakavi Devkota Award was presented to Tirtha Shrestha from Kaski, Laxman Gautam from Chitwan, Narayan Dhakal from Kathmandu, Kalpana Pradhan from Kathmandu, and Resham Ghimire ‘Birahi’ from Chitwan.

Professor Dr. Ram Prasad Gyawali from Gulmi received the Aadikavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya National Award along with a cash prize of Rs. 100,000.

Bharat Bahadur Bhandari from Bajhang and Kiran Rai from Panchthar were honoured with the Gopal Prasad Rimal National Award, each receiving Rs. 100,000.

Dr. Nilam Karki Niharika from Bardiya received the Yogmaya National Award with a cash prize of Rs. 100,000.

Man Bahadur Bishwakarma from Arghakhanchi, Bhimkanta Panthee from Gulmi, and the television serial Dalan received the Bhagat Sarvajit Manav Maryada National Award, each with Rs. 100,000.

Professor Dr. Devi Prasad Nepal from Jhapa received the Yugkavi Siddhicharan Shrestha National Award with Rs. 100,000.

Dr. John Whelpton from the UK received the Itihas Shiromani Baburam Acharya National Award with a purse of Rs. 200,000.

Professor Dr. Bina Poudel from Kathmandu received the Shatabdi Purus Satya Mohan Joshi National Award of Rs. 100,000.