Kathmandu – The Avas Literary Foundation has awarded the Avas Literary Honor 2081 to veteran litterateur and critic Rajkumar Baniya.

Similarly, the Avas Best Literary Award 2081 was presented to Shailendra Adhikari for his novel Arhat.

At a program held in the capital, the president of the Nepalese Writers’ Association, Byogi Budhathoki, handed over the honors and awards to Baniya and Adhikari.

On the occasion, Budhathoki remarked that by recognizing individuals and literary works that have contributed for decades, the Foundation has played a significant role in the promotion of literature.

Poet and critic Shakuntala Joshi and critic Hem Prabhas spoke about the honored personalities. Joshi noted that Baniya is widely respected for his integrity in literary critique and fairness in evaluating works, while Prabhas praised Arhat as a compelling and inspiring novel from beginning to end.

In his acceptance speech, Baniya expressed that such honors and awards provide encouragement and energy to literary practitioners to continue their work.

Balkrishna Shrestha, the president of the Foundation, reaffirmed the commitment to continue such awards and honors as part of the Foundation’s social responsibility.

Also speaking at the event were the Foundation’s patron Shyam Kumar Shrestha, journalist Prakash Thapa, and Deepak Sapkota, among others.

Previously, the Best Literary Award was conferred on Malika Keshari ( Prakash Kumar Shrestha) for the novel Dungal.

The cash prize for the Avas Literary Honor is NPR 150,000, while the Best Literary Award carries NPR 100,000.

Rajkumar Baniya has been actively involved in literary writing, criticism, and editing for over three decades. Awardee Shailendra Adhikari has also published other works of fiction, including Nirved and Brahmastra, in addition to Arhat.