Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) to start lifetime achievement award

For the first time in the history of the Darjeeling hills, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has decided to initiate a ‘life time achievement’ and other awards to honour achievers from various fields for their contribution to society through their work.
The GTA has selected Sahitya Academy award recipient Indra Bahadur Rai, an eminent writer and critic, as the first recipient of the lifetime achievement award.
The decision was today announced by Binay Tamang, the GTA executive member and the in-charge of the information and culture affairs department at Lalkothi, the council headquarters.
“The hills are rich in history and culture and we have countless individuals who have contributed immensely in promoting our heritage and language. We want the youths of the hills to acknowledge this and take our heritage forward. The whole purpose of honouring the achievers is to provide a platform for future generations,” he said.
Rai is a well known and respectful figure in the field of Nepali literature. Indra Bahadur Rai was awarded the Sahitya Academy in 1977 for his book-Nepali Upanyas Ka Aadhar Haru. He has also written ‘Katputliko Man’, a short story and ‘Aaja Ramita Cha’, a novel among several other works of note.
The now defunct Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council used to honour such literary giants with the ‘Agam Singh Giri’ Puruskar and the GTA as also continued conferring it every year on December 27, to mark the renowned poet’s birth anniversary.
This year around, the GTA has decided to honour litterateurs on July 13, to mark the 200th birth anniversary of Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya. The GTA has aptly christened the award as Adikavi Bhanubhakta Samman.
Besides the lifetime achievement award, the council has also selected four people from the fields of literature, music, dance and journalism to honour their contributions.
“There are several achievers in the hills who have done a lot for society, but their contributions have not been recognized as yet. We want all of them felicitated in order to encourage them further,” said the GTA executive member.
Violinist Ganesh Sharma, folk dancer Usha Gomden, dramatist IK Singh and journalist Keshav Pradhan will be felicitated and honoured for their contribution to be hosted by the GTA in Darjeeling. The award recipients will also receive cash awards along with citations although it declined to disclose the amount.
Tamang said the selection panel included a jury comprising nine members of the GTA’a information and culture department after taking into account the profiles and achievements of the recipients in detail. (EOIC)