Kathmandu, June 10:

The Narendra Bangmaya Nidhi (NBN) today honoured poet laureate Madhav Prasad Ghimire for his lifelong contribution to Nepali literature.

A culture expert, Satya Mohan Joshi, gave away a letter of felicitation to Ghimire at a function organised to mark the 56th death anniversary of Narendra Nath Rimal.

The NBN also honoured Sumanta Raj Neupane, who stood first in the MA (Nepali) examinations conducted by the Tribhuvan University in 2006.

Joshi gave away a letter of felicitation and Rs 25,101 to Neupane.

Speaking at the programme, Shiva Ratna Upadhyay, patron of the NBN, said, “The function was held to recognise the talents and bestow on them the respect they

deserve.” He said the honour was conferred on Ghimire to encourage those who dedicated their lives for the advancement Nepali literature.

“The award aims to encourage new talents.”

A litterateur, Prayag Raj Basistha, highlighted the contribution of Rimal, who was the first person to write Mahabharata in Nepali.