Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Madan Puraskar Guthi has decided to confer the 2082 BS Madan Puraskar on Newar Samudayaya Paramparagat Kukundo Naach (Newar Community’s Traditional Masked Dance), written by Bina Joshi Rajbhandari.
The decision was taken at the Guthi’s general assembly held on Sunday, in recognition of the book’s collection and documentation of the traditional masked dances of the Newar community that continue to be practiced at the community level, the Guthi’s chairperson, Kunda Dixit, said in a statement.
A total of 298 books were submitted for this year’s Madan Puraskar. Ten of them were shortlisted for the awards — Agyat by Keshav Raj Gyawali, Itha by Keshav Dahal, Utkarsha by Lalit Bista, Nepal Mandal Sanga Jodiyeko Simraungadh Ko Itihas (History of Simraungadh Linked to Nepal Mandal) by Roshan Kumar Jha, Newar Samudayaya Paramparagat Mukundo Nach (Newar Community’s Traditional Masked Dance ) written by Bina Joshi Rajbhandari, Paridhi by Uma Subedi, Mahayug by Seema Aabhas, Salaha by Shravan Mukarung, Swasparsha by Dr Navaraj KC and Hiund by Nadish.
The Guthi has also decided to confer the Jagadambashree Puraskar-2082 on lyricist Kiran Kharel, who has been devoted to songwriting for six decades.
Established in 2012 BS, the Madan Puraskar was first awarded in 2013 BS to Satya Mohan Joshi for Hamro Lok Sanskriti (Our Folk Culture), Chittaranjan Nepali for General Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal (General Bhimsen Thapa and Contemporary Nepal), and Balaram Joshi for Adhika Vibhav Sthir Vidyut Utpadak (High-Voltage Electrostatic Generator).
Similarly, the Jagadambashree Puraskar was established in 2045 BS in memory of Queen Jagadamba following her death. Singer Narayan Gopal was the first recipient of the award.
