Lalitpur. Famous lyricist Lokraj Adhikari has been awarded. On the occasion of the 13th National Costume Day and International Hat Day, the National Heritage Conservation Foundation Nepal has honored lyricist Adhikari with the National Heritage Distinguished Creator Award 2082.

The chief guest of the program, Jagadish Kharel, Spokesperson of the Government of Nepal and Minister for Communications and Information Technology; National Dalit Commission Chairman Devraj Bishwokarma former Chairman of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bhawani Rana, and Rajananda Mandavya, Patron of the organizing organization, jointly honored the guest with a letter of congratulations and a letter of appreciation.

The organizers stated that lyricist Adhikari was felicitated for his contribution to the field of Nepali songwriting by writing more than 160 songs, including folk songs, duet songs, modern songs, children’s songs, ghazals, movie songs, and national songs, and making the nation known internationally.

Lyricist Adhikari is also the only Nepali lyricist to be nominated consecutively in two series of international awards organized every year by the International Singers Songwriters Association in Atlanta, USA.

Those who contributed in various other fields were also honored at the event. Engineer Shankar Nath Rimal, the designer of the national flag; hat designer Shankar Nath Banjade, International Taekwondo referee Dipendra Dhakal, writer and literary figure Archana Jha, social activist Arbinda Gautam, journalist Bhojraj Thapa, journalist Rajan Nepal, Nepal JCs 2026 President Jeevan Karki, Miss Nepal 2025 Luna Luintel, Sanjelji Maharaj, Deep Kishore Bhattarai, and Kabindra Neupane were honored at the event for their contributions to their fields.

Delivering the chief guest’s speech at the program, Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Jagdish Kharel said that he was in favor of giving government recognition to the national costume and celebrating the day.

He also said that if it had been announced a few days ago, the Council of Ministers would have already made some decision, but it was a bit late. He said that the nation has been recognizing it for centuries, adding that whether the government recognizes it or not is irrelevant.

He recalled that it has not been given importance since 2068 BS, saying that whoever did not give it and from whom it was not given were wrong, but he also said that there was something happy about it. He said that from the day it was not given official recognition, young people started wearing daura suruwal at every formal event.

He said that the identity of Nepal and Nepalis should be preserved both within the country and on the world map. He also said that currently, the only symbol of national unity is the Nepali flag with the moon and sun.