Annual Vocational Award 2017

Rotary Club of Yala, every year, recognizes the people, who have served the communities through their life-time engagement in different vocations and professions. BasuSirpa is a vocational award, which is conferred to one person each year in recognition of his or her service to the community through his or her traditional occupation or business. PushpaSirpa is awarded to a person each year, who has been contributing to the construction of houses with traditional skills, craftsmanship and technologies. Those people not only keep the traditional occupations and skills alive, but also help in sustaining the traditional culture, tradition and architecture in the society.

The BasuSirpa was instituted by Rotary Club of Yala in 1996, and PushpaSirpa in 2006. As of now, more than 20 persons from different vocations have received BasuSirpa and 10 persons have received PushpaSirpa.All the recipients are commoners, who otherwise would hardly get such appreciations despite of their commendable contributions. The awards conferred in public have brought those craftsmen and artisans from oblivion to limelight, and from neglect to respect.

This year, BasuSirpahas been was awarded to SundarNapit, a traditional barber, who has been providing hair-cutting services to the people for his entire life. Born on June 28, 1937, he has now reached an age of 80. Yet he is not tired of serving his clients in a small makeshift type of barber’s shop at Punchali, Lalitpur. He lives in WolaTole, Gaabahal, Lalitpur.

PushpaSirpa has been awarded to Tej Man Shakya, a carpenter, who has been serving people in building their houses. Born on 25 November 1951, he is an elderly person, who is still active in his carpentry works and is one of the few traditional carpenters left in the local Newar community, who are carrying on the carpentry as their traditional occupation through generations. Tej Man Shakya lives in NyakhaChuka, Lalitpur.

Each year, Rotary Club of Yala, felicitates a senior professional or an intellectual from Lalitpur district, who, through his or her professional works, has provided life-time services to the community. This year, Rotary Club of Yala felicitated a senior ENT Specialist, Dr. Ram ChhayamanAmatya from Lalitpur in recognition of his health services to the communities for decades. The seventh medical doctor in Lalitpur, he was a Professor in Teaching Hospital of Tribhuvan University at Maharajgunj and served as a Senator in Tribhuvan University council.

As usual, the award and felicitation were conferred amidst a public function at KartikDabu, Mangal bazaar on the day of Laxmi Puja on 19 October 2017. PDGs of Rotary District 3292, Mr. Ratna Man Shakya, Tirtha Man Shakya and Dilendra Shrestha handed over the felicitation letter and vocational awards. The children from Disability Service Centre and Rakchhya Nepal made the event musical with their songs and vaili dances. The gracious presence of Madan Krishna Shrestha, senior artist, added the charm in the award ceremony. Presence of over 30 Rotarians and 100 spectators were highly encouraging and added value to the awards and felicitation.