Nepal's National Poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire passes away at 102

Kathmandu [Nepal], Aug 18 : National Poet Laureate of Nepal, Madhav Prasad Ghimire, on Tuesday passed away at his residence on Tuesday evening, his family confirmed.
He was 102 years old.
"He took his last breath at around 5:55 pm this evening. He was not keeping well these days," Bijeta Ghimire, daughter-in-law of the revered poet of Nepal confirmed to ANI over the phone.
Born on October 22, 1919, in Pustun of Lamjung District, Ghimire was one of the older generation Nepali poets. Motivated by Indian literary figure Rabindranath Tagore, Ghimirehad penned a number of poems, epos and literary pieces and also worked as editor of Nepal's first national daily the Gorkhapatra in the year 1946.
'Malati Mangale', 'Shakuntala', 'Himalwaari Himalpaari', 'Gauri', are some of his acclaimed works.
Ghimire will be cremated with military honours, Nepal Army Spokesperson Santosh Ballav Paudel said. "Preparations for the cremation has started. We will do it tomorrow," he added.
Ghimire is the honorary Colonel of the Nepali Army.