Final rites of noted writer Indra Bahadur Rai were performed at Muktidham in his hometown Darjeeling, India, on Thursday. 

The literary giant passed away at his residence in Lochannagar, Darjeeling, on Tuesday. He was 90.

Earlier in the day, a funeral rally was taken out with litterateurs, politicians and a huge number of commoners in attendance. The representatives who arrived in Darjeeling from various places in Nepal and India marched in the rally. Rai’s son Deshpath lit the funeral pyre.

Condolences from politicians and writers poured in from far and wide over Rai’s demise. Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee sent a condolence message to the bereaved family, stating that Rai’s death is the irreparable loss to the Nepali literature.

Chief of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Binay Tamang reached Rai’s residence on Wednesday to pay his last tributes. Rai’s death is a huge loss to whole of India and Nepal, he said. “I doubt a towering personality like IB sir will born in Darjeeling again,” said Tamang, while assuring to install a statue in the area in his honour. 

The GTA board decided to close all the government offices and educational institutions on Thursday to mourn Rai’s demise.

Writer Bairagi Kainla, who had initiated the literary movement Tesro Ayam with Rai and Ishwar Ballav, also reached Darjeeling to pay the last tribute. “The demise of Ishwar Ballav had left behind two of us. Now I am all alone,” said an emotional Kainla. 

Rai was active in the field of Nepali literature for more than 75 years, authoring critically acclaimed books such as Bipana Katipaya and Aaja Ramita Chha.