Poet and lyricist Durgalal Shrestha, one of the best-known poets of modern Nepal Bhasha literature, died at his home in Budhanilkantha on Sunday night. He was 93.

Kishan Sundar Malla, chancellor of the Nepal Bhasha Academy and a close associate of Shrestha, said the poet’s death was a major loss to Nepal Bhasha literature. “He was born to write,” said Malla, describing Shrestha as a son of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning.

Born in Nhyakatol in central Kathmandu in Nepal Sambat 1057, Shrestha was the son of Aashamoti and Ganesh Lal. He entered the literary world by writing plays, and in Nepal Sambat 1075, his poem ‘Santwana’ was published in Dharmodaya magazine. He later became best known as a poet, although he was also a lyricist, playwright and translator. In 2003, the Nepal Bhasha Parishad conferred Shrestha with the title of Janakavi—people’s poet.

Shrestha often recalled with pride that he wrote, directed and acted in a play in Nepal Bhasha when he was only 11. Street theatre was common in Kathmandu neighbourhoods at the time, and the experience began his long literary career.

Although he wrote poems, songs, plays, essays and translations, Shrestha became best known as a poet. His writing earned him the title Janakabi, or people’s poet, because his language was accessible to ordinary readers while carrying strong emotions and ideas.

Essayist Ramesh Kaji Sthapit, who followed Shrestha’s literary career closely, said the most striking quality of his poetry was its musicality. “His poems were like songs,” said Sthapit. Almost all could be sung because they had rhythm and melody.

Shrestha’s first book, ‘Chiniyamha Kisicha’, was a collection of children’s poems and became one of the best-selling books published in Nepal Bhasha. He went on to publish more than a dozen collections of poems and songs. His writing often dealt with nationalism, language and community advancement.

The veteran poet and lyricist also wrote in Nepali. His song ‘Phoolko Aankhama Phoolai Sansar’ remains among his best-known works.

Sthapit said Shrestha’s work as a playwright was often overshadowed by his poetry and songs. “His pen perhaps ran even faster for plays than for poems,” he said. “His plays were equally strong, but his identity as a poet and lyricist covered them.”

For Shrestha, literature was also a form of cultural activism. After Radio Nepal stopped broadcasting news in Nepal Bhasha in 1965, he became an active participant in the movement against the state’s one-language policy. Literary conferences were organised across Kathmandu Valley neighbourhoods for about a year against the policy, and Shrestha actively took part in them. His poems and songs from that period became part of the wider campaign for recognition of Nepal Bhasha.

Shrestha remained active in organisations devoted to Nepal Bhasha and Newari cultural rights, and became a founding member of Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala.

Shrestha’s influence extended beyond books. His neat handwriting became so closely associated with him that a type font was later named after him. His poems and songs have travelled beyond Nepal through translations.

Shresha’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday; colleagues, admirers and members of the Nepal Bhasha community are expected to gather to pay their final respects. His body will be kept at the Nepal Bhasha Manka Khala building in Bijeshwari before a funeral procession and cremation at Karnadeep.

For a literary community that saw him as both a creator and an advocate, Shrestha’s death marks the end of an unusually long career—one that began with a child’s neighbourhood play and grew into a lifelong effort to make language, literature and identity speak to ordinary people.