Gopal Das Neeraj Last Rites In Aligharh

Lucknow: The mortal remains of doyen of Hindi poetry Gopal Das 'Neeraj' reached Agra on Saturday from where they will be taken to his native home in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh for cremation, a family member said.

The body, brought from New Delhi, where he passed away at the age of 94 on Thursday night, has been kept at their Saraswatinagar residence where a large number people are turning up to pay their last respects to the legendary lyricist.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and many other political leaders are scheduled to arrive at Agra to pay their last respects.

Neeraj was close to the Samajwadi Party and had personal connect with former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Eminent poets including Arun Gemini, Ashok Chakradhar and Surendra Sharma are also on their way to pay their last respects to the poet, who received the Padma Bhushan and three Filmfare Awards.

A family member told IANS the body will be taken in a flower-decked cortege to Aligarh where it would be put at the Numaish Ground for people to pay their last respects. The body will be then taken to his ancestral village for the last rites at around 4 p.m.

(IANS)