KATHMANDU, May 14: Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) organized a cultural rally to mark the 100th birthday of veteran culture expert Satyamohan Joshi, announcing him the ~IShatabdi Purush ~I(Man of the Century) on Monday.
Earlier in the morning, Joshi's well-wishers reached his residence in Lalitpur to wish him on his 100th birthday and request blessings from the veteran culture expert who has bagged the Madan Puraskar, the highest honor in Nepali literature, thrice for his literary works.
Rato Machhindranath's chariot procession begins today
After meeting some of his well-wishers, Joshi received ~Itika ~Iand a garland from his daughter and then a welcome message from President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Then, Joshi was carried around the metropolis in a chariot.
Hundreds of local people joined the procession which started from Mangal Bazar and converged into an assembly on the premises of the LMC office. Lalitpur Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan sat beside Joshi throughout the procession.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took to Twitter to congratulate the culture expert.
“I congratulate veteran culture expert Satyamohan Joshi on his 100th birthday,” the PM wrote on Twitter, “I also wish him good health and a long life.”
The metropolis had previously announced a public holiday on Monday to celebrate his birthday.
All government offices and educational institutions in the metropolis remained closed on Monday.
Earlier, the metropolis said that the decision to mark Joshi's 100th birthday in a special manner was taken to honor his invaluable contribution to Nepali society.
LMC has planned various programs to celebrate Joshi's birthday throughout the year.
