KATHMANDU, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Father of modern Nepali music and composer of the country's national anthem Amber Gurung died at the age of 79 on Tuesday morning.
Veteran lyricist, singer and composer, Gurung breathed his last at Kathmandu-based Grande International Hospital.
Issuing a statement, the hospital confirmed that veteran musician breathed his last at around 2:37 a.m. local time.
Gurung was admitted to the hospital before a week following complications in his food pipe. His health got further deteriorated since Friday due to which he was kept on the ventilator at the Intensive Care Unit.
Earlier, legendary of Nepali music Gurung was admitted to Medanta Hospital in India for removing tumor from his food pipe. He was suffering from various ailments including diabetes and Parkinson's disease since long.
Born in Darjeeling of India in 1938, Gurung was invited to Nepal by the then King Mahendra Shah in 1969 to lead the music department at the Nepal Academy of Arts and Literature.
In his six-decade career, Gurung composed more than 1,000 songs which are very popular among the Nepalese music lovers. The national anthem penned by Byakul Maila and composed by Gurung in 2007 is one of his most noted works.
Gurung is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.
Meanwhile, the Nepal government has decided to provide state honors at funeral of Gurung, which will be held later Tuesday.