GUWAHATI, Feb 5 - The last rites of noted Sankaradeva scholar Prof Keshavananda Dev Goswami, who breathed his last at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) here on Thursday night, were performed at his native place Balisatra in Nagaon district this afternoon.
His eldest son Dipankar Dev Goswami lit the pyre, family sources said.
Prior to the cremation, various academic and socioreligious and sociocultural institutions paid their last respect to the scholar.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Anjan Dutta has mourned the death of the Sankaradeva scholar and in a condolence message he said that the demise of Prof Dev Goswami is an irreparable loss in the field of research in Assamese art, culture and literature, particularly those related to neo-Vaishnavite literature.
An outstanding scholar in the neo-Vaishnavite literature and Sattriya dance, besides various other dance forms and musical instruments of the State, Prof Dev Goswami was also an expert in the Sattriya performing arts.
With his demise, the State has lost an erudite Sattriya scholar, Dutta said. He also prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and extended sympathy to his bereaved family members.
Mourning the death of Prof Dev Goswami, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president Atul Bora said the void created in the State�s society, literature and culture following the demise of Prof Goswami would be hard to fill.
Former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta also mourned the death of Prof Dev Goswami and termed it as a great loss to the State�s academic sphere, especially the Sattriya culture.