Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, June 24:

Social worker and businessman, Gyanharsha Jyoti, passed away yesterday at the age of 84, his family sources said today. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He will be cremated tomorrow. Jyoti was a well-known merchant who continued the traditional business with Lhasa half a century ago and had a famous Nepali store there. He is known for modernising the age-old Kathmandu-Lhasa business by developing modern mechanism for the traditional route. He also owned a shop in Kalimpong. He was the brother of industrialist Maniharsha Jyoti of Jyoti Group of Industries. Jyoti was a trust member of Rumtek Monastery of Sikkim and had influenced the development of Theravada Buddhism in Kathmandu Valley. He helped the monks exiled by the Ranas in the 1940s. He was also the founder of Dharmodaya Sabha — a pioneer Buddhist organisation.