Sh.Surenjav, one of the greatest of all Mongolian poets, died today (19 December) at the age of 80. Sh.Surenjav was a poet, writer, and artist who wrote numerous novels, songs, poems, and made films that have had a positive impact on the development of Mongolian art. Along with expressing the unique Mongolian life style, traditions and history, his artworks also reflect humanitarian and emphatic perspectives that contribute to the mobilization of the power of humanity throughout Mongolia.

Sh.Surenjav was born in Adarbayan soum of Tuv province in 1938. He graduated from the National University of Mongolia in 1963 and the Gorky Institute of World Literature in 1981. He was awarded state order in 1988 for his ’90 heroes’ ballad’ about Khallh River Battle and for the poem ‘Teacher’.

Many Mongolians know the famous screen adaption based on Sh.Surenjav’s trilogy of the Garid Magnai (wrestler), Tod Magnai (horse racing) and Tsetse Magnai (archery).