Bengaluru: Renowned Kannada poet, Padma Shri Dr. K.S. Nisar Ahmad’s wife Shahnawaz Begum (77), passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru yesterday morning.

She leaves behind her husband, two sons, two daughters and a host of relatives and friends.

Shahnawaz was serving as a teacher at a private school in Bengaluru and retired from service 17 years ago.

Last rites were performed at the Muslim Burial Grounds in Bengaluru this afternoon, according to sources.