Sahitya Akademi Awardee Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay ‘Sankar’ Passes Away at 92

Sahitya Akademi Awardee Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay ‘Sankar’ Passes Away at 92

Celebrated Bengali writer Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay, fondly known as Sankar, passed away at the age of 92 at a private hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. He was undergoing treatment at Peerless Hospital. News of his demise emerged around 1 pm.

A recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, Sankar was among the most influential Bengali writers who vividly captured the spirit and social fabric of Kolkata through his literary works.

Iconic Novels That Defined Urban Bengal

Sankar authored several celebrated novels, including Chowringhee, Seemabaddha, and Jana Aranya.

Chowringhee, first published in 1962, narrates the story of Shankar, a young man who loses his job as a secretary after the sudden death of his employer, an English barrister. Forced to sell wastepaper baskets, he eventually finds employment at the Shahjahan Hotel with the help of a friend. The novel offers a compelling portrayal of the elite society of Calcutta (now Kolkata). It was adapted into a film in 1968.

Both Seemabaddha and Jana Aranya were later adapted into films directed by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

In 1959, noted director Ritwik Ghatak began working on a film titled Kato Ajanare (All The Unknown), based on Sankar’s first novel. However, the project was eventually shelved due to financial and production challenges, with only a few scenes remaining to be filmed.

Tributes Pour In

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep sorrow over his passing, calling it an “irreparable loss to our cultural world.”

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), she said she was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the demise of the renowned litterateur, describing his death as the end of a glorious chapter in Bengali literature.

Sankar’s legacy endures through his timeless works, which immortalised Kolkata and left an indelible mark on Indian literature.