Eminent Bengali author & chronicler of Kolkata, Sankar, passes away at 92
KOLKATA: In ‘Chowringhee’, Sankar follows the lives of Shata Bose and the young recruit Shankar inside a grand Kolkata hotel, where ambition, insecurity and dignity quietly collide.
In ‘Seemabaddha’, Shyamalendu Chatterjee climbs the corporate ladder only by compromising his moral values to secure a promotion. And in ‘Jana Aranya’, Somnath, educated yet unemployed, is driven by circumstance into painful choices for survival. Through these unforgettable characters, Mani Shankar Mukherjee, better known by his pen name Sankar, gave voice to the aspirations, anxieties and moral dilemmas of the Bengali middle class. The ‘bhadralok’ found itself reflected in his pages, its hopes and hypocrisies, insecurities and affections laid bare with rare honesty.
On Friday, the eminent Bengali author, the chronicler of Kolkata and its bhadralok middle class, passed away at the age of 92 at a private hospital in Kolkata due to age-related ailments. He is survived by his two daughters.
Some of his finest works, including ‘Chowringhee’, ‘Jana Aranya’ and ‘Seemabaddha’, found immortality on the big screen, with the latter two adapted by maestro Satyajit Ray.
Calling the Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author as the “bright star of Bengali literature”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid her condolences and posted on social media: “With his demise, a bright star of Bengali literature has fallen.”
Referring to how his works portrayed the joys, sorrows and struggles of ordinary people, the CM added: “‘Chowringhee’ to ‘Kato Ajanare’, ‘Seemabaddha’ to ‘Jana Aranya’, his timeless creations have captivated generations of Bengali readers. Through his writing emerged the untold stories of the struggles of common people,” she posted. The CM also mentioned that his profound research and books on Swami Vivekananda are priceless treasures for the readers.
Veteran Bengali author Shirshendhu Mukhopadhyay expressed grief at the news of Sankar’s passing. “Sankar is not about a great writer but also a person par excellence. I have known him ever since he started writing,” he said.
Born on December 7, 1933, he worked as a clerk to Noel Barwell, the last English barrister practising at the Calcutta High Court before becoming an author. In his honour, Sankar wrote Kato Ajanare, first published in Desh magazine in the early 1960s, a work that established him as a major literary voice. But it was Chowringhee that made him a household name. His books have been translated into English, Hindi, Gujarati, French, Spanish and Malayalam.
