Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh passes away due to Covid-19 complications

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences on his passing, "His death created a deep void in the society," she said

Ghosh, 89, was found to be COVID-positive on April 14. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Eminent Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh passed away Wednesday morning. He was in home isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 on April 14. Ghosh was 89.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences on his passing, “His death created a deep void in the society,” she said.

Ghosh had several comorbidities and was hospitalised a few months ago. After testing positive, he did not want to go to the hospital, following which his family decided to keep him in home isolation after consulting with the doctors.

Shri Shankha Ghosh will be remembered for his contributions to Bengali and Indian literature. His works were widely read and admired. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 21, 2021

Considered to be an authority on Rabindranath Tagore, his famous works include Adim Lata – Gulmomay and Murkha Baro Samajik Nay, among other books. The poet was vocal about contemporary issues and was also seen at the forefront during many political upheavals in the state including the Nandigram violence.

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In 2011, he was awarded Padma Bhushan and in 2016 he received the Jnanpith Award. In 1977, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book ‘Babarer Prarthana‘.

According to a PTI report, poet Subodh Sarkar said COVID-19 snatched away Ghosh when he was needed the most as “the state was faced with the threat of fascism”. “He was soft-spoken but his pen was razor-sharp, always speaking against intolerance. He used to be a participant in all conventions and movements for free and liberal thinking,” Sarkar said.

He is survived by his daughters Semanti and Srabanti, and wife Pratima. Ghosh was born on February 6, 1932, at Chandpur in present-day Bangladesh.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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