Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:49pm on 20 Feb 2026,Friday India
Mani Shankar Mukherjee, celebrated Bengali writer known by his pen name Sankar, passed away on Friday at a private hospital in Calcutta at the age of 92. Born in Howrah on December 7, 1933, Sankar began his career as a clerk to British barrister Noel Frederick Barwell at the Calcutta High Court, an experience that inspired his debut novel Koto Ajanare. His literary works inspired several acclaimed films, including Satyajit Ray's Seemabaddha and Jana Aranya, and the 1968 blockbuster Chowringhee. He also authored several books on Ramakrishna Paramhamsa and Swami Vivekananda. Sankar was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called his passing an irreplaceable loss to Bengali literature. (PC: The Telegraph)
