On Tuesday morning, Bengali cartoonist Narayan Debnath passed away in a nursing home in South Kolkata. Aside from age-related ailments such as kidney and heart problems, he was hospitalized several times last year. His medical care was paid for by the state.
Mamta Banerjee, who was personally monitoring Debanath’s health since he was admitted to the hospital in January, recently said in a statement, “I am deeply saddened by the demise of eminent children’s writer and cartoonist Narayan Debnath. He breathed his last in Calcutta today. He was 96 years old”.
“Narayan Debnath, the creator of characters like Bantul the Great, Handa Bhonda, Nante Fonte, Bahadur Beral, etc, gained a permanent place in the minds of readers of all ages,” she said.
The chief minister expressed her deep condolences for the loss of Debanth and said, “The West Bengal government awarded him the ‘Banga Bibhushan’ in 2013. In addition to the President’s Award, Padma Shri Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, he received his D.Litt degree from Rabindranath Tagore university. His death is an irreparable loss in the world of Bengali literature.”
(With inputs from IANS)