Sunil Gangopadhyay is dead

Legendary writer and Sahitya Akademi President Sunil Gangopadhyay died Tuesday following a major cardiac arrest here, family sources said. He was 78.

Equally acclaimed for his poems and novels, the Sahitya Akademi winner leaves behind his wife and a son who lives in the US. He died at his south Kolkata residence.

Gangopadhyay's body has been kept at a mortuary. His son is rushing home to perform the last rites.

Having authored over 200 books over six decades since his first poem "Ekti Chithi" (A letter) was published in the 1950s, Gangopadhyay created a niche for himself in the Bengali literary scene.