JOIN USBengali poet and Sahitya Akademi awardee Shankha Ghosh passes away
Eminent Bengali poet and Padma Bhushan awardee Shankha Ghosh passed away on Wednesday morning at his Kolkata residence after testing positive for Covid-19 a week ago. The 89 year old poet was under home isolation after he tested positive for the infection on April 14.
According to doctors attending to him, Ghosh was stable but his condition suddenly deteriorated on Tuesday night and he was put under ventilation, He passed away at around 8.30 am on Wednesday. They also said that the poet suffered from several comorbidities which made his condition all the more critical. He was hospitalized a few months back due to ill health.
Ghosh, a prominent voice of the civil society in Bengal, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and the Jnanpith award in 2016. He received the Sahitya Academy award in 1977 for his book ‘Baborer Prarthana’. He also penned books such as ‘Murkho Boro Samajik Nay’ and ‘Adim Lata-Gulmomay’. He was considered to be an authority on the works of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Born in 1932 at Chandpur in modern day Bangladesh, Ghosh graduated in Bengal from Kolkata’s erstwhile Presidency College (now Presidency University). He joined Bangabashi College as a faculty members in 1955 and later joined the Jadavur University. He retired from Jadavpur University in 1992.
Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum as well as from the civil society. “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,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Condoling the death of the poet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted “Anguished to learn about the sad demise of a renowned Bengali poet and Sahitya Akademi Awardee, Shri Shankha Ghosh Ji. He will always be remembered for his outstanding poems, deeply rooted in the social context. My deepest condolences to his family and followers. Om Shanti!”
Anguished to learn about the sad demise of a renowned Bengali poet and Sahitya Akademi Awardee, Shri Shankha Ghosh Ji. He will always be remembered for his outstanding poems, deeply rooted in the social context. My deepest condolences to his family and followers. Om Shanti!
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 21, 2021
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she was deeply saddened with the demise of Ghosh. She said that she has instructed the Chief Secretary to ensure that his last rites are performed with full State honors.
“ Since he (Ghosh) did not like the custom of gun salute, we are keeping it out of the ceremony,” said Mamata.
Eminent author Subodh Sarkar said Ghosh was taken away by Covid-19 when “he was most needed as Bengal faced the threat of fascism.”