Veteran Bengali cartoonist Narayan Debnath dies

Famous Bengali cartoonist Narayan Debnath passed away at 97 on Tuesday morning at a South Kolkata nursing home after a prolonged illness. He was undergoing treatment at a city hospital.

A hospital official confirmed that the Padma Shri awardee took his last breath at 10.15 am. He was admitted to the private hospital on December 24 and was on ventilator support.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to social media to share the news. She was personally monitoring Debanath's health since he was admitted to the hospital in the first week of January.

The late 97-year-old artist was known for creating Bengali comic characters 'Bantul The Great', 'Handa Bhonda', 'Bahadur Beral' and 'Nonte Phonte'.

The West Bengal government awarded Debnath the 'Banga Bibhushan' in 2013. In addition to the Padma Shri Award, he was also presented with the Sahitya Akademi Award. The Rabindranath Tagore University had also honoured him with D.Litt degree.

Agencies