Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh dies battling COVID-19

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    Kolkata, Apr 21 (PTI) Noted Bengali poet Shankha
Ghosh, a Padma Bhushan awardee, died on Wednesday morning
while he was in isolation at his residence after testing
positive for COVID-19, his family said.
    Ghosh, 89, was found to be COVID-positive on April 14.
    He was in home isolation on the advice of doctors and
was stable, his family said.
    However, his condition deteriorated suddenly late on
Tuesday night, following which he was given oxygen support,
they said.
    He died around 8.30 am, they added.
    Ghosh, who suffered from several comorbidities, was
hospitalised a few months ago due to deterioration of his
health condition.
    Considered to be having authority on Rabindranath
Tagore, Ghosh is known for 'Adim Lata - Gulmomay' and 'Murkha
Baro Samajik Nay', among other books.
    Ghosh was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and
conferred the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 2016.
    He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for his
book 'Babarer Prarthana'.
    Condoling the death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
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,"
he tweeted.
    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was shattered
after coming to know about Ghosh's death with whom she shared
a close rapport.
    Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he was anguished to
learn about the death of Ghosh.
    "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!" he
tweeted.
    CPI(M)'s legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty
said that Bengal lost its soul with the death of Ghosh.
    Born in 1932 to grammarian Manindra Kumar Ghosh at
Chandpur in present-day Bangladesh, he graduated in Bengali
from Presidency College and completed MA from Calcutta
University.
    He started his teaching career at Bangabashi College
in 1955, and after a few stints in some other institutes, he
joined the Jadavpur University. He retired from JU in 1992.
    Ghosh, whose literary career spanned over five
decades, was considered one of the most influential modern-day
Bengali poets. Originally Chittopriyo Ghosh, he took the pen
name of Shankha Ghosh.
    Ghosh along with his contemporaries Shakti
Chattopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Binoy Majumdar and Utpal
Kumar Basu was known as "Pandav" of the modern-day Bengali
literary world.
    His poem "Yamunavati", based on the killing of a young
girl in police firing in rural Bengal during the Food Movement
of 1951, gave him prominence.
    His first anthology of poems, "Dinguli Raatguli", was
published in 1955.
    The issue of social protest has been a constant theme
in his creations.
    Some of his poems were lyrical and reflective, while
the other works reflected a sense of anguish towards society's
superficiality and existence.
    However, his mastery over the Bengali language and his
absolute control over the form of poetry is a hallmark of his
works, which became epitome of grace and depth. His poems
always conveyed a message, but were always free of polemics.
    Ghosh's works have been translated into several
languages, including English and Hindi.
    He is survived by daughters Semanti and Srabanti, and
wife Pratima.
    Ghosh was seen at the frontline of the civil society
movements in Bengal, often taking on the ruling dispensations
over issues of social and political concerns.
    He was a vociferous critic of the then Left Front
government over its handling of the land movements of the
mid-2000s. He took on the Trinamool Congress as political
violence rocked the state during the 2018 panchayat elections,
and also hit out at the BJP over the Citizenship Amendment Act
(CAA).
    Litterateur Subodh Sarkar said thatCOVID-19 snatched
away Ghosh when he was needed the most as "the state was faced
with the threat of fascism".
    "He was soft-spoken but his pen was razor-sharp,
always speaking against intolerance. He used to be a
participant in all conventions and movements for free and
liberal thinking," Sarkar said.
    Poet Mandakranta Sen said she has lost a guardian and
a mentor.
    Ghosh was a polestar in Bengali literature who
introduced new idioms in Bengali poetry, giving it new
dimensions and never shied away from voicing his views, she
said.
    Writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay said he was always
struck by Ghosh's simple way of living, spartan lifestyle and
humbleness.
    "Covid-19 is snatching away one after the other from
us," said a grief-stricken Mukhopadhyay.
    Linguist Nrisingoprasad Bhaduri described Ghosh as one
of the most prominent faces in the post-Jibananda Das era of
Bengali poetry.
    Ghosh's death came even as Bengal was recovering from
the demise of iconic actor Soumitra Chattopadhyay who passed
away in November, fighting post-COVID complications.
    State ministers Firhad Hakim and Sadhan Pandey visited
Ghosh's Kakurgachi residence to meet the grieving family.
    "In deference to the wish of the family, we will not
arrange any gun salute during his last journey. The family
informed us that he had expressed his wish not to be given any
gun salute after his death. His body will be taken to the
crematorium and his last rites will be performed conforming to
all COVID-19 protocols," Hakim said. PTI SUS PNT
SOM SOM

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)