Prominent author Samaresh Majumdar no more

Samaresh Majumdar, a renowned novelist of Bangla literature, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in India on Monday. He was 79.

He breathed his last at Apollo Hospital in Kolkata around 5:45 pm after being hospitalised for COPD complications.

He was best known for his Animesh series of novels, the second of which (Kalbela) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984.

He was also known for creating the detective character Arjun, who is the central character of the 2013 film Arjun – Kalimpong E Sitaharan.

The Bengali film Buno Haansh, which was released on August 15, 2014, is also based on his novel of the same name, which was published in Pujabarshiki Anondolok.

Mazumdar spent his childhood in the tea gardens of Dooars, Gairkata in Jalpaiguri of West Bengal. He was a student of Jalpaiguri Zilla School, Jalpaiguri.

He completed his bachelor’s degree in Bengali literature from Scottish Church College in Kolkata followed by a Master's in Bengali Literature from University of Calcutta.

His first story appeared in Desh literary magazine in 1967. Dour ("Run") was his first novel, which was published in Desh in 1976.

He was associated with the Ananda Bazar Prakashana, a major publishing house in Calcutta.

Mazumdar is a versatile writer though many of his novels have a touch of thrill and suspense attached to them.

His novels include Aath Kuthuri Noy Daraja, Bandinibash, Daybadhha, and Buno Haansher Palak and perhaps his most famous novel is Saatkahon.

Being a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres, Samares Mazumdar has worked on short stories, novels, travelogues and children's fiction.

His quartet of Uttoradhikar, Kalbela Kalpurush and "Mousalkal" is now considered a modern classic.