Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya dead

Kolkata, May 13:

Famed Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya died at her south Kolkata residence late on Tuesday night following a cardiac arrest, family members and the attending doctor said.

Bhattacharya, 65, left behind a daughter.

She fell ill suddenly and the end came at 10.45 p.m. following left ventricular failure.

One of the most popular and powerful novelists of contemporary Bengali literature, Bhattacharya dwelt on contemporary social issues mainly affecting the urban middle class which she analysed with an open mind, almost putting the reader before a mirror.

Her pen also highlighted the pains and sufferings of women in contemporary society, and brought out the decadence in the moral fibre in an era of globalisation and crass commercialism.

Born on January 10, 1965, she wrote around 24 novels and composed a large number of short stories.

Her novel “Dahana” (Charred) dissected the trauma, social ostracism and helplessness of a rape victim, that was made into a memorable film of the same name by Rituparno Ghosh.

Among her other novels are “Kachher Manush” (Close to Me), “Kacher Dewal” (Wall of Glass), Hemonter Pakhi (Bird of Autumn), Aleek Shukh (Heavenly happiness), Gabhir Ashukh (A Grave Illness)

Bhattacharya’s creations have been translated into a number of Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam,Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and English.

She received the Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba National Award (1996), Katha Award (1997), Tarashankar Award (2000), Sharat Puroshkar (2002), besides the Bharat Nirman Award, Sahitya Setu Award and the Shailajananda Smriti Puroshkar. (IANS)