Bengali writer Sankar, who transformed everyday urban life into timeless stories, dies at 92

Kolkata, Eminent Bengali writer Mani Shankar Mukherjee, better known by his pen name ‘Shankar’, whose works transformed the mundane realities of urban life into timeless narratives and were adapted into films by Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray, died here on Friday.

He died at the age of 92 in a private hospital due to old age problems. He is survived by two daughters.

The Sahitya Akademi award-winning author, best known for his iconic novel Chowringhee and a body of work that chronicled the aspirations, anxieties and moral dilemmas of urban India, had been ill for some time.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled his death, calling him “one of the brightest stars in Bengali literature” whose demise meant an “irreparable loss” to the cultural world.

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Born on December 7, 1933, in what is now Bangladesh’s Jessore district, Mukherjee grew up in Howrah after his family moved to Kolkata before World War II. The son of a lawyer, his early life was shaped by modest means and a restless curiosity about the human condition, traits that would later define his fiction.

Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a clerk with Noel Barwell, the last English lawyer practicing at the Calcutta High Court. Barwell’s death left a deep mark on the young Mukherjee.

Wanting to honor his mentor but not having the means to commission a statue or painting, he chose to write a book instead. That decision led to ‘Kato Ajanare’, which first appeared in Desh magazine in the early 1960s, and marked the birth of “Shankar”.

If that book heralded his arrival, ‘Chowringhee’ made him a household name.

Conceived, as he would later recount, on a rain-soaked day at a waterlogged Kolkata intersection as he gazed at the neon lights of the Grand Hotel, the novel opened the doors of the fictional Shahjahan Hotel to readers. Through memorable characters such as the kindly manager Marco Polo and receptionist Sata Bose, Shankar gave an insider’s view of the city’s elite culture, its business intrigues and hidden sorrows.

The novel was adapted into a huge Bengali film in 1968 and achieved cult status. It was translated into several Indian and foreign languages, expanding Shankar’s readership far beyond Bengal.

Two of his other major works, ‘Seemabaddha’ and ‘Jana Aranya’, formed part of Satyajit Ray’s acclaimed Calcutta Trilogy.

Ray, known for his global film legacy, personally called the young writer after reading ‘Seemabaddha’ in an annual Puja, and asked him not to sell the film rights until informing him. The resulting films brought Shankar’s sharply observed corporate and middle-class narratives to national and international audiences, with ‘Seemabaddha’ and ‘Jana Aranya’ winning awards at international festivals.

Another of his novels, ‘Man Samman’, was adapted into the Hindi film ‘Sheesha’ by Basu Chatterjee, while filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak also attempted cinematic interpretations of his novel ‘Kato Ajanare’. Over time, Shankar became one of the rare Bengali writers whose fiction traveled seamlessly from page to screen.

Yet, despite his popularity, for decades he occupied a distinct literary space dominated by stalwarts like Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Samaresh Majumdar.

His contemporaries often noted his discipline, wit and generosity to writers across generations.

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay described him as a prolific writer with a keen sense of humor and deep respect for fellow literati.

Shankar’s oeuvre was not limited to urban dramas. He wrote extensively for younger readers and produced best-selling memoirs that mixed nostalgia with social commentary.

His later works included deeply researched writings on Swami Vivekananda, particularly those that explored both the spiritual and human dimensions of the monk’s life.

When some critics objected to his portrayal of Vivekananda’s everyday habits, his love of tea, music and cooking, senior monks of the Ramakrishna Mission defended his approach and praised him for showing a human side of the towering figure, he once said.

In 2021, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his autobiographical work ‘Eka Eka Ekashi’. His books have been translated into English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, French and Spanish, ensuring that his voice has reached readers across language boundaries.

Shankar remained a keen observer of ambition and vulnerability: of the clerk who dreams, the executive who compromises, the receptionist who survives, the monk who doubts.

With his passing, Bengal loses not just a best-selling novelist but a chronicler of its post-independence urban soul, one who turned rain-soaked pavements, hotel lobbies and corporate boardrooms into enduring literature.

His death marks the end of an era, but the neon lights of Chowringhee and the moral crossroads of Jana Aranya will continue to glow in the imaginations of readers across India and beyond.

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