Kolkata: Legendary Bengali cartoonist and Padma Shri awardee Narayan Debnath passed away here on Tuesday morning. He was 96.
Debnath created some of the immortal cartoon characters for Bengali readers such as ‘Bantul the Great’, ‘Handa Bhonda’ and ‘Nonte Fonte’, entertaining children and adults alike for decades.
He was conferred with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2013 and the Padma Shri in 2021.
Debnath passed away at a South Kolkata nursing home. He was suffering from age-related ailments, including kidney and heart problems. The state government was bearing the cost of his treatment.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was personally monitoring Debanath’s health, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and scores of others condoled his death.
Debnath was born in 1925 in Shibpur and was trained at the Government Art College.
Extremely sad that the noted litterateur, illustrator, cartoonist, and creator of some immortal characters for children's world, Narayan Debnath is no more. He had created Bantul the Great, Handa- Bhonda, Nonte- Fonte, figures that have been etched in our hearts for decades.
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 18, 2022
Made Our Childhood Awesome With His Own Comic Universe and He's No More! Rest In Peace Narayan Debnath Ji! pic.twitter.com/ovECmCgtM2
— UG. (inactive) (@primarilybersrk) January 18, 2022
Narayan Debnath, legendary creator of Bengali children's comics, passes away in Kolkata. He was 97. Thank you, Narayan Babu, for Nonte Phonte, Handa Bhonda, Batul the Great and much more. And for keeping the child in each one of us alive. #RIP pic.twitter.com/kaDLbcS5HK
— Monideepa Banerjie (@Monideepa62) January 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/Mr_Rendezvous/status/1483316654981681152
Narayan Debnath is no more.
The legend has left us today. pic.twitter.com/YTxRcZuvbu
— Sudhanidhi Bandyopadhyay (@SudhanidhiB) January 18, 2022
Legendary cartoonist Narayan Debnath has passed away. Thank you for all the magic and we will miss you pic.twitter.com/lfY7jJNXoE
— t2 (@t2telegraph) January 18, 2022
