Renowned Bengali litterateur Sasthipada Chattopadhyay dies at 82

Kolkata, March 3

Renowned Bengali novelist and short story writer Sasthipada Chattopadhyay died in Howrah on Friday, his family said.

The creator of the famous ‘Pandav Goenda’ (five detectives) series was 82.

Chattopadhyay, who was undergoing treatment at a medical establishment, died around 11 am.

“The author had three strokes. He fell seriously ill in December and was hospitalised then but recovered very slowly. He again fell ill this month and was admitted to the medical establishment,” a family member said.

Born on March 9, 1941 at Khurut in Howrah district, Chattopadhyay published his first literary work ‘Kamakhya Bhraman’ (visit to Kamakhya) in ‘Dainik Basumati’ in 1961.

Chattopadhyay joined Anandabazar Patrika the same year and worked for its ‘Rabibasoryo’ supplement before joining the Indian Railways.

Besides short stories, Chattopadhayay had written many novels and travelogues, but gained immense popularity after the release of ‘Pandav Goenda’ adventure detective series for children in 1981.

He created two more detective series—‘Detective Ambar Chatterjee’ and ‘Goenda Tatar’.

The West Bengal government in 2017 honoured him with the ‘Bangla Akademi Award’ for his contribution to children’s literature.