Noted Narayan Debnath, a Bengali cartoonist, and Padma Shri laureate passes away

Narayan Debnath, a well-known cartoonist and Padma Shri awardee, died Tuesday morning in Kolkata after a protracted illness. He was 96 years old when he died.

For the previous 25 days, he had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in the city. His condition began to deteriorate in the morning, according to hospital doctors, and he died at 10 a.m.

Debnath created the classic Bengali comic strips Handa Bhonda (1962), Batul the Great (1965), and Nonte Phonte (1966). (1969). For the Handa Bhonda comic series, which has now lasted 53 years, he holds the record for the longest running comic by an individual artist. He holds the distinction of being India's only comic artist with a D.Litt degree.

He spent the majority of his life in Shibpur, Howrah district, where he was born. His family was originally from Bikrampur, Bangladesh, but had moved to Shibpur before he was born.

In 2021, Debnath received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. In 2013, he was also honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Banga Bibhushan Award.