Celebrated Bengali Cartoonist- Illustrator Narayan Debnath, passes away at 97

Renowned Bengali cartoonist, writer and illustrator Narayan Debnath died on Tuesday morning in Kolkata, after being kept in ventilation support for three days. Narayan Debnath, aged 97, was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata for the last 25 days. His condition deteriorated three days back and was kept under ventilation support.

The celebrated cartoonist was the creator of popular Bengali comic strips like Handa Bhonda (1962), Bantul the Great (1965), and Nonte Phonte (1969). He holds the record of longest running comics by an individual artiste for Handa Bhonda comics series which completed its continuous 60 years of running. In 2021, Debnath was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.