Author Shankar, Kolkata’s chronicler and its window to the world, passes away at 93

Acclaimed author Mani Shankar Mukherjee, better known as Shankar, the top-selling Bengali author since the 1960s, passed away in a hospital off EM Bypass on Friday. He was 93 and is survived by his daughters Mausumi and Tanaya.The author, known equally for his prolific output and the deep insight into the psyche of several generations of the Bengali bhadralok class that inlaid his prose, was also one of the foremost authors of his generation whose writings fuelled masterpieces on celluloid as well. Foremost among them were Satyajit Ray's ‘Seemabaddha' (which explored the intellectual vacuum behind the facade of corporate success) and ‘Jana Aranya' (a tale of self discovery of urban youth struggling for a toehold in a harsh and shrinking job market).
Shankar's writing seemed effortless, but it concealed many struggles. The second of 11 brothers and sisters, Shankar and his siblings fell into penury after the death of their father in 1947. Eight years later, he penned his first book ‘Kato Ajanare' in 1955 in the light of a hurricane. "We lived in a rented place in Beharilal Chakraborty Lane in Howrah's Shibpur. The house had electricity but supply was severed when we were unable to pay the bill," he had recounted during an interaction in 2021.Seven years later, Shankar wrote ‘Chowringhee'. Conceived on a rainy day at the waterlogged crossing of Central Avenue and Dalhousie, the novel is recognised as a cult classic and has been translated in 18 languages including English and French. The author had a seven-decade long association with Chowringhee – Kolkata's downtown – where he worked in various capacities till 2020.Shankar, whose novels were said to partially sustain the College Street boipara trade for several decades, was one of the rare souls who found both critical acclaim as well as mass popularity. The Sahitya Akademi Award winner also had a deeply philosophical side that led him to write several biographies of Bengali saints like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. His inquisitive mind, which shone through these works, also mixed that with a blend of measured adulation that the masses just lapped up. Even after reaching great success, Shankar stayed humble. He often said his greatest challenge still lay ahead and that he had to endure beyond his death, noting that the 10 best-selling Bengali authors were all deceased.An author of many parts, Shankar was equally popular as a travel writer and could justifiably claim to be the primary travelogue writer in Bengali, exploring places in the US, the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland. Often serialised in Bengali magazines, these pieces gave the cash-strapped Bengali middle-class — then confined to outings to Digha, Puri (and, sometimes, Darjeeling and Kalimpong) — a glimpse of the world beyond India's international boundary. That a man who grew up in the bylanes of Howrah — and made no bones about that — could talk and write about wine of European vintage and Cheddar cheese with equal felicity was also a part of the appeal.In his early years, Shankar had worked as a clerk to Noel Frederick Barwell, the last British barrister of Calcutta High Court. After Barwell's death, he took up public relations as a profession. After a short stint at Philips, he joined Eastern Railway, followed by Dunlop and finally the RPG Group where he worked for three-and-a-half decades."Very few people could write equally well in both English and Bengali. He had acquired fame as an author. But he was also a doyen in the corporate world," recounted Biswarup Mukherjee, who had worked with Shankar for a decade at Victoria House, the CESC headquarters, and was present when the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Samman was handed to him at his residence in Dec 2024."Working with him for several years was a good experience. When I started he used to tutor me, scold me, to tell me what to wear and what not to wear. His demise is a personal loss," said industrialist and RPSG group chairman Sanjiv Goenka .Shankar, in his personal life, lived up to the image of your friendly neighbourhood "galpa dadu (the story-telling grandad)". You could spend hours with him — at his south Kolkata residence or his central Kolkata office cabin — munching on the delicious fish fries he would order for you, even as you digested his tales (always true) and silvery wit.Bengal, without Shankar's stories, would have seen less of the world and would have been less Bengali.