Condoling the death of litterateur and Sahitya Akademi president Sunil
Gangopadhyay, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee Wednesday
described him as a "banyan tree" in Bengali literature.
"He was like a real banyan tree in Bengali literature. He was a pioneer," Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee
said the death of the prolific writer had definitely created a deep
void in the world of literature which could not be filled up easily.
"Gangopadhyay taught the Bengalis that they should be proud of themselves," he added.
The legendary Bengali writer died here early Tuesday following cardiac arrest. He was 78.
Having
authored over 200 books over six decades since his first poem "Ekti
Chithi" (A letter) was published in the 1950s, Gangopadhyay created a
niche for himself in the Bengali literary scene.
He touched upon
almost all genres of Bengali literature- novels, children's fiction,
poetry, literary criticism and essays- but poetry was closest to his
heart.
