Nabarun Bhattacharya

Nabarun Bhattacharya (1948–2014) was born into a family of writers, filmmakers, artists and academics—his father was playwright Bijan Bhattacharya; his mother, writer and activist Mahasweta Devi; his maternal grandfather, well-known Kallol-era writer, Manish Ghatak. Educated at Ballygunge Government School, Bhattacharya went on to study geology at Asutosh College and then English literature at City College.

A journalist from 1973 to 1991 at a foreign news agency, he gave up that career in order to become a full-time writer. Herbert was published in 1992 and won the Bankim and Sahitya Akademi awards. Some of his best-known works are Kangal Malshat (2003), Ei Mrityu Upotyoka Aamaar Desh Na (2004) and Phyataroor Bombachak (2004). Novelist and short-story writer, he was also a prolific poet and, from 2003 until his death, editor of the Bhashabandhan journal.