Mani Sankar Mukherjee (commonly known as ''Sankar'' in both Bengali and English-language literature) is an Indian writer in the

Bengali language Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...

, who also served as the

Sheriff of Kolkata The Sheriff of Kolkata is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Sheriff has an office and staff in Calcutta High Court but does not have executive powers. Mumbai (Bo ...

. He grew up in

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Personal life

Sankar is the son of Avaya Mukherjee known as Gouri Mukherjee. Sankar's father died while he was still a teenager, as a result of which Sankar became a clerk to the last British barrister of the

Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...

, Noel Frederick Barwell. At the same time he entered in Surendranath College (formerly Ripon College, Calcutta) for study. He worked in various field as typewriter cleaner, private tutor, Hawker for his living.

Literary career

After Noel Barwell's sudden death, ''Sankar'', the professional version of his name adopted for the law courts, sought to honor Barwell. "First, I wanted to build a statue. It was not possible. I then wanted to name a road. Even that was not feasible. And then I decided to write a book about him," according to Sankar. That impetus led to his first novel, about Barwell, that according to some critics is perhaps the most stimulating -- ''Kato Ajanare'' (So Much Unknown). Around the same time in 1962, Sankar conceived ''Chowringhee'' on a rainy day at the waterlogged crossing of Central Avenue and Dalhousie - a busy business district in the heart of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The novel, set in the opulent hotel he called Shahjahan, was made into a cult movie in 1968. It is wrongly said that Sankar marketed his literary work to Bengali households with the marketing slogan ''A bagful of Sankar'' (Ek Bag Sankar) and collections of his books were sold in blue packets through this marketing effort. He has been rewarded with

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

on 18 March 2021 for his outstanding autobiographical work of ''Eka Eka Ekashi.''

Works

Bengali_author_Sankar_speaks_at_the_UN_-_6105163912

* ''Jekhane Jemon'' (travelogue) (''As It Is There'') * ''Kato Ajanare'' (novel) (''The Many Unknowns'') - his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

. * ''Nivedita Research Laboratory'' (novel) * ''Abasarika'' * ''Chowringhee'' (novel) (1962) * ''Swarga Martya Patal''- (collection of three stories: '' Jana Aranya'' (''The Sea of People''), ''

Seemabaddha ''Seemabaddha'' ( Romanization of Bengali, ''Shimabôddho''; English title: ''Company Limited'') is a 1971 in film, 1971 social drama Bengali language, Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on the novel ''Seemabaddha'' by Mani Shan ...

'' (''Limited Company'') and ''Asha Akangsha'' (''Hopes and Desires'')) * ''Gharer Madhye Ghar'' * ''Nagar Nandini'' * ''Banglar Meye'' * ''Simanta Sambad'' * ''Kamana Basana'' * ''Purohit Darpan'' * ''Sri Sri Ramkrishna Rahsyamrito'' * ''Purohit Darpan'' * ''Mone Pare'' * ''Mansamman (1981)'' * ''Samrat O Sundari'' (novel) * ''Charan Chhunye Jai'' * ''Bangalir Bittasadhana - Saharar Itikatha'

* ''Jaabar Belay'' * ''Mathar Opor Chhad'' * ''Patabhumi'' * ''Rasabati'' * ''Ek Bag Sankar'' (collection) * ''Kamana Basana'' * ''Sonar Sangsar'' * ''Chhayachhabi'' (collection) * ''Muktir Swad'' * ''Subarno Sujog'' * ''ABCD'' * ''Charan Chhunye Jai(Vol 2)'' * ''Bittabasana'' * ''Eka eka ekashi'' * ''Rup tapos''

Works in translation

*''Chowringhee'' translated by Arunava Sinha into English and . Translation is pending into Italian. In 2013 the novel has been translated into French by Dr Philippe Benoit, sanskritist and head of Bengali department of Paris National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), published by Gallimard house. *''The Middleman'' translated by Arunava Sinha from "Jana Aranya" into English . *''The Great Unknown'' translated by Soma Das from "Kato ajanare" into English . *''Thackeray Mansion'' translated by Sandipan Deb from "Gharer Madhye Ghar" into English .

Screen adaptations

*Many of Sankar's works have been made into films. Some notable ones are – ''

Chowringhee Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbo ...

'', '' Jana Aranya'' and ''

'', out of which the last two were directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

. *In 1959,

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during hi ...

started making a film Kato Ajanare based on Sankar's first novel. * His novel, ''Man Samman'', was turned into a film by

Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee (10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter in Hindi Cinema. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he became associated with what came to be known as middle cinema or middle-of-the-road cinema filmmaker ...

, Sheesha (1986), starring Mithun Chakraborty, Moonmoon Sen and Mallika Sarabhai.

Awards

*1993- Bankim Puraskar for Gharer Moddhe Ghar *

: 2021 * ABP Ananda Sera Bangali Award ("Sera'r Sera"): 2022

References

Citations

Sources

* '
I am happy I had a ticket to ride in the 50s: novelist Sankar
' Indo-Asian News Service, 22 August 2008

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sankar Writers from Kolkata Bengali writers Bengali-language writers Surendranath College alumni University of Calcutta alumni People from Howrah district 1933 births Living people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali Sheriffs of Kolkata People from North 24 Parganas district