New Delhi: Comic characters 'Bantul The Great', 'Handa Bhonda', 'Nonte Phonte' have been the companion of several generations of teenagers growing up in West Bengal. On Tuesday, their creator and Padma Shri recipient Narayan Debnath passed away in Kolkata after a prolonged illness.


Narayan Debnath was 97 and is survived by two sons, a daughter and a granddaughter. Debnath was put on ventilator support after his condition deteriorated on December 24, PTI reported.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Debnath brightened several lives through his works, cartoons and illustrations.


"His works reflected his intellectual prowess. The characters he created will remain eternally popular. Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti," PM Modi tweeted.


Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Debnath's death was an immeasurable loss to the world of literary creativity and comics.


"Extremely sad that the noted litterateur, illustrator, cartoonist, and creator of some immortal characters for children's world, Narayan Debnath is no more. He had created Bantul the Great, Handa-Bhonda, Nonte-Fonte, figures that have been etched in our hearts for decades," Mamata Banerjee tweeted.



"We were proud to bestow upon him Bengal's highest award Banga Bibhusan in 2013. His passing away is certainly an immeasurable loss to the world of literary creativity and comics. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, readers and countless fans and followers," Banerjee said.


Works Of Narayan Debnath 


Narayan Debnath brought out his first comic strip -- 'Handa Bhonda' -- in 1962 in the children's magazine 'Suktara. It was followed by 'Bantul The Great' (1965) and 'Nonte Phonte' (1969).


Debnath's last comic strip of 'Nonte Phonte' was published in the 2017 Durga Puja issue of Suktara.


'Rabi Chobi' -- a comic strip that was published in May 1961 to mark the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore -- is also one of Debnath's masterpieces. 


Born in a family of jewellers in Shibpur in Howrah, Debnath had an enthusiasm for sketching jewellery designs from a very early age. He completed his graduation from the Government Art College in Kolkata.


After college, Debnath initially started freelancing for a few advertising agencies before getting in touch with Deb Sahitya Kutir. The rest was history.


Debnath was conferred with Padma Shri in 2021. He was conferred with the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013 and the West Bengal government also honoured him with Banga Bibhushan.


The Rabindra Bharati University gave him an honorary D.Litt in 2015.


Debnath was confined to his Shibpur home for the last five years as his health condition deteriorated with age. The cost of his treatment at the hospital was borne by the state government.


(With PTI inputs)