Social media mourns death of renowned storyteller Ankit Chadha

The news of the sudden demise of renowned storyteller Ankit Chadha has left his fans in a state of deep shock.

Many followers took to social media platforms to offer their condolences.

"Gone to soon #AnkitChadha ! A robust young exponent of a centuries-old story telling tradition suddenly fell silent on Wednesday evening...," Urdu poetry foundation Rekhta wrote on Twitter.

"#AnkitChadha was India's youngest #Dastango who weaved biographical accounts of personalities like #Kabir and Rahim, Dara Shikoh and #Majaaz in his #Dastangoi form of Urdu storytelling," wrote Kitab Khana.

"Ankit Chadha the dastango story teller from India has passed away in Pune. My condolences to all Indian friends as well as his friends and family all around the world. Only last month he performed at Harvard which I could not attend because I had other commitments," Pakistani lawyer Yasser Latif Hamdani wrote on Twitter.

Renowned storyteller Ankit Chandha from Delhi had drowned into a lake at Kanshet village near Pune on May 10.

Chandha drowned at about 5:30 pm, when he along with his female friend had gone to the lake for a walk.

While both were sitting beside the lake, Ankit accidently fell into it and drowned, as he could not swim.

His female friend asked the nearby villagers for help, but by the time they reached, Ankit had drowned.

Nothing suspicious has been found in the postmortem report and the body has been handed over to Ankit's brother, according to Vaibhal Sapkal, a police official of Kamshet.

Ankit had come to Pune to perform in the Daten-e-Kabir at the Gyaan Adab Centre on Saturday.

He is known for his Urdu poetry.