'Ek doctor ki maut' writer Ramapada Chowdhury dies

Acclaimed Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury, whose story 'Abhimanyu' was made into a Hindi movie 'Ek doctor ki maut', died at a city hospital today, his family said.

Chowdhury was 95. He left behind his wife and two daughters.

He was admitted to the hospital on July 21 with old age ailments including lung problem. He died of cardiac arrest at 6:30 PM, a spokesman of the hospital said.

'Abhimanyu' was based on the life and work of Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay who created India's first and the world's second test-tube baby in 1978. Director Tapan Sinha turned the story into a award winning Hindi film 'Ek doctor ki maut' in 1990.

Mrinal Sen's Hindi film 'Ek din achanak' (1989) was also based on Chowdhury's story 'Beej'.

Chowdhury had penned famous literary works such as 'Pratham Prahar' (1954), 'Banpalashir padabali' (1960), 'Ekhoni' (1969), 'Kharij', 'Bari badle jay' (1988), 'Abhimanyu' (1982).

He was conferred the Sahitya Academy award for 'Bari badle jay' in 1988.

Born on December 28, 1922 at Kharagpur, Chowdhury's most active years were between 1950s and '80s.

His last book, 'Harano Khata' was published in 2015.

Many of his works had also been made into critically acclaimed Bengali films 'Dwiper nam tiarang' (1963), 'Ekhoni' (1970), 'Picnic' (1972), 'Banpalashir padabali' (1973), 'Je jekhane danriye' (1974) and 'Kharij (1982).

He was also the recipient of Rabindra Puraskar, Ananda Puraskar and Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize.