Kolkata/IBNS, Feb. 20 -- Eminent Bengali novelist Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay, popularly known by his pen name Shankar, died in a Kolkata hospital on Friday afternoon, family members confirmed.

He was 93 and had been suffering from prolonged ill health.

One of the most widely read and influential writers in modern Bengali literature, Shankar is survived by his two daughters.

Shankar earned enduring acclaim for novels that captured the emotional, moral and social complexities of urban life, particularly in post-Independence Kolkata.

His works resonated across generations for their sharp observation, empathy for flawed characters and unflinching engagement with ambition, loneliness and compromise.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerj...