KOLKATA, May 8, 2023 (BSS/PTI) - Eminent Indian Bengali literateur Samaresh Majumdar, who is known for portraying the tumultuous Naxalaite period of the 1970s, died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Monday evening, an official of the establishment confirmed.

Majumdar, 79, has been suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and was undergoing treatment at the hospital for over a month.

"Majumdar has been suffering from COPD for more than 12 years. He has been under our treatment for over a month. His health has deteriorated recently and was on ventilator. He died at around 5.45 PM," the official told PTI.

Born on March 10 in 1944, Samaresh Majumdar was best known for his Animesh series of novels, the second of which (Kalbela) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984. 

Dour ("Run") was his first novel, which was published in Desh in 1976. He was associated with the Ananda Bazar Prakashana, a major publishing house in Calcutta.

Majumdar was also known for creating the detective character Arjun, who is the central character of the 2013 film Arjun - Kalimpong E Sitaharan.

 The Bengali film Buno Haansh, which released on August 15, 2014, is also based on his novel of the same name, which was published in Pujabarshiki Anondolok.

Majumdar was a versatile writer though many of his novels have a touch of thrill and suspense. 

His novels include Aath Kuthuri Noy Daraja, Bandinibash, Daybadhha, and Buno Haansher Palak. Perhaps his most famous novel is Saatkahon. Being a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres, Majumdar worked on short stories, novels, travelogues and children's fiction.

 His quartet of Uttoradhikar, Kalbela Kalpurush and "Mousalkal" is now considered as a modern classic. His first story appeared in Desh literary magazine in 1967. 

Majumdar spent his childhood years in the tea gardens of Dooars, Gairkata in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India.

 He was a student of the Jalpaiguri Zilla School, Jalpaiguri. He completed his bachelor's degree in Bengali literature from Scottish Church College in Kolkata followed by a Master's in Bengali Literature from University of Calcutta.