MEMSAHEB creator Nimai Bhattacharyya is no more

Nimai Bhattacharya, senior journalist-writer, passed away in Kolkata on Thursday, June 25 due to age-old related ailments. He was 89.  After Partition of India, he moved to West Bengal from then East Pakistan where he passed Matriculation examination. He joined Ripon College now Surendra Nath College affiliated to the University of Calcutta. He passed Intermediate examination and then became a Bachelor of Arts. He debuted in journalism while studying in college. He had worked for several newspapers in Kolkata and Delhi. Senior journalist Pranab Kumar Chakravarty recalled that he had first met him in New Delhi’s INS Building when he was serving famed Hindi Daily Dainik Vishwamitra. At the request of his sister-in-law, he had presented a copy of a book penned by a Delhi based lady writer to Nimai Bhattacharyya. Mr Chakravarty recalls, “After I said, I felt honoured to meet you, a great writer, Nimai da said that he cannot write only tried to write,” and accepted the book. He spent most of his journalism career of three decades in Delhi before returning to Kolkata in 1984. As a political, diplomatic and parliamentary journalist, he rubbed shoulders with many bigwigs. Some of his books reflect the underbelly of national politics. His first novel was published in now-defunct Amrit Bazar Patrika in 1963. His next four novels were published in the newspaper. After that, he had taken his profession as writing. He had written more than 150 books. But one of his most talked-about works is Memsaheb. A film was made based on a book named Memsaheb about a young journalist just posted in the national capital and his would-be spouse who was a teacher in Kolkata and was accidentally killed in a bomb blast. In the memorable Bengali movie, then matinee idol Uttam Kumar and Aparna Sen played the lead roles.