Noted writer and novelist Shawkat Ali has been put on life support as his physical condition has deteriorated due to a severe blood infection. He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday. He is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of Labaid Hospital at Dhanmondi in Dhaka, his son journalist Asif Shawkat Kallol said.
“My father has been on life support since early Saturday. He has yet not regained consciousness as the sodium level in his body increased,” he said, adding that the novelist has also been suffering from renal, cardiac and lung diseases.
Born on February 12, 1936, at Raiganj in Dinajpur, he grew up in a politically and culturally conscious family.
On completion of his master degree in 1958, he joined a Dinajpur school as a teacher and then Thakurgaon College in 1959.
His novels, including Jatra, Prodoshe Prakritojon, Dakkhinayaner Din and Uttarer Khep, occupy a major part of Bangla literature. Of them, Uttarer Khep was adapted into a film.
Shawkat Ali received Philips Literary Award in 1986 and 1989, Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1968, Lekhak Shibir Medal in 1978, Ajit Guha Literary Prize in 1982, and Ekushe Padak for his contributions to the growth and development of Bangla literature.