Doyen of modern Bengali poetry, Jnanpith Award and Padma Bhushan Shankha Ghosh breathed his last on Wednesday morning, succumbing to COVID-19.

He was in home isolation after testing positive on April 14. But his condition deteriorated since Tuesday evening. He was on ventilation since then and passed away at around 11 am.

Shankha Ghosh was considered one of the most popular poets in the Post Jibanananda Das era. His demise will create a void in the literary world.

Sankha received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for Babar-er Prarthana. He was honoured with a second Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999. In 2011, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan award for his excellence in Bengali literature.