Author Shawkat Ali on life support

Author Shawkat Ali has been put on life support.

Doctors placed the 81-year-old writer on life support around 5:30am on Saturday, his son Asif Shawkat Kallol told bdnews24.com.

Doctors would brief the family on his condition at 6pm, Kallol said.

Ali had been admitted to Dhaka’s Lab Aid Hospital on Thursday with a lung infection. He was taken to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after his condition deteriorated rapidly.

Born on Feb 12, 1936, West Bengal’s North Dinajpur, Shawkat became involved with leftist politics in his student days.

After starting out as a journalist, he later shifted to teaching.

He wrote for the leftist newspaper Natun Sahitya. His stories, poems and works for children were also published in Dainik Millat, monthly Samakal, and Daily Ittefaq.

Shawkat won the Ekushey Padak award in 1990 for his contributions to literature. He has also won the Bangla Academy Award, Humayun Kabir Memorial Award, and Ajit Guha Memorial Literary Award.

He won the Philips Literary Award for his trilogy of novels ‘Dakkhinayoner Din’, ‘Kulai Kalsrot’ and ‘Purboratri Probodin’.

His other novels include ‘Pingol Akash’, “Prodoshe Prakritojon’, ‘Opekkha’, ‘Gontobye Ottopor’, ‘Uttorer Khep’, ‘Obosheshe Propat’, ‘Jononi O Jatika’, and ‘Jorh Bijorh’.

He also edited compilations of stories ‘Unmul Basona’, ‘Lelihan Sadh’, ‘Shuno He Lokhindor’, and ‘Baba Apne Jan’.