Gandhian and noted Hindi poet and writer Vishnu Prabhakar died in New Delhi on Saturday (11th April). He was 97. The poet had been ailing for a long time. Prabhakar was best known for his famous biography of Bengali littérateur Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, “Awara Maseeha”. He was also very famous for the trademark Gandhi cap he wore till the end of his life.

 

Prabhakar is survived by two sons and two daughters. He had said that after his death, his body should be donated for medical research. In 2005, he made headlines when he threatened to return the Padma Bhushan for alleged misconduct at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier, he had been awarded with Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Akademi award for his novel, “Ardhanarishvara” (The Androgynous God or Shiva).

 

Janardan Dwivedi, Congress general secretary and a Prabhakar aficionado told the media that, the poet's death is a great loss to Indian literature. He was the last Hindi litterateur who upheld the old high traditions and values of the freedom struggle in his writings, he added.