Soumitra Chatterjee cremated with full state honours; Bengal bids tearful farewell

Bengal bid a tearful adieu to iconic actor Soumitra Chatterjee as thousands of people walked a few kilometres following a hearse which carried his body to a crematorium where his mortal remains were consigned to flames with full state honours on Sunday evening.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with her ministerial colleagues and a host of film personalities, walked in the procession with others singing Rabindranath Tagore's song, Aguner parashmoni chhoao praane (the touchstone of fire will turn us pure).

Hundreds of people, some of them holding candles, also stood along both sides of the road and crowded rooftops in nearby houses to have a last look at their favourite actor who had mesmerised them with his acting prowess in films and stage for six decades.

Many people were seen holding photographs of the actor in different characters immortalised by him which included ''Apu'' and ''Feluda'', while some are struggling to hold back tears.

Posters reading "Apu is no more in this world" were put up on the roadside. Chatterjee made his acting debut with Satyajit Rays 1959 film ''Apur Sansar'', the English title of which was ''The world of Apu''.

As the last journey ended at Keoratala Crematorium, Chatterjee was given a gun salute and his mortal remains were consigned to flames in presence of the chief minister and other dignitaries.

Not just Banerjee and leaders of her party Trinamool Congress, senior CPI(M) leaders such as Biman Bose, Suryakanta Mishra and Sujan Chakraborty also took part in the procession which started from Rabindra Sadan, a government auditorium where Chatterjee''s body was kept for some time for people to pay their homage.

Soumitra Chatterjee passes away

Soumita Chatterjee passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday after over a month of treatment post contracting COVID-19. Though he recovered from coronavirus, his health kept fluctuating, before succumbing to it.

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(With PTI inputs)