Eminent Hindi writer and Jnanpith Award winner Vinod Kumar Shukla passes away

Shukla was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur, on December 2 after experiencing breathing difficulties. He breathed his last at 4.48 pm, his family said. He is survived by his wife, son and a daughter.

His son Shashwat Shukla said he was first hospitalised in October after developing respiratory problems. Though his condition improved and he was discharged, his health deteriorated suddenly earlier this month, necessitating his admission to AIIMS Raipur.

Shukla had a towering yet gentle presence in Hindi literature, and was celebrated for a literary voice that was quiet, deeply humane and profoundly original. His novels, including Naukar Ki Kameez, Khilega To Dekhenge, Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi and Ek Chuppi Jagah, are regarded as landmarks that reshaped modern Hindi prose through their simplicity, subtlety and emotional depth.