Agartala, Mar 27 (IANS): Noted poet Chandra Kanta Murasingh (66), who was Sahitya Akademis first ‘Bhasha Samman awardee from the northeast, passed away in Agartala on Monday following a cardiac arrest, family and hospital sources said.

Murasingh, who wrote poems, prose and drama in both Bengali and Tripura's tribal ‘Koknorok' language, is survived by two sons, a daughter and wife.

In recognition of his contribution to ‘Kokborok' literature, Sahitya Akademi had conferred the prestigious ‘Bhasha Samman' award on him, which is given to poets and authors of non-scheduled languages, in 1997.

Murasingh's monumental contribution was the ‘Kokborok' translation of Rabindranath Tagore's ‘Geetanjali'.

Murasingh was the also the Director of the Northeast Colloquial Language Centre.

His close friend and writer Sekhar Datta said that Murasingh went away as silently as he had come, leaving behind a huge trail of happy memories of his enlightened company for friends and well-wishers.

Scores of people, including politicians and social activists, paid their tributes to Murasingh at the ‘Nazrul Kalakshetra' and Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan here before the cortege headed for his native village in Tuibandal for the last rites.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha along with many intellectuals and organisations, including the Tripura Sanskrity Samannay Kendra, have condoled Murasingh's demise.