Narayan Debnath was one of India's most popular comic artists, and a pioneer in Bangla comics. His family came from Bangladesh, but Debnath spent most of his life in Shibpur, Howrah in India. He studied fine arts at the Indian Art College during the 1940s. He was an illustrator of children's books, among others for Deb Sahitya Kuthir.
He eventually turned to comics and created 'Handa-Bhonda', one the first original Bengali comics. Debnath then created the color comic 'Batul the Great', a superhero whose adventures still appear in Shuktara. Debnath has also contributed series like 'Potolchand the Magician' and 'Nonte Phonte' to Kishore Bharati.
Photo of Debnath © Paul Matures.