GUWAHATI: Assam’s noted academic, writer and actor Srutimala Duara passed away in Guwahati on Monday . She breathed her last at 11:15 am on Monday (February 27).

Duara was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a few years ago.

She was an associate professor and head of the department of English at Handique Girls College in Guwahati, Assam.

Srutimala Duara wrote a book titled, “My Journey Through Cancer” after being diagnosed with the fatal disease.

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Srutimala Duara’s death cast a pall of gloom as the student community mourns her demise on social media.

Srutimala Duara was the founder member of Northeast Writers’ Forum, an organisation with eight chapters in the Northeast.

A bilingual writer, her books in English include three novels and four collections of short stories – The Sunset Hour And Other Stories (1998), Waiting for the Last Breath (1999), The Jhoolan Evening (2000) and The Missing Link.

She was awarded the “Naari Shakti Award” by Lions Club in April 2015.

In 2016, she received the “Woman of the Year” award from the International Human Rights Council, Assam Chapter.