Bollywood and TV set designer Manas Sinha passes away, absence of Neurology Department in SMCH delayed treatment

A talented artist has lost his life due to the absence of a Neurology department in the Silchar Medical College & Hospital. Manas Kumar Sinha, a first-batch student of the Visual Arts department of Assam University and a well-known Bollywood set designer, met with an accident on Thursday afternoon. He was hit by a speeding lorry on his way home in an auto on National Highway Road. He was immediately rushed to the Silchar Medical College Hospital in critical condition and doctors said that he needed immediate treatment in the neurology department. He sustained a head injury, but could not undergo a CT scan at SMCH due to the equipment being broken. Then his friends took him to Guwahati without any further delay. But poor Manas died on his way before even reaching Guwahati.

Manas was 48 years old at the time of his death and had been living in Bhakatpur area of Silchar since the lockdown. His native home is in Lala Bazar of Hailakandi district. He has been working as a designer on various reputed sets including Balaji Studio in Mumbai for a long time. On January 25 last year, a statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was erected in the Sonai region, the fibre sculpture of which was made by him. Back then, Sinha shared his thoughts with Barak Bulletin.

To become an artist belonging from a financially backward background is a luxury. However, that dream kept haunting him and he moved to Mumbai after completing his education at Assam University. He has worked with many great artists there but never got publicity for it. Once his parents fell ill, he decided to come home and stay there for a while. Meanwhile, the lockdown had started, shooting in Mumbai had almost stopped by then, which created an opportunity for him to serve his parents from his home.

Regarding the making of Vajpayee’s idol, he said, “As a person, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is devotional to me. Therefore, I could not miss the opportunity to make his statue. It was made in a very short time and I am happy that I was able to finish the work.”

Manas Sinha was the Joint Secretary of Saksham Social Organisation. He used to teach idol making to the differently-abled people. During the construction of the statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Sonai, he was also accompanied by two differently-abled people in the process. After the accident on Thursday, the members of Saksham stood by the deceased and his family.

Mithun Roy, a member of the organization, said the deceased met with the accident at around 12:30 pm and was rushed to Silchar Medical College Hospital immediately. After initial treatment, they were informed to take the victim to the neurology department as soon as possible. Since Silchar Medical College Hospital does not have a neurology department, doctors advised them to take him to Guwahati as soon as possible for further treatment.

Manas Sinha sustained a head injury during the accident and as the CT scan machine in the SMCH was faulty, the test could not be performed there. Without any further delay, his friends took him in an ambulance. But unfortunately, he gave up even before reaching Guwahati. His body was brought to Silchar Medical College Hospital on Friday morning, and will be handed over to his family once the autopsy and other procedures are completed.

On behalf of the Department of Visual Arts, Assam University, Professor Nirmal Kanti Roy said, “Manas Sinha was one of the best artists we ever had. In 1996, we both got admitted to the University together. On one hand, as he was a very good artist, on the other hand, he was also a very good man. With a Master’s degree in painting, he has long worked with a reputation for sculpture in Mumbai. Primarily, he worked as a set designer in TV serials. He was even in the set design for the remake of Ramananda Sagar’s Ramayana serial. He has also worked in several serials on Sony TV. It is not a trivial matter to work on big sets of Bollywood for such a long time. We are all saddened by his death, and we promise to be there for his family in such a tough time.”

It is to be noted that this isn’t the first instance of a patient dying due to lack of adequate medical facilities in Barak Valley. It has been seen in the last couple of years that several patients had to give up their lives due to the lack of basic life support facilities that are not available in this Valley.