CALCUTTA, May 19: Doyen of Bengali theatre Sambhu Mitra, who passed away today, remained an inexhaustible source of inspiration even after bidding adieu to the stage years ago.

With a career spanning over five decades, Mitra was held in high esteem as a thespian as well as an individual. A versatile genius -- actor, director, producer, dramatist, writer, and above all a thinker -- he chose to shun media attention and dedicated himself to theatre.

``I am an ordinary man who has quietly avoided many things in life. In death too, I should be allowed to depart in silence, in a decent way, dressed in ordinary clothes, and with a bit of detachment,'' his last wishes said.

In appreciation of his contribution to drama and society as a whole, national and international recognitions were heaped on him. He received the Magsaysay Award and the Padma Bhusan in 1976 and the Kalidas Samman with humility.

Decades after he stormed the theatre world, Mitra continued to stir the imagination of his innumerable admirers. He inspired young directors and kept himself abreast of new developments in theatre, wrote several books despite his failing eyesight, including one on the relevance of Rabindranath Tagore's play Raktakarabi.With Mitra's death, an era of good theatre, which began with Girish Ghosh and Sishir Bhaduri, has come to an end. Among some of the extraordinary roles he performed on stage were that of `Rahimuddin' in Chenra Taar, `Atin' in Char Adhay, `Binod' in Ulukhagra, `Tapan' in Putul Khela, `Dr Purnendu Guha' in Dasachakra, `Chanakya' in Mudra Rakshasa, besides Oedipus and Galileo.Mitra's talent came to the fore with Nabanna (1944). Set against the backdrop of the great Bengal famine, it revolutionised theatre by transforming it into a highly skillful craft. By his restrained portrayals of `Dayal', Mitra showed the urban audience that drama could be absorbing without being theatrical. Mitra, who joined the IPTA in 1943, left it five years later to form his own group Bohurupee. But the aim remained the same -- to do something for the propagation of good theatre.It was this search for relevant theatre that brought Mitra close to the works of Rabindranath Tagore. In one of his essays, he said he was inspired by his discussions with litterateur Annada Shankar Ray, who had remarked in 1950 that theatres in Calcutta were then cheap imitations of the West. He had asked interested people to build an indigenous theatre to explore the works of Tagore. Mitra took this suggestion to heart.``We staged Raktakarabi. Before that we had performed Chaar Adhay. From the staging of Raktakarabi, I realised that we had hit upon a new style in Indian theatre,'' he wrote.

Mitra's was a unique theatre family. His wife late Tripti Mitra -- they performed together in many of his productions -- and daughter Saoli Mitra, were both brilliant performers in their own right.

Recipient of the Deshikottama from Visva Bharati, Mitra was also honoured with D.Litt (honoris causa) by the Rabindra Bharati and Jadavpore universities.He coined his own definition of good theatre. He said if one could create a perfect understanding through ensemble acting and involve the heart and soul of each member in the production, the result was ``good theatre''.