CHANDIGARH: Noted Punjabi playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakh died at his residence in Mansa in Punjab today.
The 75-year-old Sahitya Akademi awardee had been ailing for some time.
He was discharged from a private hospital in Mohali last week after being hospitalised for a month.
The Punjab Assembly paid homage to the writer by observing a two-minute silence for the departed soul.
The state government had earlier said it would bear the treatment expenses of Aulakh.
Aulakh's mortal remains would be consigned to flames at Mansa tomorrow.
Aulakh had authored several books in Punjabi. In 1970s, he became popular as a dramatist and his plays won appreciation both at state and national level. Small and marginal farmers and the complexities of rural life remained his focus.