Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Ekushey Padak-winning poet Al Mujahidi has died at the age of 86 after a prolonged illness.
He passed away at 11am on Thursday at United Hospital in Gulshan, fellow poet Abdul Hye Shikdar said.
His son Shabib Al Mujahidi said his father had been taken to hospital on Wednesday, suffering two cardiac arrests.
"He had blood infection, kidney failure, heart failure -- all at once," he told bdnews24.com.
"Around 1pm he had another cardiac arrest. Shock therapy was given but he could not be saved in the end."
Family members said he had been suffering from heart disease, stroke and kidney complications for the past year, requiring repeated hospital stays.
He was admitted to a private hospital from Apr 23 to May 26 with heart and kidney problems.
After about two weeks at home, his condition worsened and he was readmitted on Jun 4 to a private hospital in Uttara, where he stayed until Jun 15.
A day after returning home, he fell ill again and was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Uttara Crescent Hospital on Jun 16.
Born on Jan 1, 1943, Mujahidi was a poet, researcher, editor and literary figure recognised as one of the most important voices in Bangla poetry of the 1960s.
His work drew deeply on the soil, people, history, culture and identity of Bangladesh, with nature, love, national consciousness and self-reflection running through his verse.
Over a long literary career he wrote fiction, novels, plays and essays alongside his poetry, publishing more than 50 books.
He served for many years as literary editor of The Daily Ittefaq, where he played a significant role in nurturing new writers on the Bangladeshi literary scene.
The government awarded him the Ekushey Padak in 2003 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Bangla language and literature.