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Ekushey Padak-winning poet and novelist Asim Saha has died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital in Dhaka, aged 75.
Poet Yusuf Reza told bdnews24.com that doctors declared him dead around 1:45 pm on Tuesday. His body remains at the hospital.
Mohammad Nurul Huda, the director general of the Bangla Academy, told bdnews24.com: "I have received the news of Asim Saha's death over the phone. I am on my way to the hospital and will discuss it further once I arrive."
The renowned poet had been suffering from diabetes, Parkinson's, and other age-related complications.
Poet Saha was born on February 20, 1949, at his maternal uncle's house in Netrokona district. Although his ancestral home was in Teota village in Manikganj's Shibaloy thana, his family resided in Madaripur because his father, Akhil Bandhu Saha, taught at a college there.
After completing his Higher Secondary Certificate exams and graduating from Nazimuddin College in Madaripur, Saha enrolled in the Bangla Department of Dhaka University in 1969.
When the Liberation War began in 1971, his postgraduate examination was postponed. He eventually received his master's degree in 1973.
He began writing in 1964, and by 1965, he had published an article for children in a Dhaka newspaper. From then on, he produced a diverse body of work, including poems, stories, novels, essays, rhymes, juvenile poems, and songs.
He has published 30 books to date. Some of his notable poetry collections include Purbo Prithibir Osthir Jyotsnai (1982), Kalo Paloker Niche (1986), Punoruddhar (1992), Udbastu (1994), Moddho Rater Protiddhoni (2001), Ondhokare Mrittur Utshob (2006), Muhurter Kobita (2006), Shouro Ramayon (2011), Kobot Khurchhe Imam (2011), Prempodaboli (2011), and Purono Diner Ghashphool (2012).
Saha received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2012 for his contributions to Bengali literature. In 2019, he was honoured with the Ekushey Padak by the government.