Ramkanai Das undergoes brain surgery

Musician and folk music collector Pandit Ramkanai Das has undergone a brain surgery.

Senior Correspondentand Sylhet Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 August 2014, 03:47 PM
Updated : 29 August 2014, 09:23 PM

He was taken to the ICU at Metropolitan Hospital in Dhaka with a brain haemorrhage on Wednesday.

The surgery took place there around 6pm Friday and it was led by neurosurgeon Kanak Kanti Barua of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

Barua told bdnews24.com there had been massive haemorrhage in Das's brain and nothing could be said in the next 48 hours.

He added the renowned musician was also suffering from cardiac diseases.

Das's son Pinu Sen Das said his father fell ill at his home in Sylhet on Tuesday. He was admitted to a local hospital first where his brain haemorrhage was detected.

He was brought to Dhaka the following day.

Metropolitan Hospital doctors said Das lost consciousness when the haemorrhage spread on Thursday night.

Ramkanai Das was born in Sunamganj in 1935.

In 2014, the government awarded him 'Ekushey Padak', one of the highest civilian awards of Bangladesh, for his contribution in collecting folk songs.

However, Pandit Ramkanai’s career in art and culture took a hit last year when he was accused of plagiarism and being 'dishonest'.

A section of cultural activists of Sylhet had alleged that Das had taken credit for many popular songs which apparently were compositions of other lyricists.

They had demanded dropping Das's name from the list of Ekushey Padak winners this year.

A Sylhet court in November last year had found Das guilty and ordered a stop to the publication of his book 'Sangeet o Amar Jibon' (Music and My Life) in a case filed by late folk song artiste Bidit Lal Das over similar allegations.

Despite these allegations and his conviction, experts and music lovers admit that Pandit Ramkanai by collecting unheard of and missing folk songs from across Bangladesh has hugely contributed in enriching the Bengali music.
Das has inherited music talents from his parents Rasiklal Das and Dibyamoyi Das – both folksingers, lyricists and composers.
He started with singing folk songs but then switched to the classical music. He also started writing and composing songs.
He joined Bangladesh Betar’s Sylhet station in 1967.
Ramkanai Das's music albums include 'Bandhur Banshi Baje' (2004), 'Suroddhonir Kinaray' (2005), 'Raganjali' (2006), 'Osomoye Dhorlam Parhi' (2006), and 'Pagla Majhi' (2010).
His book on classical music -- 'Saral Sangeet Sikkha' -- was published in 2007.
Apart from Ekushey Padak, Das received many other awards and honours including honorary fellowship of Bangla Academy in 2012 and Rabindra Padak in 2000.