Poet Shahid Qadri laid to rest at Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard

Poet Shahid Qadri has been laid to rest at Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard at Mirpur in the capital.

His body was buried there at 3pm on Wednesday after a Namaz-e-Janaza held at Dhaka University Central Mosque, said Sammilita Sangskritik Jote President Golam Quddus.

Neela Qadri, the poet’s wife earlier told bdnews24.com that Qadri had wished that his mortal remains be buried in his dearest country.

Qadri, one of the prominent poets of post-1947 Bengali poetry, died in a New York hospital at the age of 74 on Sunday. He was suffering from pneumonia.

The government arranged for Qadri’s body to be flown to Bangladesh.

Qadri had expressed his agony over the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in his poem “Hontarokder Proti” (To the murderers).

The poet had left the country nearly four decades ago and settled in the United States in 1985.

He salutes his dearest country Bangladesh in his poem “Tomake Obhibadon Priyotama” (Salute to You, Dearest).

Hundreds of thousands paid their last respects to Qadri when his body arrived at the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning.

Prime Minister’s Military Secretary Maj Gen Zainul Abedin and Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil paid tributes on behalf of the prime minister while Awami League Joint General Secretary Dipu Moni and Additional Secretary of cultural affairs ministry Manjurur Rahman placed floral wreaths on his coffin.

Workers Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Dhaka University, University of Asia Pacific, Liberation War Museum, Sector Commanders Forum, Bangladesh Writers’ Club, Dhaka Theatre, Bangladesh Gram Theatre, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, and Gana Sanghati Andolan paid their tributes among other social, cultural and political entities.

People from all walks of life including prominent cultural personalities, academicians, journalists and fans of the poet paid tributes.

Shahid Qadri was born in Kalkata on August 14, 1942. His family came to Bangladesh following partition of India in 1947.

He brought in a fresh air by introducing urbanism and a sense of modernity in terms of the use of urban-life-related diction.

His poetry is infused with patriotism, cosmopolitanism and universalism. While it deals with nature and urbanity, it delves deep into the conflicts and the sense of alienation pervading our modern life.

For his contribution to language and literature, Qadri received the Bangla Academy Award and the Ekushey Padak in 1973 and 2011 respectively.

Late Shahid Qadri is revered for his books Uttaradhikar (Inheritance), Tomake Obhibadon Priyatama (Salute to You, Dearest), Kothao Kono Krondon Nei (Weepings Nowhere), and Amar Chumbangullo Pouchhiye Dio (Please, Convey My Kisses).