Friends, followers bid farewell to Dwijen Sharma

Fans, friends and followers showered the mortal remains of naturalist Dwijen Sharma with flowers as the body was taken to Bangla Academy and the Central Shaheed Minar on Sunday.

The revered science author died during treatment at Square Hospital at the age of 88 on Friday.

He had been suffering from old-age complications, including lung infection and kidney ailments.

The body was taken to Bangla Academy around 11am.

Essayist and poet Hayat Mahmud, Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra University Professor Biswajit Ghosh, veteran theatre personality Ramendu Majumder, writer and historian Prof Muntassir Mamoon, Editor of the Dhaka edition of Kali O Kalam Abul Hasnat, writer Anwara Syed Haq, writer Ramoni Mohan Debnath and litterateur and educationist Muhammad Enamul Haq were there. 

Bangla Academy plans to publish Sharma’s biography, its Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan said.

“Dwijen Sharma was next to none and I do not see anyone who can take his legacy forward. He always stressed accentuating natural beauty in Dhaka,” said Khan.

Hayat Mahmud, a family friend of Sharma, said their friendship deepened after Sharma joined a publishing house in the Soviet Union where Mahmud was engaged in research.

“Despite being a great personality, he never bragged about anything. He used to come to me if he needed any kind of linguistic assistance in writing,” said Mahmud.

Describing Sharma as “a silent nature-lover,” Ramendu Majumder said: “He used to guide the youth to know trees. He planted trees wherever he went.”

Sharma’s mortal remains were taken to the Central Shaheed Minar around 11:30am where Sammilito Sangskritik Jote led a programme to pay tributes.

Sharma was born in 1929 in Sylhet's Moulvibazar. His father Chandrakanta Sharma was a practitioner of herbal medicines. It was his father's work that first introduced young Sharma to nature.

He graduated with honours from Kolkata City College and later obtained a master’s degree from Dhaka University. He taught botany at Karimganj College, BM College and Notre Dame College.

Sharma went on to write more than a dozen books on the role of nature in human life. He received the Bangla Academy award in 1987 and Ekushey Padak in 2015.

He had borrowed poetic expressions from Jibanananda Das, Jasimuddin and folklores such as the Maymensingh Gitika to describe to his readers the many species of plants, flowers and fruits.

One of his famous books is 'Shyamoli Nishorgo' or Green Nature.

A leading advocate for a nature-friendly city, he worked tirelessly to nourish and create green patches within the capital.

"I will not be here one day, but these trees are here to stay. They'll provide oxygen people need to breathe. There is no greater joy than this in life," he had famously told a programme.

Sharma’s mortal remains were taken to Notre Dame College premises afterwards.

The last rites would be performed at Rajarbagh Borodeshwari Kali Temple in Sabujbag, the writer’s wife Debi Sharma had said.