Legendary Bangladesh singer Abdul Jabbar is dead

Abdul Jabbar, a singer of iconic Bangla songs that inspired freedom fighters during the nation’s struggle for freedom, has passed away, leaving behind his five-decade legacy.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 August 2017, 04:21 AM
Updated : 30 August 2017, 02:26 PM

The 79-year-old breathed his last around 8:30am on Wednesday at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University or BSMMU Hospital, his son Babu Jabbar told bdnews24.com.

The veteran of Bangladesh’s music scene had suffered kidney failures and also had heart and prostrate ailments, doctors said.

He was admitted to BSMMU’s Intensive Care Unit in May and was later transferred to the cabin block.

The singer’s friends, relatives and colleagues had been visiting him in the past few days after the news of his deteriorating condition spread. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu was among the many others, who rushed to the hospital on Wednesday after receiving word of Jabbar’s death.

President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed their condolences over the death of the freedom fighter.

Jabbar was one of the artistes of the 1971 war-time radio station: Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.

The radio station, with help from defected Bengalee officers of the Pakistan army, played a vital role in the war, broadcasting the Proclamation of Independence.

On Mar 30, the station at Chittagong's Kalurghat was shut after the Pakistani troops attacked it.

Broadcasters, who were joined by a host of Bengalee artists, then aired programmes and news from several locations in the Indian states of Agartala and Tripura.

After the wartime Bangladesh government took office on Apr 10, the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra started broadcasting from Kolkata boosting the Bengalee morale during the conflict.

Three of his songs made to the top 20 all-time Bangla songs in 2006 survey by the BBC Bangla -- 'Tumi Ki Dekhechho Kobhu Jiboner Porajoy', 'Salam Salam Hazar Salam' and 'Joy Bangla, Banglar Joy'.

During the early stages of his illness, Jabbar said he "wished to live on this beautiful world for a few more years if possible", leading to outpourings of emotion from fans and music lovers.

He received Bangladesh’s highest civilian awards, Swadhinata Padak and Ekushey Padak, among other national and international awards.

“The songs of Abdul Jabbar were a deep inspiration to our youth and the freedom fighters of the Liberation War,” President Hamid said in his condolence message. “His role in our struggle for independence will never be forgotten.”

“A great citizen has left us,” said Information Minister Inu. “He answered the call of the state and devoted his life to the welfare of the people. He enriched art by staying true to the spirit of the Liberation War.”

Jabbar’s songs will be compiled and archived, the information minister said.

Describing the singer as a 'valiant fighter of Bangladesh's independence', Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor said: "His departure is an irreversible loss for Bangladesh's cultural arena."

The mortal remains will be kept at the mortuary and will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar on Thursday for the last respects following a funeral prayer at the Bangladesh Betar premises.

A second funeral prayer will be held at the Dhaka University Central Mosque, before his burial at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in the afternoon.

Born on Nov 7, 1938 in Kushtia, Jabbar had a penchant for music from early childhood inspired by his mother.

He was an eighth-grader when he started to take formal music lessons from Muhammad Osman in Kushtia. He later took lessons from Moksed Ali Shai and Lutfel Haque and Shibkumar Chatterjee in Kolkata.

It was lyricist Azizur Rahman, who introduced Jabbar to the Dhaka music scenario in 1957. The next year, he was enlisted as an artiste of the radio station.

His playback singing career started in 1962 with music director Robin Ghosh. Two years later, he was enlisted as a TV artiste.

In the late 1960s, he shot to fame by signing songs in protest against the arrest of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on treason charges in the Agartala Conspiracy Case and gradually become active in the struggle for freedom.

In 1969, he started a music school and formed a musical group, the 'Bangabandhu Shilpagosthi', with Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib as its chairperson.

After the Pakistani army launched 'Operation Searchlight' on the night of Mar 25, 1971, to crush the Bengalees' movement of freedom, he crossed the border into India and gradually joined a host of artistes of the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.

In the independent Bangladesh, his singing career evolved around the movie industry. He shot to fame with the song 'O Re Neel Daria' of the 1978 move 'Shareng Bou'.

After a five-decade career of playback singing, he started working on his only album 'Kothay Amar Neel Daria' in 2008, which was released this year.

For his contribution to the Bangladeshi music, he was awarded the 'Ekushey Padak' in 1980 and the 'Swadhinata Padak' in 1996 -- the highest civilian awards by Bangladesh.