Theatre activist Lily Chowdhury, wife of martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury, dies

Theatre activist Lily Chowdhury, the wife of martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury, has died at the age of 93.

She passed away at her Banani residence around 5:30 pm on Monday, her son Asif Munier confirmed.

Lily, who had exhibited her thespian talents on radio, stage and television, had been suffering from old-age complications.

Her body would be kept at the Banani's house until 10:30am on Tuesday for relatives to bid farewell.

It will then be kept at the Central Shaheed Minar from 11:30am to 12:30pm for people from all walks of life to pay homage to the artist.

She is survived by her two sons. One of her other sons, Mishuk Munier, a former Dhaka University journalism teacher and cinematographer, died in a road accident along with filmmaker Tareque Masud in 2011.

Lily will be laid to rest next to her son at the Banani graveyard following a Namaz-e-Janaza after the Zuhr prayers on Tuesday.

Lily was born on Aug 31, 1926 in the village of Jangalia in Tangail.

Due to her father's work, her family would constantly be on the move but she was later admitted to Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School, established by Begum Rokeya in Kolkata.

When Lily was in the seventh grade, she rendered first acting performance in a play by Rabindranath Tagore. When Sakhawat Memorial was closed during World War II, Lily moved to Delhi with her parents and was admitted to Indraprastha Girls' High School. But the change of surroundings did not have much of a bearing on her passion for acting.

Lily returned to Kolkata two years later and finished her entrance test from Sakhawat Memorial. While studying at Lady Brabourne College, she regularly acted in college plays for the next two years.

But as riots broke out all over Kolkata during the Partition, her father Nur Mohammad Mirza decided to move to Dhaka with the family in 1948, where her paths crossed with Munier Chowdhury.

Lily began pursuing her education at Dhaka University. Munier, who was involved in leftist politics, was arrested in March, 1949 and sent to jail. When Munier was released five months later, the two tied the knot.

Munier was arrested again on Feb 25, 1952 while teaching at Dhaka University. This time, he stayed in prison for two years, going on to write the play 'Kabar' behind bars.

But in the final throes of the Liberation War in 1971, the Pakistani invading forces killed thousands of intellectuals, including academics, doctors and journalists with the help of their local collaborators. On Dec 14, 1971, the Al-Badr forces came and captured Munier Chowdhury. That was the last time Lily saw her husband.

Lily, who completed both her undergraduation and post-graduation from Dhaka University, had to go through several hardships in the newly-independent country. In addition to her job, she continued acting on radio, stage and television.

In recognition of her work, Lily Chowdhury had been honoured by the Natyakar-Natyashilpi Sangsad, Television Natyashilpi Natyakar Sangsad and Bangladesh Manbadhikar Natya Parishad.