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Published : 10 May 2025, 10:30 AM
Legendary musicologist, singer, composer, researcher and writer Mustafa Zaman Abbasi has died at the age of 89.
He passed away at York Hospital in Dhaka’s Banani at 5:50am on Saturday.
His eldest daughter, singer Samira Abbasi, announced his departure on her Facebook page with a picture of her father, saying: “So I won’t get to see you ever again!”
He was hospitalised with breathing problems, said Md Fahim, an official of the hospital.
According to the family, his funeral will be held at Gulshan Azad Mosque following Zuhr prayers on Saturday.
Abbasi was the third son of legendary Bhawaiya folk singer and composer Abbasuddin Ahmed. His uncle Abdul Karim was also a prominent folk singer.
His sister Ferdausi Rahman is also a musician. His eldest brother Mustafa Kamal was the chief justice of Bangladesh. Nashid Kamal, daughter of Mustafa, is a Nazrul Sangeet singer.
Born on Dec 8, 1936 in Balarampur village of India’s Koch Bihar, he was trained by Indian classical musicians such as Ustad Muhammad Hussain Khasru and Ustad Gul Mohammad Khan.
Abbasi, who spent his entire life with music, was also a researcher. He served as a senior research scholar at the "Kazi Nazrul Islam and Abbasuddin Research and Study Centre" of Independent University, Bangladesh.
He was awarded the Ekushey Padak for his contribution to music in 1995 and received the lifetime achievement award at the Nazrul Mela in 2013 for his work on national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
He anchored television programmes such as "Amar Thikana" and "Bhora Nadeer Banke" at Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television. He also wrote newspaper columns.
Abbasi penned more than 50 books in total, including two on folk Bhawaiya music with staff notation of about 1,200 songs.
He published several books on poems of Jalaluddin Rumi, Niffari and Sultan Bahu. His books include "Abbasuddin Ahmed, Manush o Shilpi", "Kazi Nazrul Islam, Man and Poet" and "Puribo Ekaki".
His wife Asma Abbasi was a teacher and author. The couple’s two daughters are Samira and Sharmini Abbasi.
