Dhaka, Jan 28 (bdnews24.com) – Hundreds of mourners paid their last respects to Waheedul Haque at the Chhayanaut cultural organisation in Dhaka Sunday.
From there, adherents carried the flag-draped coffin of the frontline leader of Bangladesh's cultural movement to the Central Shaheed Minar for many others to pay homage.
Waheedul Haque, who conceived the Ramna celebrations of the Bengali New Year, died at the age of 75.
The noted journalist and Tagore song exponent had been under treatment at Dhaka's BIRDEM hospital for several weeks with worsening pneumonia conditions and failing kidneys.
Waheedul Haque, who played a pioneering role in the formation of Chhayanaut in the early 1960s, actively pursued a campaign towards organising the Tagore centenary celebrations in the then East Pakistan in 1961 braving the regime of the Pakistani dictator Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan.
Born 16 March 1932, Waheedul Haque, known affectionately as Waheed Bhai to young and old alike, enriched the world of Bangladesh's journalism with his piercing analyses of national political events.
His editorials and post-editorials, both in English and Bangla, were considered extremely valuable for their incisive nature as well as their rich and refined linguistic style.
A defining moment came for Waheedul Haque when the Bengali nation plunged into a war of liberation in March 1971.
He made his way to India and under the auspices of the Mujibnagar provisional government made concerted moves to organise cultural and political events geared towards popularising the Bangladesh cause abroad.
In post-liberation Bangladesh, he went into a full-scale pursuit of journalistic and cultural activities.
In his long journalistic career, he served as associate editor of the New Nation and then as joint editor of the Daily Star.
His role in setting up such organisations as Onushilon introduced a new dimension to Bengali culture.
Waheedul Haque was a man whose vast experience of life's many shores left deep imprints on his followers.
His knowledge of trees, plants and flowers was prodigious.
In music, he was often considered a martinet where a proper presentation of Rabindrasangeet was concerned.
He often travelled the length and breadth of the country delivering talks on music to innumerable young men and women.
Waheedul Haque was admitted to the hospital earlier this month with severe pneumonia, kidney and heart failure.
He was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) about a week ago, as his condition began to deteriorate.
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