Dhaka, Jan 31 (bdnews24.com) — Nutritionist Siddiqua Kabir, known to Bangladeshis across the world for her cookery book, died of old-age complications at a city hospital on Tuesday, doctors say. She was around 80.
Her son Sayed Ahmed told bdnews24.com that the author of 'Siddiqua Kabir's Recipe' passed away peacefully at around 12:30pm at Square Hospitals.
Dr Mirza Nazimuddin, ICU in-charge of the hospital, told bdnews24.com that the former professor of food and nutrition had been in the hospital for a long time and suffering from paralysis.
"She was suffering from multiple problems including a previous stroke," he said, adding that she was basically suffering from old-age complications.
The cookery wizard, a popular face in regular TV shows, became a household name for her recipe book on Bangladeshi food.
Professor Kabir was born in Old Dhaka on May 7, 1931 and was a student of mathematics at Dhaka University when she joined radio for a part-time job. After obtaining her master's degree in 1956, she initially joined Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and later the Eden Girls' College as a lecturer.
She went to the United States of America on a Ford Foundation scholarship to do a course on food, nutrition and institutional administration at Oklahoma State University in 1961 and obtained her MS degree on the same subject in 1963.
On her return home, she joined the College of Home Economics, Dhaka in 1963 and retired as principal there in 1993.
The culinary artist's fame spread from house to house through programmes on cooking. Her TV anchoring started in 1965 on the then Pakistan Television with a programme on cooking titled 'Ghore-Baire'. With the increasing numbers of private channels in the country, Siddiqua Kabir and her cooking programme started gaining popularity.
Siddiqua Kabir wrote a popular book on cooking in Bangla called 'Ranna Khadya Pushti' and also authored 'Bangladesh Curry Cookbook'. She had also written a book in English on cooking.
Her family members said they are yet to decide on where to bury her. The decision would be taken after her daughter arrives from abroad.
Siddiqua Kabir's son told bdnews24.com that she could be buried at Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard or at the Banani graveyard.
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