Chayanika Chowdhury remembers Sanjida Khatun as a forward-thinking figure

The filmmaker pays tribute by calling her a modern visionary who shaped cultural traditions

Renowned filmmaker Chayanika Chowdhury has described the late cultural icon Sanjida Khatun as a highly modern thinker, despite being from an earlier era.

She made the remarks on Tuesday evening at Square Hospital in Panthapath, where she came to pay her final respects to Sanjida Khatun.

Speaking emotionally, Chayanika highlighted Khatun’s lasting impact on Bangladesh’s cultural landscape.

Earlier that afternoon, Sanjida—one of the pioneers of the Bengali cultural movement, a founding member and president of Chhayanaut—passed away in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

She was 91.

Chayanika said: "I struggle to put my feelings into words. In simple terms, the nation has lost a guiding light."

Recalling her fondly, she said: “My relationship with her dates back to my school days in class seven when I was a student at Chhayanaut.

“I have so many memories—taking a rickshaw to music lessons. Because of her, Chhayanaut thrived, and Rabindranath’s songs became deeply rooted in Bangladesh.

“The annual celebration at Ramna Batamul—she was the one who established this tradition.

“She may have been from an earlier generation, but she was remarkably modern. She spent her life fighting for Rabindranath’s philosophy, for language, and for secularism. That struggle must continue,” Chayanika added.

"Those of us who are her admirers, students, and colleagues will carry forward her ideals. She was like incense—her essence will make everything around her even more beautiful."

Earlier, several eminent personalities, including researcher and Liberation War Museum trustee Mofidul Hoque and cultural activist Sohrab Hossain, also came to pay their respects.

Sanjida Khatun was one of the key founders of Chhayanaut in the early 1960s, a cultural institution dedicated to promoting Bengali heritage.

Under her leadership, Chhayanaut grew into a globally recognised organisation for the advancement of classical music and dance.

Besides Chhayanaut, she was a founding member of the National Rabindra Sangeet Sammelan Parishad and also served as the president of Nalanda, an alternative child education institution.

She was an honorary fellow of the Asiatic Society as well.

A multifaceted figure—singer, writer, researcher, organiser, musicologist, and educator—Sanjida was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour the Padma Shri.

She also received the Ekushey Padak, the Bangla Academy Literary Award, and the Rabindra Smriti Award from India’s West Bengal.

She authored 16 books.

On her 90th birthday in 2023, she read out a written statement at an event titled Nabotipurna, saying, "I have found fulfilment in a simple life, content with little.”