Famed band music star Shafin Ahmed dies at 63

Shafin was due to sing at a concert in Virginia, US on Jul 20 but was admitted to the hospital after suffering from cardiac arrest

Shafin Ahmed, a founder of the music band Miles, who won the hearts of young people in the eighties and nineties with popular songs like ‘Chand tara surjo nou tumi,’ ‘Jala jala jala ei ontore,’ and ‘Firiye dao,’ has died.

He breathed his last at a hospital in the US state of Virginia on Thursday morning Bangladesh time, said Manam Ahmed, the keyboardist of Miles.

“I got the news of his death at 6:25am. He was undergoing treatment while on a tour in the US. He was scheduled to take part in a concert,” he said.

Shafin, 63, was due to sing at a concert in Virginia. But it was cancelled after he suffered from cardiac arrest. He was admitted to the hospital on the same day and was later placed on life support before his death.

Manam said that Shafin had suffered from heart issues for a long time. He had already undergone an angioplasty. He also suffered from kidney ailments.

“His organs began to fail and he could not survive. He shouldn’t have travelled so frequently with such health conditions. Travel and irregular health habits made him more sick.”

His family will decide on bringing his mortal remains home, Manam said.

Shafin, the son of singer Feroza Begum and composer Kamal Das Gupta - two prominent members of the musical canon in Bangladesh - was a lead singer, songwriter, and bassist. He was born on Feb 14, 1961.

His family's traditions led him to music at an early age. He learned classical music from his father and Nazrul songs from his mother.

Along with his brother Hamin Ahmed, Shafin went to England for his studies and became enraptured by Western music. Thus, he started his journey in the band music scene.

In 1979, Shafin and several others founded Miles. For the first few years, they sang English songs in five-star hotels. Later, in 1982, Miles brought out its first Bengali album.

The album was a huge success. Miles eventually became one of the most popular music acts in Bangladesh.