Sadi Mohammad laid to eternal rest at Mohammadpur

Sadi Mohammad, one of the foremost Rabindra Sangeet exponents in the country, has been laid to eternal rest on Thursday at the capital's Mohammadpur Jame Masjid Complex Graveyard. 

The burial of the revered artist took place at 2 pm after the Zuhr prayers.

On Wednesday night, Sadi Mohammad's hanging body was found at his ancestral family home, discovered by his brother and eminent dance artist Shibli Mohammad.

"My brother went to his room to practise after breaking his fast on Wednesday. Afterwards, he instructed his helper to go, saying that he would call him once finishing his practice, which felt strange to me as he never shuts the door when rehearsing," a devastated Shibli Mohammad described the incident to the media.

"I went to his room and discovered the door closed from inside and found no response, not even after a forceful knock, we went on breaking the door and I observed that my brother was no more," he described.

The Rabindra Sangeet maestro was immediately taken to the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, and the duty doctor confirmed that he took his own life.

Mohammadpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tofazzal Hossain also echoed the same after the primary evaluation of the incident. However, no postmortem was done of the body upon the decision of the family.

Artistes from the cultural arena rushed to pay their last respects to Sadi Mohammad before his burial on Thursday. Among them were many music stars and actors including his nephew and media personality Syed Gousul Alam Shaon, eminent singer Khurshid Alam, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Anima Roy, Adity Mohsin, Lily Islam, Khairul Alam Sabuj, Kabir Bakul, Laisa Islam Lisa, and many others.

Numerous celebrities and fans of the esteemed musician shared tributes to the great singer on social media. Many of them have, however, expressed their frustration and grief over the fact that, despite being a committed and distinguished Rabindra Sangeet singer and hailing from a family of a martyr, he did not receive state honours and awards. He also left a burning question for the state regarding what the requirements should be to receive state honours.

"My brother would get some satisfaction if he got any state recognition while he was alive. Sadi Mohammad is my elder brother, and it was embarrassing for me when I got the Ekushey Padak this year before him. I told him that I would not receive the honour in person because of this reason but he insisted and comforted me, saying that he was proud of me, and I should receive the award as an acknowledgement of my contribution to the country's culture as a dance performer," Shibli Mohammad told media.

"However, when I handed him the invitation to go to the Ekushey Padak ceremony alongside me, he politely refused because he felt that many people would ask why he is yet to receive the honour. He was mentally devasted after our mother's demise last year, and regarding the awards - he felt that he got overlooked despite being a lifelong devoted artist," Shibli said.

Sadi Mohammad was born on 4 October, 1957 to martyr Salim Ullah and Zebunnessa. His father was a leader of the Bangladesh Awami League and was brutally murdered in 1971, which he witnessed himself.

After the country's independence, Sadi Mohammad was enrolled on Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)'s Department of Civil Engineering. He did not carry on with his studies there and went to Santiniketan after receiving a scholarship in 1975 and attended Visva-Bharati University to complete his graduation and post-graduate studies in Rabindra Sangeet.

In his lifetime, Sadi Mohammad received only one state honour - the Rabindra Award by Bangla Academy in 2015.