Group Theatre Federation to pay final respects to Mustafa Monwar
The Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation will organise a public tribute to eminent artist, cultural personality and freedom fighter Mustafa Monwar at the Central Shaheed Minar tomorrow (June 30), following his death this morning at around 8:30am.
In a Facebook statement, the federation's General Secretary, Kamal Bayezid, paid tribute to the veteran artist, saying, "Master artist, teacher and freedom fighter Mustafa Monwar passed away this morning. We pay our deepest respects to him and express our profound grief at his passing. A figure like Mustafa Monwar is born perhaps once in a century, and the void he leaves behind can never truly be filled."
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He added, "The Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation will keep Mustafa Monwar's body at the Central Shaheed Minar from 11:00am to 12:30pm tomorrow, so that people can pay their respects. We call upon everyone to gather at the Shaheed Minar and honour his memory."
According to his nephew, Zulfikar Rahman, Monwar's body will first be taken to Bangladesh Television at 9:00am in recognition of his longstanding association with the institution and his contribution to its formative years.
From there, it will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar before proceeding to the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. His namaz-e-janaza will be held after Zuhr prayers at the Dhaka University Central Mosque, after which he will be laid to rest at Banani Graveyard.
Widely known as Bangladesh's "Puppet Man", Mustafa Monwar was one of the country's most influential cultural figures. Born on September 1, 1935, he made pioneering contributions to puppetry, painting, visual arts, television and children's cultural programming, leaving a lasting imprint on Bangladesh's artistic landscape.
He was honoured with the Ekushey Padak in 2004 and received the Sultan Gold Medal in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts.
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