Nation pays tribute as Mustafa Monwar receives guard of honour

The body of renowned cultural figure Mustafa Monwar was brought to the Central Shaheed Minar at 11am today (Tuesday). Monwar was one of the key planners behind the iconic red sun motif of the Central Shaheed Minar. In his final farewell, the distinguished artist returned there one last time. He was accorded a guard of honour at the Shaheed Minar at 12:30 pm.

Alongside members of the public who gathered to pay their respects, representatives of various cultural organisations also came to honour the artist. Among those present were theatre personalities Mamunur Rashid and Ramendu Majumdar; painters Monirul Islam and Hashem Khan; Shankar Shawjal, Tariq Anam Khan, Keramat Mawla, Khairul Alam Sabuj, Nasir Uddin Yousuff, Khairul Anam Shakil, Shahiduzzaman Selim; Director General of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Rezauddin Stalin; Director General of Bangla Academy Mohammad Azam; Nima Rahman, Azad Abul Kalam, Laisa Ahmed Lisa, Kalpana Anam, Tropa Majumdar, and many others.

Eminent artist and cultural personality Mustafa Monwar passed away on Monday at the age of 90. He breathed his last at around 8:30 am while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the capital.

Widely known as Bangladesh's "Puppet Man", Monwar was a towering figure in the country's cultural landscape. Born on September 1, 1935, he made pioneering contributions to puppetry, painting, visual arts, television and children's cultural programming. His creative work enriched the lives of several generations of Bangladeshi children and left a lasting imprint on the nation's cultural heritage.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to culture, he was awarded the Ekushey Padak, the country's second-highest civilian honour, in 2004. In 2018, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy honoured him with the Sultan Gold Medal.

The first janazah for the artist was held at Bangladesh Television (BTV) at 10:00 am on Tuesday, after which his body was taken to the Central Shaheed Minar.

A second janazah for Mustafa Monwar will be held after Zuhr prayers at the Central Mosque of the University of Dhaka. His body will then be taken to the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka, where admirers, colleagues and well-wishers will have an opportunity to pay their final respects.

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Another janazah will be held at 2:00 pm at the Channel i premises. He will subsequently be laid to rest at Banani Graveyard.