Legendary Nazrul singer Feroza Begum passed away at Apollo Hospital in Dhaka this evening.
The octogenarian was suffering from heart and kidney diseases.
She breathed her last around 8:15pm, said Masud Ahmed, manager of public relations department of the hospital.
Earlier, she was admitted to the hospital as her heart and kidneys were not functioning well. She was undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
An artificial pacemaker was placed in her heart on Monday morning as her heart beats had dropped alarmingly and her blood pressure had also dropped.
Firoza begum had undergone treatment at the same hospital last week, when she was affected with Hepatitis B. She stayed in the hospital for four days.
She was again rushed to the hospital on Friday morning as her physical condition deteriorated.
Born in an aristocratic Muslim family in Faridpur district, Feroza Begum became drawn to music in her childhood.
At a time when Nazrul Sangeet was in a state of decline in this part of the world, it was Feroza Begum who revived the glory of the music genre and infused new life into Nazrul Sangeet.
Through her unique presentation style and delivery of songs, she emerged as the most prominent Nazrul Sangeet singer in the subcontinent and is today an icon for the generations that followed hers in the world of Bangla music.
Firoza Begum married Kamal Dasgupta, a singer, composer and lyricist of the subcontinent, now deceased. Among her three sons, Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed are also musicians and are currently members of the rock band Miles.
In recognition of her contributions to music, Firoza Begum has been honoured with many awards, including the Independence Day Award.
Source: The Daily Star
