Qazi Arif no more

Staff Correspondent: Eminent elocutionist, architect and cultural personality Qazi Arif passed away Saturday night at a New York hospital. He was 65.

Doctors at Mount Sinai St. Luke's hospital withdrew life support from him around 10:55pm (BST) in front of his family members.

Arif was on life support as his health condition deteriorated following a heart operation at the hospital on April 25.

A freedom fighter, Arif was famous for poetry recitation in Bangla.

He was born on October 31, 1952 at Rajbari in the then greater Faridpur. He grew up and took his education in Chittagong. He got his higher academic degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Arif took part in the 1971 Liberation War in Sector-1 under the leadership of Major (retd) Rafiq. He was one of the pioneers who took Bangla recitation to the institutional level in the 80s. He was serving as general secretary of Jatiya Bashanta Utsab Udjapan Parishad (national spring festival celebration committee).

He received Kazi Sabyasachi Memorial Award 2016 with legendary Indian actor-elocutionist Soumitra Chatterjee.

Risingbd/Dhaka/April 30, 2017/Aminul/Mukul