Renowned children’s writer and rhymester Amirul Islam died at a private hospital in Dhaka early Thursday. He was 62.
He breathed his last at 1:07am while undergoing treatment, Mazharul Islam, Chief Executive Officer of publishing house Anyaprokash, confirmed the death.
According to his family, Amirul Islam had been suffering from kidney-related complications for a long time. He had been admitted to hospital for several days and was placed on life support around 3am on Sunday after his condition deteriorated.
Amirul Islam was serving as the Head of the Programme Department at private television channel Channel i.
In a statement, Channel i said his body would be taken to the channel’s premises after Jumma prayers on Friday, where his first namaz-e-janaza would be held after colleagues pay their respects.
Later, his body will be taken to the Bardhaman House premises of Bangla Academy at 3pm, where people will be allowed to pay their last respects. His second janaza will be held there at 3:30pm.
Before being buried at Mirpur Intellectuals’ Graveyard beside his mother’s grave, his body will be kept at the World Literature Centre in Banglamotor for 15 minutes to allow colleagues, followers and admirers to pay their respects.
A third janaza will be held at Golartek Eidgah Jame Mosque in Mirpur before his burial.
Born on 7 April 1964 in Dhaka’s Lalbagh, Amirul Islam was the son of Saifur Rahman and Anzira Khatun. His family affectionately called him ‘Tulu’ during his childhood.
He was the nephew of acclaimed children’s writer Habibur Rahman.
The author of more than 200 books, Amirul Islam received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2006 for his outstanding contribution to children’s literature.
Through his distinctive writing, he won the hearts of readers and received numerous honours and recognition at home and abroad.
