Ekushey Accolade winner artist Mustafa Monwar passes away

Ekushey Padak-winning renowned artist Mustafa Monwar has passed away (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un).

The eminent artist died this morning (Monday) at a private hospital in the capital.

This information was confirmed by Rubel Miah, Mustafa Monwar's personal assistant.

Rubel said that he passed away at 8:30 am.

Mustafa Monwar had been hospitalized since June 14. He had been suffering from various physical complications for a long time.

The artist was known as "Bangladesh's Puppet Man." He had been suffering from pneumonia and prostate cancer for a long time.

For his contributions to the arts, he received the Ekushey Padak in 2004. He was also honored with numerous other awards.

Mustafa Monwar, son of poet Golam Mostafa, was born on September 1, 1935. From childhood, he had a strong attraction to painting and music. While in ninth grade, he joined the Language Movement. He was imprisoned for the offense of painting.

He was one of the key architects of the red sun on the Central Shaheed Minar. He created the popular character 'Parul'. He was also involved with 'Meena'. He produced 'Notun Kuri' (New Bud), Bangladesh's most high-quality and popular program for nurturing the talents of children and adolescents. His produced program 'Moner Kotha' (Words of the Heart) was also widely acclaimed.

Mustafa Monwar began his career as a lecturer at the East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts. Later, he served in high-ranking positions at various important institutions, including Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Film Development Corporation, and Shilpakala Academy.

During the Liberation War, the terrified, haggard faces of children in refugee camps pained him deeply. To bring smiles to the faces of those children, he organized his very first puppet show right in those refugee camps. After the country gained independence, Mustafa Monwar presented a new dimension of puppetry to Bangladesh's art world with a fresh approach.