People from all walks of life thronged the Bangla Academy premises Saturday noon to pay their last tributes to prominent poet Al Mahmud.
His body was kept at Nazrul Mancha at around 11:45am.
The namaj-e-janaza of the poet will be held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Zohr prayers on Saturday.
Poet Al Mahmud passed away at a city hospital on Friday night.
He was 82.
The poet breathed his last at around 11:05pm on Friday at the intensive care unit of Ibn Sina Hospital in the city’s Dhanmondi area.
Born on July 11, 1936 at Maurail in Brahmanbaria, Al Mahmud is also much popular for his novels and short stories.
He is considered one of the greatest Bengali poets to have emerged in the 20th century.
The Ekushey Padak winning poet’s works in Bangla poetry is dominated by his frequent use of imageries of rural Bangladesh.
In the 1950s, he was among those Bengali poets who were outspoken in their writing on such subjects as the events of the Bangla language movement, nationalism, political and economic repression and the struggle against the then Pakistan government.
His ‘Sonali Kabin,’ published in 1973, is considered a landmark in Bangla poetry.
The poet was honoured with numerous awards that include Ekushey Padak in 1987, Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1968 for his two great works namely Lok Lokantar and Kaler Kalas.
He was also awarded Philips Literary Award, Alakta Literary Award, Sufi Motaher Hossain Literary Gold Medal and many more.
Mahmud’s other famous works include Gandhabanik, Dahuki, Mayabi Parda Dule Otho, Arabya Rajanir Rajhash, Bakhtiyarer Ghora, Pankaurir Rakta, Upamahadesh, Kabiler Bon, Nishinda Nari, Purush Sundar, and his autobiographic fictions — Jebhabe Bere Uthi and Kabir Atmabiswash.
After Bangladesh’s independence, Al Mahmud edited a firebrand daily newspaper, Ganakantha.
Later in 1975, he joined Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy as assistant director at research and publication department. In 1993, he retired from the academy as the director of the department.
