Namita Ghosh passes away

Namita Ghosh, the first female voice artiste of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, passed away at a city hospital on Friday night.

The 63-year-old singer was suffering from cancer and eye conditions. She tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month.

Born in Shakhari Bazar of Old Dhaka on October 6, 1958, to Haresh Chandra Ghosh and Joshoda Ghosh, Namita had four brothers and three sisters. Her ancestral home is in Bikrampur.

She was diagnosed with cancer last year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had provided her with Tk 20 lakh for treatment.

Yesterday, the PM expressed deep shock at the death of Namita. She prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.

Namita last appeared at a programme on Bangladesh Television on March 12 marking the Independence Day.

She was first admitted to Asgar Ali Hospital. As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to Mugda General Hospital before being taken to to Popular Hospital, where she breathed her last.

Noted singer Fakir Alamgir said, "Namita was the first voice artiste of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. Sadly, she was not evaluated properly though her contributions to the country were immense."

Namita, a valiant freedom fighter, joined Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra at the age of 14 in 1971.

On March 27, 1971, she crossed the Buriganga river at night to reach Keraniganj. From there, she went to Cumilla before travelling to Agartala. She became acquainted with valiant freedom fighters there, and took part in the making of a documentary.

Namita then travelled to Kolkata where she joined Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. She was an artiste of Bangabandhu Shilpi Goshti. She along with her team travelled to several refugee camps to inspire valiant freedom fighters.

The singer completed matriculation from Banglabazar Girls High School and later went to Jagannath College. Her mother Joshoda Ghosh, a radio artiste herself, inspired her to pursue a career in music.

She received lessons under the tutelage of Pandit Barin Mazumder, Ustaad Munshi Roisuddin and Ustaad P C Gomes. She also received lessons on Nazrul and Rabindra Sangeet from several other teachers.

Namita started her singing career at Dhaka Betar in 1969. She was a student at "Sangeet Shikkha Ashor" of Dhaka Betar in 1964. She started singing on television in 1969.

"She was a devoted artist who loved her work," said Rafiqul Alam, a Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra artiste.

"At Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, she was always ready to take up any work that Samar Das would assign to her. Even after the country's independence, she was always there whenever we needed her," Rafiqul added.

Singer Shaheen Samad said, "Namita was the youngest artiste at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. She was among the first ones to join."

"We all adored Namita and she always respected us. We two were great friends. She used to stand beside me at every programme. She left us all, but our love for her will remain intact."

Namita was a regular artiste on radio and television and she was mainly a chorus artiste at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, said Monowar Hossain Khan, general secretary of Swadhin Bangla Betar Employees Council.

"She was an excellent human being. Her death is a great loss for all of us."

Bulbul Mohalanobish, another artiste at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, said she knew Namita since her childhood. "She struggled a lot in her life. It is a very sudden death for all of us."

A Guard of Honour was accorded to the artiste in Old Dhaka yesterday. Her last rites took place at Dhaka's Postagola.