The first namaz-e-janaza of Iconic musician Shafin Ahmed was held on Saturday at a mosque in Virginia, US.
The son of the renowned musician, Azraf, said: "My father's first Janaza took place in the US."
Regarding the formalities for bringing the body to Dhaka he said: “My mother went there to bring his body to Bangladesh. There are multiple procedures involved, and she is working to complete them."
After the Janaza, the Bengali community in Virginia paid their last respects to the artist.
The family hopes that the artist's body will reach Dhaka within two days. However, the details of the burial are yet to be confirmed by family members. There is a possibility that Shafin will be laid to rest in the Banani graveyard in Dhaka, next to his father, the composer Kamal Dasgupta.
Meanwhile, Shafin Ahmed’s elder brother, Hamin, was supposed to go to the US to bring back the body, but he had to stay in the country to complete the burial and secure a gravesite among other formalities.
Shafin Ahmed passed away on Wednesday (local time), at a hospital in Virginia, US.
The popular rock bassist, singer-songwriter and record producer breathed his last while on life support in a hospital in Virginia, United States, due to heart and kidney failure.
Born on February 14, 1961, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, to the subcontinent’s pioneering music artists Kamal Dasgupta and Feroza Begum, Shafin Ahmed joined Miles in 1979.
Alongside his brother and another iconic Bangladeshi music artist, Hamin Ahmed, he performed in Miles first as an acoustic guitarist and later became the band’s lead singer and bassist in 1991.
After moving to Dhaka during childhood, Shafin Ahmed began his musical career at the age of nine by taking lessons on Nazrul Geeti, courtesy of his parents.
He was exposed to Western musical influences when he studied in England, along with his elder brother Hamin Ahmed, after completing his schooling at St Joseph Higher Secondary School in Dhaka.
Continuing with Miles as the vocalist, songwriter, composer and bass guitarist from 1979, Shafin first left the band in 2009. He rejoined in 2014 and continued till 2017, left for the second time, and rejoined for his final run with the band in 2018, after permanently leaving it in 2021.
Despite his creative disputes with his bandmates in Miles, Shafin performed and collaborated on every album of the band, starting with Miles (1982) and progressing to A Step Farther (1986), Protisruti (the band’s maiden Bangla album, 1991), Prottasha (1993), Prottoy (1996), Proyash (1997), Probaho (2000), Protiddhoni (2006), Proticchobi (2015), and Proborton (2016). After leaving Miles in 2009, he formed his own band, Rhythm of Life, in 2010, which continued till 2014.
Shafin Ahmed simultaneously made his place in the country’s music industry as one of its most popular and iconic singers, courtesy of his popular songs, including “Aj Jonmodin Tomar,” which is often considered the anthem of birthday celebrations in the country. Written and composed by eminent music producer Prince Mahmud, the song first featured in Prince’s mixed album Daag Theke Jay (2004).
As the frontman of Miles, Shafin is also acclaimed for many popular and superhit tracks, including “Phiriye Dao,” “Dhiki Dhiki,” “Neela,” “Chad Tara Surjo,” “Jadu,” “Jani Tumi” and more.
He also released several solo albums, including Tomakey (1987), Pagla Ghonti (1998), Chobi Ar Sritigulo (1999), Best of Shafin Ahmed (2001), Kotodin Dekhina Tomay (2006), Virus (2006), Harano Shukh (2007), My Love Songs (2010) and Mone Pore Aj (Nazrul Songs, as a tribute to his mother Feroza Begum, 2016).
Besides his successful music career, Shafin Ahmed also took part in politics and even contested in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) election in 2019 for the position of mayor from the Jatiya Party.
