Former Aurthohin guitarist Piklu no more
Former lead guitarist of the band, ‘Aurthohin’, Minhaz Ahmed Piklu has passed away. He died of a cardiac arrest around 9:30 pm on Friday night. He was 52.
Piklu’s close friend Sipar Altamus confirmed the news of his death to Prothom Alo.
Following his Namaz-e-Janaza at Taqwa mosque in Dhanmondi area in the capital today, Saturday after the Zuhr prayers, the guitarist will be laid to rest at Azimpur graveyard in Dhaka. He is survived by his wife and a son. His family members live abroad.
Piklu’s friend Sipar said Piklu had gone to attend an event at a guitar training school in the Rampura area of the capital. After the event, he started a free jamming session.
Suddenly he felt unwell. Then he slumped into a chair at the end of the event. Later, when he was taken to a hospital nearby, the physicians there declared him dead.
Sipar also mentioned that Piklu had been suffering from heart complications for a long time. He even had to be admitted in the hospital towards the beginning of this year.
Piklu was a popular name in the field of Bangladeshi band music during mid-nineties of the last century. He played in bands like ‘Rocksrata’, ‘Jolly Roger’, ‘Maqsood O’ Dhaka’, and ‘Aurthohin’.
Piklu played the guitar in several popular songs produced by Autrthohin including ‘Odvut Shei Cheleti’, ‘Shurjo’, ‘Rater Train’, ‘Guti’, and ‘Nirbodh’. Plus, he was the lead guitarist in Aurthohin albums ‘Trimatrik’, ‘Biborton’, and ‘Dhrubo’. Piklu was a disciple of late musician Niloy Das.
The death of this popular guitarist has cast a shadow of grief in the music industry. Many of his colleagues including guitarist of ‘Warfaze’ band Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal, musicians Rafa and Elita Karim have paid tribute to Piklu’s memories.
Former drummer of ‘Aurthohin’ band, Reaf Al Hasan Rafa who’s better known as AvoidRafa sharing the news of this guitarist’s death wrote on social media, “Piklu bhai is no more. He passed away just a little while ago. I can’t believe I’m even writing these words. For those of you who don’t know, Piklu bhai was the original guitar player of Aurthohin, but to me, he was so much more than that. He was my first mentor, the person who believed in me before anyone else did. I wanted to go with Raef as my artist name, but he chose Rafa.”
Rafa further wrote, “He taught me how to play the guitar the right way, how to truly feel music, and how to carry myself as a musician. But beyond all of that, he taught me how to belong onstage, and how to feel comfortable in front of an audience when I was young and unsure. I still remember the times when he would lean in mid-performance and crack jokes into my ears, small things to calm me down and make me laugh when I was terrified.”
The post added, “I want all of you to remember Piklu bhai for who he truly was: a hero. A genuine hero. He was one of the most talented guitarists this country has ever seen. He played on and composed iconic songs like ‘Shurjo’, ‘Guti’, ‘Odbhut Shei Cheleti’, songs that are etched in our memories that shaped generations. We lost a hero today.”