Poet Shahid Qadri passes away

Shahid Qadri, one of the leading contemporary poets of Bangla literature, died in New York on Sunday.

The poet, who had been honoured with Ekushey Padak and Bangla Academy Award, was 74.

Confirming his death, poet’s wife Neera Qadri told Prothom Alo that Shahid Qadri breathed his last at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the North Shore University Hospital at 7:00am (New York time).

Shahid Qadri was hospitalised with high blood pressure and fever last Monday and later shifted to the ICU, she added.

Poet’s only son Adnan Qadri said they are yet to decide about his father’s janaza and burial.

Born in 1942, Shahid Qadri is considered one of the prominent poets of post-1947 Bangla literature. He had been staying in the US for last three decades.

Qadri received the Ekushey Padak in 2011.

Earlier, in 1973, he was awarded Bangla Academy Award.