Chhayanaut President Sanjida Khatun passes away

Sanjida Khatun, a leading figure in the cultural arena of Bangladesh, musician and one of the founders of Chayanaut, is no more. She breathed her last at around 3 pm on Tuesday in the ICU of the capital's Square Hospital. She had been admitted to this hospital for a week. The information about Sanjida Khatun's death was confirmed by her daughter-in-law and Chayanaut General Secretary Laisa Ahmed Lisa.

Sanjida Khatun was born on April 4, 1933. Father Kazi Motahar Hossain was a national professor. Mother Sajeda Khatun was a housewife. Sanjida Khatun graduated in Bengali language and literature from Dhaka University in 1954, completed her master's degree from Visva-Bharati University in India in 1955 and completed her PhD in 1978. She started her career as a teacher. She taught in the Bengali department of Dhaka University for a long time.

Sanjida Khatun has been seen protesting against injustice almost from the beginning of her life. Since she was a college student, she has been practicing singing along with studying, reciting and acting. She has also been involved in some organizational activities.

She joined the Bratachari movement led by artist Kamrul Hasan. Her first singing teacher was Sohrab Hossain. From him she learned Nazrul Sangeet, modern Bengali songs and folk songs. Later, she learned Rabindra Sangeet from Husne Banu Khanam. Later, from many others. Among them are Shailja Ranjan Majumder, Abdul Ahad, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Neelima Sen and some others.