An artiste like Farida Parveen comes once in a century: Gazi Abdul Hakim

Legendary Lalon singer Farida Parveen passed away on Saturday (September 13) night after a prolonged illness. She died at 10:15pm while undergoing treatment in a private medical college hospital in Dhaka. On Sunday (September 14) noon, people from all walks of life paid their respects at the Central Shaheed Minar. At the tribute, her husband, noted flautist Gazi Abdul Hakim, said, "An artiste like Farida Parveen is born once in a hundred years."

"An artiste like Farida Parveen comes once in a century. I don't know how this loss can ever be compensated. Nothing stops for anyone, and it is true that Farida Parveen will never return. Will there ever be another Kazi Nazrul Islam or Rabindranath Tagore? I am not comparing her to them, but Farida Parveen was one in a hundred years. From the akhra of Kushtia, she carried Lalon's music to the world's stage, even into the drawing rooms of the wealthy. Nothing could be greater than that," Gazi Abdul Hakim told reporters.

Hakim was not only Farida Parveen's life partner but also her companion in music. The blend of her soulful voice with his flute created a unique dimension to Lalon songs. Deeply shaken by the loss of his partner in both life and art, he said, "I will have to live the rest of my life with her memories, but it will be very painful. We were a duet—my flute and Farida Parveen's voice clicked in a way that happened nowhere else. I don't know what will happen to the sound of my flute now. Either I will have to give it up or play even more, so that she can feel at peace on the other side, knowing that her Hakim is still playing."

After the tributes at the Shaheed Minar, Farida Parveen's first namaz-e-janaza was held at the Dhaka University Central Mosque following the Zuhr prayers. Her body was then taken to Kushtia, where a second janaza will be held before burial at the Kushtia Municipal Graveyard, the family confirmed.