Shafin Ahmed’s body arrives home, burial today

Former frontman of the legendary Bangladeshi band Miles and eminent singer Shafin Ahmed's deceased body has arrived in the country on Monday from the United States.

The beloved rockstar's shocking death last Thursday (25 July) in a hospital in Virginia, United States, stunned the country's music industry.

His elder brother and Miles band leader Hamin Ahmed, who was supposed to go and receive the body in the United States on behalf of the family but could not fly at last, told the media on Monday that Shafin's body reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday (July 29) afternoon.

His first namaz-e-janaza was held at Dar al Noor Islamic Community Mosque in Virginia, on Saturday at 1 pm (US local time). Hamin Ahmed informed the media that his second janaza will be held today, July 30, after Zuhr prayers at Gulshan Azad Mosque.

The iconic rockstar will then be buried at Banani Graveyard. The Kulkhani of Shafin Ahmed will be held next Friday (August 2) at Gulshan Community Mosque, next to Banani Cemetery after the Jumma prayers.

Hamin Ahmed, on behalf of the family and loved ones, has asked everyone to pray seeking forgiveness of the late Shafin Ahmed's soul and requested to attend his janaza and kulkhani.

Born on 14 February, 1961, in Kolkata's West Bengal, India to the subcontinent's pioneering music artists Kamal Dasgupta and Feroza Begum, the popular Bangladeshi rock bassist, singer-songwriter, and record producer breathed his last while on life support in a hospital in Virginia, United States, on Wednesday (local time) due to heart and kidney failure.

According to 'Miles' keyboardist Manam Ahmed, the band debuted in 1979 under the initiative of Farid Rashid. In the beginning, the members of this band were Farid Rashid (bass and vocals), Kamal Mainuddin (drums), Musa Rahman (bass), Robin (keyboards and vocals), Ishtiaq Rahman (lead guitar), Happy Akhand (keyboards).

After Ishtiaq Rahman left the band in 1980, Hamin Ahmed (guitar and vocals) joined. A few months later in the same year, Shafin Ahmed (rhythm guitar and vocals) joined the band.

Robin left the band in 1981 and Manam Ahmed (keyboard) joined the team the following year.

Happy Akhand became irregular in the team and also left the band around this time, and the band (Farid, Kamal, Hamin, Shafin and Manam) released an English cover audio album titled 'Miles' in 1982.

In 1983, Shafin Ahmed left the band for personal reasons and moved to the UK and the rest of the band continued their activities as the Miles Band. In 1986, the band released their second English audio album 'A Step Further'.

When Shafin Ahmed returned from the UK in 1990, he was brought back into the band as vocals and bass. Miles was preparing to record a Bengali album at that time, when Hamin Ahmed, Manam Ahmed, Milton Akbar (drums, joined in 1987) and Shafin Ahmed took Miles Band forward. 

In 1992, the first Bengali album 'Protishruti' was released, and the popular song 'Chand Tara' (composed by Manam Ahmed, voiced by Shafin Ahmed) from the same album was aired on BTV's Eid special which later became a huge hit across the country. From then on, Miles never looked back.

The band's present drummer Syed Ziaur Rahman Turzo joined the band in 1996. Later in 1999, Syed Iqbal Asif Jewel joined as the guitarist, and this line-up continued taking the Miles team to entertain countless fans in the country and abroad with songs. 

The songs of Shafin Ahmed's voice in the tune of Manam Ahmed started setting milestones one after another including popular tracks like 'Phirye Dao', 'Dhikhi Dhikhi', 'Chand Tara', 'Jala Jala', 'Piyashi Mon' etc.

Despite his creative disputes with his bandmates at Miles, Shafin Ahmed 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 Bengali album, 1991), Prottasha (1993), Prottoy (1996), Proyash (1997), Probaho (2000), Protiddhoni (2006), Proticchobi (2015), and Proborton (2016).

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 as the anthem of birthday celebrations in the country. Written and composed by eminent music producer Prince Mahmud, the song was first featured in Prince's mixed album Daag Theke Jay (2004).

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).