DHAKA: The first namaj-e-janaza for eminent poet and Nazrul and Jibanananda researcher Abdul Mannan Syed was held at Green Road mosque of the city on Monday morning.

His body was taken to Bangla Academy premises for the people to pay their last respects to the poet. He will be buried at Azimpur graveyard after a second janaza at Dhaka University Central Mosque after Johr prayers.  

Abdul Mannan Syed breathed his last shortly before iftar on Sunday evening.

Relatives said he was rushed to the city’s Lab Aid Hospital when he suddenly felt sick. The duty doctor of the hospital declared him dead at 6:05pm after admission in critical condition.

Earlier on August 27 this year, he was admitted to the hospital when he became senseless after joining a TV programme marking Nazrul’s death anniversary.

Abdul Mannan Syed was born on August 3, 1943 in West Bengal, India. He came into the limelight by making Bengali literature resourceful with his first anthology of poems ‘Janmandha Kabitaguchha’ in 1967.

But he spent most of his lifespan in research on Nazrul and Jibanananda’s literary works.

BDST: 1200 HRS, SEPT 6, 2010