Desk Report:
The country’s renowned and Ekushey Padak-winning Nazrul Sangeet musician Shabnam Mushtari has been seriously ill for a long time due to senile and complex dementia (amnesia). The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has stood by the renowned artist after learning about her illness.
Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury and State Minister Ali Newaz Mahmud Khayyam visited the artist at her residence in Dhanmondi in the capital on Saturday (July 4, 2026). During this time, they inquired about her overall treatment and spoke to her family members.
During the meeting, a check of five lakh taka financial assistance was handed over by the ‘Bangladesh Shilpi Kalyan Trust’ under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs for the urgent treatment of the talented artist.
It is worth noting that in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Nazrul Sangeet, artist Shabnam Mushtari was awarded the country’s highest civilian state honor, ‘Ekushey Padak’, by the Bangladesh government in 1997. In addition, she received the national ‘Nazrul Puraskar’ in 2015. She is the eldest daughter of Talim Hossain, a prominent poet of Bengali literature, and Begum Mafraha Chowdhury, a renowned novelist and journalist.
