Sculptor Syed Abdullah Khalid has passed away.

Famed for his work Aparajeyo Bangla, he breathed his last at the city's Birdem hospital around 11:45pm yesterday. He was 75. 

He was admitted to the hospital on May 2 with breathing problems and diabetes, said his younger son Syed Abdullah Johir.

His body will be taken to Charukala at 11:00am today and at the foot of his monumental creation, Aparajeyo Bangla on Dhaka University campus, at 12 noon for people to pay their last respects, Johir told The Daily Star. 

His namaz-e-janaza will be held at the central mosque of the DU after Zohr prayers. Johir said they wished to bury him at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard after that.

Khalid left behind his wife, two sons and a daughter and a host of friends, relatives, admirers and well-wishers to mourn his death.  

The creator of Aparajeyo Bangla, one of the most iconic sculptures in Bangladesh, Khalid not only excelled in sculpture but also made a great impression with his vibrant paintings.

He was honoured with Ekushey Padak this year for his lifetime contributions to arts.

Khalid was a professor at the sculpture department of Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University.

He was born in Sylhet. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting in 1969 from East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts, DU) and did his MFA in painting and sculpture from Chittagong University in 1974.

Imagination, love for nature and the motherland drove his artistic endeavours. The reflection of time and the conspicuous connotations of life and nature are noticeably highlighted in his creations.

In an interview with The Daily Star in February this year, he said he felt that a strong urge from within, together with artistic conceptualisation, was necessary for the creation of great works.

“Life and death are not the themes I think much on. The greater truth is the feeling of time. I do accept that truth in my life,” the sculptor added.

Khalid's “Aparajeyo Bangla” is a reflection of the Bengali conscience and indomitable yearning for freedom. The project was launched in 1973. When he was a young faculty member at the Department of Fine Arts of Chittagong University, the DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students' Union) committee commissioned him to build a monument that would depict the glory of the Liberation War.

“I started looking for people who would model for my miniature scale structure. In my layout, I planned for three figures where the centre one would be a farmer with a rifle on his shoulder and grenade in his hand. On the left side there would be a lady with a first aid box in her hand and on the right side there would be a student who would represent the young student body who took part in the war,” said Khalid.

On August 15, 1975, the work suddenly came to a halt after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Political instability and the arrest of the then Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, also disrupted the work.

Throughout the making of the sculpture, Khalid had to face anarchism and negative reactions from religious fundamentalists. The project remained incomplete till the end of 1978. Some fundamentalist groups tried to demolish the sculpture in 1977.

However, the valiant students of Dhaka University fiercely guarded the work. After a long hiatus, the work began again in early 1979 with a new vision and dream. At last the project was finished on December 16, 1979. The sculpture was inaugurated by wounded freedom fighters.