Bangla music loses its rebellious icon

"I cannot believe that we are seeing scenes like this on the streets of Bangladesh, our own people being treated like this, unbelievable," wrote Shafin Ahmed four days ago on his Facebook profile. Little did he know that this would be the last visual he would have of his beloved motherland. All his life, Shafin had raised his voice against whatever he perceived as injustice– which also led him to leave the band he helped make legendary, Miles.

The iconic musician passed away at 6:50am on Thursday from a massive heart attack and multiple organ failure. The 63-year-old was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Virginia, where he was supposed to perform at a show. However, right before the show, he fell ill and at one point, fell unconscious in front of the organisers. According to his brother, Hamin Ahmed, Shafin had been battling heart issues for the past 15 years, overcoming multiple cardiac-related incidents in the past.

The news of Shafin Ahmed's demise came as a total shock to Bangladesh's cultural sector. "I still cannot believe this," said Runa Laila to The Daily Star. "He was a musician of the highest level and was extremely popular among the youth. Owing to his parents, he had an unmatched musical pedigree and could sing Nazrul Sangeet as well as his own band compositions."

Miles keyboardist Manam Ahmed, who shared the stage with Shafin for decades, said, "I am lost for words. The memories of the good times that we spent together are all rushing back to me," he said, sharing that some of Manam's greatest compositions were given life by Shafin Ahmed. 'Dhiki Dhiki', 'Chaad Tara', and 'Jala Jala' were only a few of the songs that we collaborated on. May he rest in peace."

Fahmida Nabi told The Daily Star that she was supposed to collaborate with Shafin for a song. "He was different, he had a swagger unique to only him. He was instantly recognisable to the people of Bangladesh and had qualities of both Kamal Dasgupta and Firoza Begum in his voice."

Lyricist Latiful Islam Shibli believes that Shafin Ahmed's demise is the biggest blow to Bangla rock music since the death of Ayub Bachchu. "Besides being one of the best musicians in Bangladesh, he was a fashion inspiration for millions of young people, including me when I was growing up. His aviator shades, iconic hat and panache-filled shirts are fashion statements that only he could pull off."

"I can talk for hours about his groovy bass-playing, and how difficult it actually is to do that and sing at the same time," said Fuad Almuqtadir. "Sting sang and played bass, but his bass line was not nearly as complicated as when Shafin bhai did it, it was like listening to two people performing at the same time, I will miss him so much."  

Musicians all around the country poured their tributes through limited internet access in the country yesterday, including James, Arnob, Rafa, Jon Kabir, Sharmin Sultana Sumi, and Artcell, among others.

Photo: Collected

Born in Kolkata's Anthony Bagan Lane to the legendary musical duo of Kamal Dasgupta and Firoza Begum, Shafin started his musical journey at the age of nine. While he was trained in classical and Nazrul sangeet by his parents, Shafin, along with his elder brother Hamin, became exposed to Western music while studying in the UK, which led to the formation of Miles.

On his near four-decade stint in Miles, Shafin composed and sang evergreen hits like "Phiriye Dao", "Dhiki Dhiki", "Jala Jala", and "Chand Tara Shurjo", among numerous others. He was also successful as a solo act, producing and voicing songs like "Aj Jonmodin Tomar", "Harano Shukh" and "Legend".  

Shafin had left Miles on three separate occasions, the last of which was in 2021 due to disputes with his brother, Hamin Ahmed. He had continued performing as Shafin Ahmed– voice of Miles– for the remainder of his career. Despite said disputes, Shafin performed and collaborated on every album of the band, starting with "Miles" (1982) and progressing to "A Step Farther" (1986), "Protisruti" (1991), "Prottasha" (1993), "Prottoy" (1996), "Proyash" (1997), "Probaho" (2000), "Protiddhoni" (2006), "Proticchobi" (2015), and "Proborton" (2016). Besides being a musician, he was an adept cricketer in his youth. He also forayed into politics, being elected as the vice chairman of Jatiya Party in 2021.

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Shafin felt unjustly treated at Miles before departure

Shafin Ahmed's name will be synonymous with Bangla rock music as an instantly recognisable icon, who never shied away from speaking his mind.