Ekushey Padak-winning Rabindra Sangeet artiste Papia Sarwar has been placed on ventilator support due to a deterioration in her physical condition. 

The news was confirmed by actress Shampa Reza, Papia Sarwar's niece. The update was also verified on Wednesday at 6:30 PM by Faridur Reza Sagar, the Managing Director of Channel i.

It has been reported that she has been battling cancer for several years. She has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Tejgaon, Dhaka, for the past four days. 

Prior to this, she was receiving treatment at a hospital in Dhaka's Bashundhara Residential Area.

Shampa Reza shared that Papia Sarwar's two daughters, Zara and Zishan, reside in the United States and Canada, respectively. Upon hearing about their mother's illness, both daughters have set out for Bangladesh.

Papia Sarwar was born in Barishal. She was a student of the Department of Zoology at the University of Dhaka.

Later, in 1973, she went to India to pursue a degree in Rabindra Sangeet at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan under a scholarship from the Indian government. 

After Bangladesh's independence, she became the first figure to receive such a scholarship from the Indian government to complete her undergraduate studies there.

Before that, in 1966, the artiste trained in music at Chhayanaut under Wahidul Haque, Sanjida Khatun, and Zahedur Rahim, and later at the Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA).

In 1996, Papia Sarwar founded a music group called Geetsudha.

Throughout her long musical career, she garnered immense love from millions of listeners for her Rabindra Sangeet. She also achieved success in modern Bengali music. Her song "Nai Telephone Nai Re Pion Nai Re Telegram" brought her widespread popularity among Bengali music enthusiasts.

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Papia Sarwar received the Rabindra Award from Bangla Academy in 2013 and was honored with the Bangla Academy Fellowship in 2015. In 2021, she was awarded the Ekushey Padak.