Pandit Ramkanai Das passes away

Musician and folk music collector Pandit Ramkanai Das passed away at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the city on Friday night. His doctor neurosurgeon Kanak Kanti Barua said the musician breathed his last at the neurosurgery ICU around 11:15pm. Ramkanai’s son Pinu Sen Das said after his father’s brain surgery last week, he was attacked by pneumonia and his heart greatly weakened. He fell ill at his home in Sylhet on August 28 and was admitted to a local hospital where doctors found a massive brain haemorrhage. He was brought to Dhaka the next day. On Aug 30, he underwent a brain surgery. Ramkanai received ‘Ekushey Padak’, one of the highest civilian awards of Bangladesh, this year for his contribution in collecting folk songs, according to a news agency.