Internationally renowned agriculture scientist and photographer and author of a number of books on photography Dr Nawajesh Ahmed passed away yesterday.
Nawajesh , 80, suddenly collapsed and fell on the ground on the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre premises while returning home after attending "Celebrating Life", a programme organised by The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank.
He was immediately rushed to National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases where attending doctors pronounced him dead. They said the renowned photographer suffered from a massive cardiac arrest.
Nawajesh was born in Paril Nawadha village in Manikganaj.
Nawajesh did his PhD from University of Wisconsin in USA in Plant Genetics. He spent 10 years doing research on tea plants.
He worked in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and other South-East Asian countries as consultant of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
He authored numerous books on photography, including "Bangladesh", the first picture album published in the country in 1975, "Portrait of Bangladesh" in 1985, "Burma" in 1981, "Quest for Reality" in 1986, and "Wild Flowers of Bangladesh" in 1997.
His photos were also regularly featured in major calendars and books.
Capturing the country through his lenses for decades, Nawajesh witnessed many historic events in the history of the country.
He took part in many photography exhibitions in USA, Europe and Japan.
His works were published in many globally reputed newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Focus, Hemisphere, Illustrated weekly of India, Far Eastern Economic Review.
He was a board member of Pathshala, South Asian School of Photography.
In his last speech at the 'Celebrating Life' programme, Nawajesh said photography deserves lots of dedication. Now a days people tend to think anybody carrying a camera is a photographer, but it is not true. "One needs much dedication to be a photographer.”
He headed the jury panel of 'Celebrating Life' 2009 Photograhy contest.
A life-long bachelor, Nawajesh left behind one brother, one sister and a host of relatives, friends, admirers and well-wishers.
He will be buried today at his ancestral family graveyard in Manikganj, family sources said. His body will be kept at 166 Green Road in the capital and then taken to the Central Shaheed Minar at 11:00 am. Later, it will be taken to his Manikganj village.
The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank deeply mourn the death of Nawajesh.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:32 AM GMT+06:00 (748 weeks ago)
I went to pay my last respects to Dr. Nawajesh Ahmed this morning. It is heart-wrenching to accept the fact that he is no more. Always smiling, gentle and friendly, everybody's Nawajesh Bhai's passing away is a permanent loss for us, for the nation. May God bless his soul..
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:36 AM GMT+06:00 (748 weeks ago)
Innah Lillah.. He was such a great man