United News of Bangladesh

People from all walks of life bid a farewell to renowned cultural personality and  artist Mustafa Monwar when his body was taken to the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital on Tuesday. After people paid their last respects, he was accorded a guard of honour at 12:45 pm. Representatives of the state, cultural organisations, artists, writers and  theatre personalities gathered there to pay their respects. Later, his body was then taken to the Central Mosque of the University of Dhaka for a Namaz-e-Janaza. Following final tributes at the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Channel i premises he will be laid to rest at Banani Graveyard. Eminent artist and cultural personality Mustafa Monwar passed away at a hospital in Dhaka on Monday. He was 90. The renowned artist breathed his last around 8:30 am while undergoing treatment at the hospital due to old-age complications, said his family. Mustafa Monwar is known as the "Puppet Man of Bangladesh". During the Liberation War in 1971, he organised puppet shows at the refugee camps in West Bengal to make people aware about the war. His television puppet show ‘Moner Kotha’ ran on BTV for 12 years, which told the story of a little girl called Parul and her seven brothers named Champa who were cursed and turned into flowers. It is based on the folklore ‘Saat Bhai Champa’.