My brother deserved national recognition: Shibli Mohammad

On Wednesday evening (March 13), the lifeless body of legendary Rabindra Sangeet exponent Sadi Mohammad was discovered hanging in his own room. His brother, Shibli Mohammad, was unfortunate enough to find his brother and mentor's body.

Shibli, an eminent dance exponent and scholar himself, told the media, "My brother took his own life. He felt no value. Seeing how many people are receiving awards, all of this bothered him a lot. We tried to make him understand that people love us. What good will awards do? But he was troubled by that. He left us burdened by that pain."

Describing the events of Wednesday, the dancer said, "After breaking his fast, my brother went to his room to practice. Then he told his assistant, 'You go out, I'll finish practice and then call you.' Then, I went to his room and found the door closed from the inside, which felt strange to me. He never closes the door during rehearsals. Even after knocking hard, there was no response from inside. Later, I said, 'Break the door.' Breaking the door and what I saw inside..."

A grief-stricken Shibli continued, "If my brother received any national recognition, he would not have been so miserable. Sadi Mohammad is my mentor, my inspiration – so when I received the Ekushey Padak ahead of him, I told him 'I will not take the Ekushey Padak.' However, he asked me, 'Why not? You've done so much for Bangladesh in the field of dance.' Later, when I gave him a card to attend the Ekushey Padak ceremony, he said, 'I won't go. You go. I won't go there.' Many will question why I didn't receive the award. These things will haunt us."

Earlier, Sadi Mohammad's personal assistant, Sohel Mahmud, informed that on Wednesday evening, after breaking fast with brinjal and lentil soup, the artist went to his own room. After a short while, he closed the door quietly. There was no noise of struggle.

Sadi had obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from Visva-Bharati University in Rabindra Sangeet. In 2007, he expressed himself as a music director through the album "Amake Khuje Pabe Bhorer Shishire". He was the recipient of Channel i's lifetime achievement award, and Bangla Academy's Rabindra Award.