Meher Afroz Shaon, wife of legendary writer Humayun Ahmed, returns from his first janaza following juma prayers at Jamaica Muslim Center in New York on Friday. Photo: Banglar Chokh Staff Correspondent
Legendary writer Humayun Ahmed's body will be flown into the capital tomorrow. The arrival has been deferred by a day owing to unavailability of air tickets from New York.
"His body will arrive in Dhaka around 9:00am Monday [tomorrow] by an Emirates Airlines flight. The homecoming has been delayed as there were some ticket related complexities," Ahsan Habib, younger brother of Humayun, said yesterday.
Humayun's wife Meher Afroz Shaon, children Nishad and Ninith and friend Mazharul Islam will accompany the body, he added.
AK Abdul Momen, ambassador and permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN, told The Daily Star last night that the government would bear the ticket costs.
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, another brother of Humayun, and sister-in-law Yasmeen Haque are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today. The couple were with the writer during his last days.
From the airport, the body will be taken to Humayun Ahmed's Dhanmondi residence Dakhin Hawa. His mother Ayesha Fayz, who usually stays at her Mirpur house, will be there.
Talking about Ayesha Fayz's condition, Ahsan Habib said, "Her physical and mental condition has been in decline since she heard the sad news. But we are trying our best to keep her sound."
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and some eminent personalities met her at Mirpur yesterday.
Tomorrow, people will pay last tributes to their favourite novelist at the Central Shaheed Minar from 11:00am to 2:00pm tomorrow.
His namaz-e-Janaza will be held at the National Eidgah at 2:30pm, said Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu, president of Sammilito Sangskritik Jote.
In New York on Friday, several thousand fans and admirers joined his first janaza after juma prayers at Jamaica Muslim Centre.
The body will be taken to Birdem Hospital mortuary around 3:30pm and kept there at night, Bachchu said.
"On Tuesday morning around 9:00am, we will start the journey with the body towards Nuhash Polli in Gazipur, where he will be buried after zohr prayers."
Meanwhile, Nuhash Polli Assistant Manager Nurul Haque said, “Sir earlier often wished to be buried at the litchi garden here because he loved the place as he loved his life.”
"Nuhash Polli is my dream. If Nuhash Polli is destroyed or sold out, my dream will be destroyed or sold," Nurul quoted Humayun as saying.
But talking to reporters on May 12 at Nuhash Polli, Humayun Ahmed said if he was buried there, his favourite retreat would turn into a graveyard.
Humayun Ahmed, an illustrious litterateur and filmmaker, died at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital in New York Thursday night after a nine-month struggle with colon cancer.
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