Naturalist Dwijen Sharma has passed away at a hospital in Dhaka.
The revered science author died during treatment at Square Hospital around 4am Friday. He was 88 years old.
"He was undergoing kidney dialysis. He had been suffering from a number of old age complications including lung infection," Mokarram Hossain, a nature writer, said quoting Sharma's family members.
Sharma was admitted to Intensive Care at BIRDEM Hospital on Aug 30 with a severe bout of pneumonia. He was moved to Square Hospital after his health deteriorated on Thursday.
The author had somewhat recovered from the lung disease but succumbed to the ailment of his kidneys. His last rites will be performed after his daughter Sreyashi Sharma returns from London, said Mokarram.
Sharma was born in 1929 in Sylhet's Moulvibazar. His father Chandrakanda Sharma was a Kabiraj, or a practitioner of herbal medicine. It was his father's work that first introduced young Sharma to the world of nature.
He graduated honours from Kolkata City Collage and got his masters from Dhaka University. He later taught botany at Karimganj College, BM College and Norte Dame College.
Sharma, who would dedicate his life to trees, went on to write more than a dozen books on the role of nature in human life. He received the Bangla Academy award in 1987 and Ekushey Padak in 2015.
He had borrowed poetic expressions from Jibanananda Das, Jasimuddin and folklores such as the 'Maymensingh Gitika' to describe to his readers the many species of plants, flowers and fruits.
One of his famous books, according to bdnews24, is 'Shyamoli Nishorgo' or 'Green Nature'.
Others include 'Samajtontre Bosobas' or 'Living in Socialism', 'Jiboner Shesh Nei' or 'No End To Life', 'Phoolgulo Jeno Kotha or 'Each Flower Is A Word' and 'Biggan Shikkha O Daiboddhotar Nirikh' or 'Science Education and Our Responsibilities'.
A leading advocate for a nature-friendly city, he worked tirelessly to nourish and create green patches within capital Dhaka.
"I will not be here one day, but these trees are here to stay. They'll provide the oxygen people need to breathe. There is no greater joy than this in life," he had famously told a programme.
