Today is the seventh anniversary of the death of Ekushey Padak-winning sculptor Syed Abdullah Khalid, whose seminal creation ‘Aparajeyo Bangla’ is considered one of the masterpieces created after the independence of Bangladesh.

Born on April 10, 1942 in Sylhet, Syed Abdullah Khalid completed his BFA in painting in 1969 from East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts (presently the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University) and did his MFA in painting and sculpture from Chittagong University.

In 1973, Khalid began sculpting his iconic creation ‘Aparajeyo Bangla’ consisting of three figures — two males and female — in recognition of the contributions of the people from all walks of life in the War of Independence.

He was assigned by Dhaka University Central Students’ Union to complete the artwork.

The 18-feet tall sculpture portrays a farmer, who is placed at the centre, with a rifle on his shoulder and grenade in his hand and on the left side there is a woman with a first aid box and on the right a student representing the youths who participated in the war.

The work was completed on December 16, 1979.

His other works include the Terracotta relief on socio-cultural heritage at the Bangladesh Bank head office and the mural ‘Abahaman Bangla’ at the Bangladesh Television Centre.

He was also a prolific painter. He developed a late style through which to depict nature and where the recognisable forms easily collapsed into abstraction. At times his bright seasonal flowers of Bangladesh like Sonalu, Radhachura and Krishnachura tuned into colour field paintings.

Syed Abdullah Khalid passed away on May 20, 2017.