If one looks at him, it will appear that he is not attacked with cancer. At 11.30 am he was walking on the roof of the house with his personal assistant Abdul Matin. He looked strong and stout.
Like any other day, he went to market on Tuesday morning. He purchased tomato, cucumber, potato and chicken. In preparation for his flight, he brought his ironed shirts from the laundry. He sat with his only son and discussed things about what he would do in Singapore.
He has a lot of thinking for his country. Elaborating his thoughts, he said, "I want a happy, prosperous and modern Bangladesh."
The people of Bangladesh will hold their heads high for ever in the comity of nations. Expressing this belief, freedom fighter Azam said, "I have nothing to seek from the world. Now I want to work for the country."
He urged all to do some work towards building the nation. "That was why we fought and will be fighting," the great singer said, adding, "that effort will continue till the death comes."
About his health he said, "By and large, it is good. The sooner the treatment is done, the better."
On his disease, he said, "Five or six months back I noticed that there is a lump of flesh under his tongue. At first, I did not give so much importance to it. Later, the doctor after tests said it is cancer."
Azam said, "The lump itches at the throat and causes trouble in speaking. The disease came to notice after doctor Sajal Ashfaq went for my biopsy on June 21 after that my MRI was done on June 30 by Square Hospitals' radiologist and cancer expert Kamruzzaman. For complete recovery he advised me PET test, which is not possible in our country."
Besides, a board of doctors was constituted from National Cancer Hospital at Mahakhali to identify the disease. The board said, "The disease is Scamos cell carcinoma."
His well-wisher Ershadul Huq Tinku said the prime minister donated Tk two lakhs on Tuesday for his treatment following a request.
His son Hriday Khan will accompany him to Singapore where he will be admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital. His two daughters-- Ima and Rima --are students.
Citing his father's dream, Hridoy said, "He has a plan to set up a school in the village for those who are deprived of education. After his recovery, he hopes to work for the school."
About the youth, Azam said," It is the era of science. The world has become smaller because of scientific education. Youths have advanced a lot because of internet and computer. If their talent can be utilised for the welfare of the country, it will be possible to build Sonar Bangla."
Aiming at the young artists the 'popguru' said, "Educated boys and girls are now in the race. It is a good sign since it is the age of competition. There is no dearth of instruments."
"The young, new artists are doing very well for the country. It is a challenge to build them up properly," he said.
He mentioned that his father obtained gold medal from the Bengali department of Calcutta University. But he himself could not go for higher education as he lost his HSC certificate. He passed SSC from the Nayadia School of Narsinghdi and HSC from the Dhaka's T &T College.
He has till now 17 solo albums. Besides, 13/14 albums are mixed. His solo album 'Nilnayana' was released during the last Ramadan.
He was born on Feb 28, 1950 in Azimpur. He is the third of the four brothers and two sisters. He lives in a house at Kabi Jasimuddin Road in North Kamalapur.
About his own life, he said, "He rises at 6 in the morning. After that, he walks and takes rest. He goes to market regularly. In the evening he goes to the swimming pool and teaches swimming to kids. He watches game at the Bank Colony and walks during leisure.
But after the disease was identified, he hardly goes outside or to the swimming pool.
In the eighties, he became a household name in the music world for his most famous hit song "Ore Saleka, Ore Maleka, Ore Saleka, Ore Maleka, Ore Fulbanu parlina bachate".
He performed songs during the mass movement in 1969 and the liberation war of 1971.
In fact, he had wide popularity in 1972 for his songs on the BTV, the government channel. These are "Eto shundor duniyay kichhui robena (Nothing will remain in this beautiful earth) and "Char kolema shakkhi dibe" (four verses will give testimony).
His life started with those songs.
His popular songs are "Ashi ashi bole tumi (You said you were coming) and "Alal o Dulal".
