The condition of legendary Nazrul singer Feroza Begum is critical. She is now undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in Dhaka.

Her heart and kidney are not functioning well and she is now undergoing treatment at Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, Shafm Ahmed, son of the octogenarian legendary singer, told The Daily Star last night.

An artificial pacemaker was placed in her heart on

yesterday morning as her heart beats dropped alarmingly, he said, adding that her blood pressure had also dropped. Doctors had used medical instruments to bring the pressure to a certain level in order for her to undergo dialysis, said Shafin Ahmed.

He also said his mother had undergone treatment at the same hospital last week, when she was affected with Hepatitis B. She stayed in the hospital for four days. She was again rushed to the hospital on Friday morning as her physical condition deteriorated, he added.

Born in an aristocratic Muslim family in Faridpur district, Feroza Begum became drawn to music in her childhood.

At a time when Nazrul Sangeet was in a state of decline in this part of the

world, it was Feroza Begum who revived the glory of the music genre and infused new life into Nazrul Sangeet. Through her unique presentation style and delivery of songs, she emerged as the most prominent Nazrul Sangeet singer in the subcontinent and is today an icon for the generations that followed hers in the world of Bangla music.

Firoza Begum married Kamal Dasgupta, a singer, composer and lyricist of the subcontinent, now deceased. Among her three sons, Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed are also musicians and are currently members of the rock band Miles.

In recognition of her contributions to music, Firoza Begum has been honoured with many awards, including the Independence Day Award.