CD Web Desk
Mangaluru, Dec 11, 2016: Renowned Kannada poet, journalist and photographer Ahmed Anwar passed away at his residence in the city on Sunday after a prolonged illness. He was 55.
Anwar, who served as the official photographer of coastaldigest.com for over four years, had been bedridden for the past two years. He played a significant role in promoting the news portal in Mangaluru since its launch in 2010.
Despite his failing health, Anwar continued to write poetry. His final anthology of Kannada poems, “Payanigana Padyagalu” (Poems of a Traveller), was completed and was scheduled for release later this month.
Beginning his career as a cloth merchant, Anwar gradually gravitated towards Kannada journalism and literature. He later became a columnist for the Mangaluru-based Kannada weekly Sanmarga. His debut poetry collection, “Bharatha Geetha,” was published in the late 1990s. Other notable works include “Gulmohor,” “Nanna Kanasina Bharata,” and “Bevu Bella.” He was fondly known as “Abu Asma” among his Kannadiga admirers.
Anwar received several prestigious awards for his contributions to Kannada literature, including the Muslim Sahitya Prashasti, Attimabbe Prashasti, and Sneha Sethu Prashasti. In February 2015, the Talent Research Foundation, M Friends, and Team Ahlan jointly organised an exhibition showcasing rare photographs captured by him.
He is survived by his parents, wife, two daughters, a son, and a large circle of relatives, friends, admirers and well-wishers.
Ministers U.T. Khader and B. Ramanath Rai, MLAs Mohiuddin Bava and J.R. Lobo, and Beary Sahitya Academy Chairman B.A. Mohammed Haneef, among others, have expressed deep condolences over the demise of the multi-talented Mangaluru personality.
