Abdul Alim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abdul Alim (1931-1974), Bangladeshi folk singer, was born on 27 July 1931 in the village of Talibpur, in the Murshidabad district of India. His father was Mohammad Yusuf Ali. He did not have much formal education. While at elementary school he heard a gramophone record and became attracted to music. He took music lessons from a local instructor, Syed Golam Ali, and earned a reputation as a singer while quite young. Later he went to Kolkata and became acquainted with Abbasuddin Ahmed and Kazi Nazrul Islam. He took lessons in folk music as well as classical music from Bedaruddin Ahmad, Ustad Mohammad, Hossain Khasru, Momtaz Ali Khan, Abdul Latif, Kanailal Shil, Abdul Halim Chowdhury, and others. His first two songs, 'Tor Mostafake De Na Mago' and 'Aftab Ai Baslo Pate', were recorded for a gramophone company in 1943. After the Partition of India, which led to the creation of an independent Bengal state, Abdul Alim settled in Dhaka, where he became a radio artiste.

In addition to approximately 500 recorded songs, Abdul Alim also sang on television and for films. He was highly regarded for his mystic Murshidi songs. He received a number of national awards, such as the Ekushey Padak, Purbani Chalachchitra Puraskar, and Bangladesh Chalachchitra Sangbadik Samiti Puraskar. He died on 5 September 1974 in Dhaka.