Ustad Bahadur Khan
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Ustad Bahadur Khan Has been considered a reputable Sarod player during his times. Bahadur Khan was born in January 19, 1931 in Shibpur, Comillah, Bangladesh, (then British India), and he died on October 3, 1989 in Calcutta, India. He is the son of famous Indian classical musician Ustad Hayat Ali Khan, nephew of the father of North Indian Classical Music Sarode maestro Baba Allauddin Khan, cousin of the Sarode maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and [surbahar player Srimati Annapurna Devi, and cousin-in-law of India's most celebrated classical musician Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Khan was a good performer of his time and won mild popularity all over the Indian subcontinent for his musical talent. He was a cultural ambassador of the nation at many occasions. Khan has extensively traveled Europe, Asia, and North America to perform his music; and was an honorary delegate of India to the former USSR and China several times. Bahadur Khan was one of the highly respected regular performers at the All India Radio and Radio Pakistan. He composed and directed music for almost all the films of the legendary Indian filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. He received the best music director award for Ritwik Ghatak's film Subarnarekha. Other films that brought out his musical virtuosity into celluloid were Meghe Dhaka Tara, Komal Gandhar, Jukti Takko Ar Gappo, Titas Ekti Nodir Naam, Shwet Mayur, Yekhane Dariye, Trisandhyay, Notun Pata, Garam Hawa and Ajantrik to name a few. He also directed music on documentaries on renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore and painter Jamini Roy, and was also a very highly esteemed figure in the film-music industries of Bombay and Calcutta.
Bahadur Khan created beautiful Ragas like Milanmadhuri, Dayabati, Debapriya, and Bahaduri Kanara (which was first broadcasted from Dhaka Radio Station). Some of his performances are commercially available in India, Europe and North America in the forms of cassettes and discs.
Bahadur Khan has taught music in Calcutta as well as at his cousin Ali Akbar Khan's Ali Akbar College of Music in California, USA. Bahadur Khan's eminent students, Bidyut Khan, Shahdat Hossain Khan, Tejendranarayan Majumdar, and Kalyan Mukherjee in Sarode and Manoj Shankar in Sitar are renowned classical musicians and performers of the present generation who are carrying on with themselves the legacy of Ustad Bahadur Khan. However, out all his students, only one has not only digested but in many respects surpassed Bahadur Khans music and that is Tejendranarayan Majumdar. Tejendra has further refined Bahadur Khans music and taken it to a much higher level. Tejendranarayan Majumdar continues to guide his junior gurubhai and now student Kalayan Mukherjee.
Every year, a huge music concert takes place in Calcutta commemorating Ustad Bahadur Khan.
