Allauddin Khan

Allauddin Khan
Background information
Born ca. 1862
Shibpur, Nabinagar, Brahmanbaria, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died 6 September 1972(1972-09-06) (aged 109–110)
Genres Hindustani classical music
Occupation(s) Composer, sarodiya
Instruments Shehnai, sarod, sitar

Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan (c. 1862 – 6 September 1972)[1] was a sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most renowned music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music.[2][3][4]

In 1935, he toured Europe, along with Uday Shankar's ballet troupe, and later also worked at his institute, 'Uday Shankar India Culture Centre' at Almora for a while.[5] During his lifetime, he composed several ragas and laid the foundation of a modern Maihar gharana. Amongst his recordings which are rare, the most important ones are those he recorded with the All India Radio in 1959–60.[5]

He was the father of sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi, and the uncle of Raja Hossain Khan, as well as the guru of Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vasant Rai, Pannalal Ghosh, Bahadur Khan, Rabin Ghosh, Sharan Rani, Jotin Bhattacharya, Rajesh Chandra Moitra, W.D. Amaradeva, and other influential musicians. He himself was a disciple of many great musicians, including Gopal Chandra Banerjee, Lobo, Munne Khan, and most importantly after a lot of struggle managed to become a shagird (disciple) of the legendary Veena player, Wazir Khan.[5][6]

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1971, India's third and second highest civilian honours,[7] and prior to that in 1954, the Sangeet Natak Akademi awarded him with its highest honour, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime contribution to Indian music.[8]

Personal life

Anecdotes about Khan range from throwing a tabla tuning hammer at the Maharaja himself to taking care of disabled beggars. Nikhil Banerjee said that the tough image was "deliberately projected in order not to allow any liberty to the disciple. He was always worried that soft treatment on his part would only spoil them".[9] He could play over 200 instruments.

Notable Students

Name Form Note
Ali Akbar Khan Sarod Son
Annapurna Devi Surbahar Daughter
Ravi Shankar Sitar Son in Law
Nikhil Banerjee Sitar
Vasant Rai Sarod
Pannalal Ghosh Flute
Bahadur Khan Sarid Nephew
Rabin Ghosh Violin
Sharan Rani Sarod
Jotin Bhattacharya Sarod
Rajesh Chandra Moitra Sarod
Aashish Khan Sarod Grandson
Dhanesh Khan[6] Sarod Grandson
Indranil Bhattacharya Sitar
W.D. Amaradeva Sarod
V. G. Jog Violin

Films

See also

References

  1. ↑ Clayton, Martin (2001). "Khan, Allauddin". In Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove dictionary of music and musicians. 13 (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. p. 563. ISBN 0-333-60800-3. He is believed by some to have lived to the age of 110, although the conjectural birth date of 1881 is more likely
  2. ↑ Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. A&C Black. pp. 67–70. ISBN 978-0-8264-1815-9.
  3. ↑ Arnold, Alison, ed. (2000). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent. Taylor & Francis. pp. 203–204. ISBN 0-8240-4946-2.
  4. ↑ Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; McConnachie, James; Duane, Orla, eds. (2000). World Music: The Rough Guide. Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific. Rough Guides. p. 77. ISBN 1-85828-636-0.
  5. 1 2 3 Massey, Reginald; Massey, Jamila (1996). The Music of India. Abhinav Publications. pp. 142–143. ISBN 81-7017-332-9.
  6. 1 2 Ritwik Ghatak(Director) (1963). Ustad Alauddin Khan [Ustad Alauddin Khan] (Documentary). India.
  7. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ "List of Akademi Fellows Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.", SangeetNatak.gov.in.
  9. ↑ "One day I heard him speaking out rather candidly, 'Don't you see that I am a grandsire? Don't I feel like taking them (meaning his grandsons) in my arms – patting and loving them? But I am afraid it may spoil them.' Here was the inner voice which could be heard seldom or never. Beneath the veil of toughness was the soft and tender soul bubbling with humanity." (My Maestro As I Saw Him, essay by Banerjee printed in the booklet to Afternoon Ragas, Raga Records Raga-211)
  10. ↑ "Raga (2010 Remaster)". East Meets West Music. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Graphiti | Breaking new ground". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2011.

Further reading

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