Allauddin Khan (English: Allauddin Khan, born: 1881; died: 6 September, 1972) was a Sarod player and he also laid the foundation of Maihar Gharana, one of the biggest Gharanas of Indian music. Allauddin Khan was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan is the son of Baba Allauddin Khan Saheb, who is called the father of classical music tradition in India. Ali Akbar Khan learned music from his father while carrying forward the legacy of Maihar Gharana under his tutelage. Allauddin Khan also taught classical music to Pandit Ravi Shankar and Allah Rakha Khan. He worked to spread music all over the world outside the country.
Allauddin Khan was born in 1881 in Shivpur village, which became Bangladesh after India’s independence. Ustad Allauddin Khan’s father’s name was Hussain Khan, also known as Sadhu Khan. The great Ustad Allauddin Khan founded one of the greatest gharanas of Indian music, the Maihar Gharana. The gharana was named after the Maihar state where Ustad Allauddin Khan spent most of his life. He was a disciple of the great Ustad Wazir Khan. Wazir Khan was a descendant of a branch of the Senia Gharana, which originated from the daughter of Mian Tansen.
Despite being a court musician, Ustad Alauddin Khan always tried to make music popular among the common people. He started teaching people to play various musical instruments, many of these instruments were made by him. Banjo Sitar made from the combination of Sitar and Sarod, Naal Tarang made from the tubes of a gun are among his original creations. The 90-year-old Maihar Band is now known as ‘Vadya-Vrind’, instruments like Harmonium, Violin, Sitar, Tabla, Naal Tarang, Israj are played in Vadya-Vrind. World-renowned Sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar was famous as a dancer in the early days. He was then known as Ravindra Shankar. Few people would know that Pandit Ravi Shankar had acquired the nuances and technical proficiency of Sitar and Surbahar from his guru Baba Ustad Alauddin Khan. Famous filmmaker Sanjay Kak had also made a documentary focusing on Ustad Alauddin Khan. Whoever saw this documentary named Gaadi Lohardaga Mail became a fan of Ustad Alauddin Khan. Ustad Alauddin Khan was a great scholar of music. People used to come to him from far and wide to learn music and discuss related topics. Among them were rich as well as poor. He used to teach music to everyone with equal enthusiasm.[1]
Ustad Alauddin Khan developed his own style based on the Dhrupad Ang, which involved elaborate execution of various stages of Alaap including the concluding Jhala. Ustad Alauddin Khan also introduced the poetic recitation of the tune which was presented after the execution of the complete Raga. This style was further developed by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Smt. Annapurna Ji and Nikhil Banerjee. Not only this, Ustad Alauddin Khan also created a unique structure of Drut Gats starting with Sa.[1]
Once Ustad Alauddin Khan sat down to compose a new raga in the name of his wife Madina Begum. But he could not understand the name of that raga. After much thought, he composed a raga which is today known by music experts as Madanmanjari raga.[1]
Ustad Allauddin Khan founded Maihar College of Music to ensure that Indian classical music remains alive in its true form and evolves with time. Ustad Allauddin Khan was awarded by the Sangeet Natak Academy in 1952. Not only this, the Government of India also honoured him with Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Alauddin Khan died on 6 September, 1972.
