Legendary musician Ustad Allauddin Khan was remembered through classical music recitals and a discussion session at a commemorative programme on Tuesday at the Music and Dance Centre of
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Ustad Allauddin Khan (1862-1972), was born at Shibpur village, under the present Brahmanbaria district. A classical maestro of international reputation, he is credited to have a strong and indelible influence on classical music practices all across the Indian subcontinent.
In a versatile and vibrant life of 110 years, Ustad Allauddin Khan carved a permanent niche for himself in the music industry. He went to Kolkata at a young age and took tutelage under leading musicians and achieved mastery in playing diverse instruments like sitar, flute, piccolo, mandolin, banjo, shanai, naquara, tiquara and jagajhampa.
Subsequently Khan settled in India and became the court musician of Brijanath, the Maharaja of Maihar Estate. Being the court musician, the maestro created a number of new ragas and musical instruments which fall under the school of Allauddin Sangeet or Maihar Sangeet Gharana.
BSA organised the commemorative event as part of its series programme to pay tributes to the country’s legends in the cultural arena.
The programme began with a discussion session where Mubarak Hossain Khan, former director general of the academy; Shahadat Hossain Khan, renowned sarod player and relative of Allauddin Khan,; Sohrab Uddin, director of the Music and Dance department of BSA; Ubaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, member of parliament participated. Liaquat Ali Lucky, director general of BSA, presided over the session.
Discussants at the programme recalled the life of Ustad Alauddin Khan and his immense contribution to classical music.
The cultural show comprised mostly of presentations of ragas that the late legend created. Ustad Shahdat Hossain Khan rendered a captivating presentation of raga manj khamaj on sarod. The raga, created by Ustad Allauddin Khan, is on the khamaj thaat which is often used in thumri, tappa and other folk music. The resemblance of the raga with folk tunes was key to get instant appreciation of the audience.
Local musician Reenat Fouzia, on the other hand, presented raga hemant which is believed to be a creation of Ustad Allauddin Khan. The melodious chords struck in her sitar enthralled the audience. Seasoned instrumentalist Yusuf Khan presented raga kirwani on sarod. The beautiful raga, which has much resemblance with raga pilu, earned loud applauses from the audience.
Classical vocalist Priyanka Gope entertained the audience with her soothing presentation of thumri. Firoz Khan, another instrumentalist, played a dhun at the programme.
-With New Age input
