The 50th death anniversary of Ustad Alauddin Khan, who is famous in the world of music as the 'Emperor of Music' was observed on Tuesday. Born in 1862 in Shibpur village of Nabinagar upazila of Brahmanbaria. His father's name is Sudu Khan, mother's name is Sundari Begum. He died on 6 September 1972 at Madina Bhavan in Maihar, India. Dua Milad Mahfil, Quran recitation and commemorative discussion meeting have been organized on this occasion. Sur Samrat Alauddin Khan Mahavidyalaya, Nabinagar Upazila Administration, Alauddin Khan Memorial Sangsad jointly organized this.
Alauddin's music manuscript to elder brother Fakir (Tapas) Aftab Uddin Khan. He ran away from home as a teenager and started traveling from village to village with the Jatra Dal in search of music.
From here he became known with songs like Jari, Sari, Baul, Bhatiali, Kirtan etc. Then went to Kolkata to take initiation in music.
After 1918 he settled permanently in India. The British government awarded him the title of 'Khan Saheb'. Alauddin Khan received the Music Academy Award of India in 1952. Elected Fellow of the Academy in 1954. He was awarded 'Padma Bhushan' in 1958, Desi 'Kottam' by Visva Bharati in 1961 and 'Padma Vibhushan' in 1971. University of Delhi in India and Dhaka University in Bangladesh gave him life membership. He taught for some time as visiting professor at Shanti Niketan.
He learned to play various instruments including flute, piclu sitar, madolin banjo, sanai, nakara, tabla and sarod. In his musical life, he learned the art of music from his elder brother Fakir Aftar Uddin, Nono Gopal, Amrit Lal Dutt, Lobu Saheb, Amar Das, Hazari Ustad, Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan, Tansen family famous musician Ustad Wazir Khan and many others. His son Ali Akbar Khan, daughter Annapurna, daughter's son-in-law Ravi Shankar and many other famous artists learned music from Ustad Alauddin Khan. His life was very simple.
Ustad Alauddin Khan's elder brother Fakir Tapas Aftab Uddin Khan, composer of the song 'Malaya', younger brother composer Ustad Ayat Ali Khan, composer Sheikh Sadi Khan, Raja Hossain Khan, sarod artist Ustad Shahadat Hossain Khan were also born in Ustad family in Shibpur.
It can be seen on the ground, currently Idris Khan, a descendant of Ustad Alauddin Khan's elder brother Fakir Aftab Uddin Khan's daughter, lives in the house. A mosque built by Ustad Alauddin Khan in 1898, a pond, the shrine of his elder brother Aftab Uddin Khan, the graves of Sur Samrat's parents and his ancestral historical house were disappearing. Current Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ekramul Siddique renovated the houses and graves and installed a mural by Ustad Alauddin Khar.
In the eighties, the then Deputy Commissioner of Comilla came to Shivpur and expressed his desire to implement a project in Alauddin Palli for local and foreign music lovers. Where the shrine of Fakir (Tapas) Aftab Uddin, Museum in the name of Sur Samrat, Sangeet Academy, Library, Auditorium, Muktamanch, Picnic Corner and Guest House were supposed to be located. Later, for the implementation of the project, the 22nd century land was registered in the name of the Deputy Commissioner of Brahmanbaria on behalf of the Alauddin Khan family. But the project has not been implemented yet.
Locals demanded to change the name of Nabinagar-Shivpur road to Ustad Alauddin Khan road. They said that Sur Samrat Alauddin Khan Mahavidyalaya has been established next to Shibpur Alauddin Khan's house with the help of local residents. Shibpur, a village located just seven kilometers east of the upazila headquarters, still has very poor transportation system.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ekramul Chiddik said, the memorials of this world-renowned genius were disappearing. I renovated the graves with houses there and put up a mural. I want to do more work with Ustad Alauddin Khan, like the museum in the district, I have already discussed at the highest level to implement all the plans including the music academy in Shivpur.
