Allauddin Khan - Early Life and Background

Early Life and Background

Allauddin Khan was born in Shibpur village in Brahmanbaria District (now in Bangladesh), the son of Sabdar Hossain Khan, also known as Sadhu Khan. Allauddin's elder brother, Fakir Aftabuddin, first taught him the basics of music at home.

At the age of ten, Allauddin ran away from home to join a jatra band, a traditional Bengali form of theater. This experience exposed him to the rich folk tradition of Bengal. After some time, he went to Kolkata, and was accepted as a student by singer Gopal Krishna Bhattacharya, alias Nulo Gopal. Allauddin committed to a 12-year practice program; However, Nulo Gopal died of plague after the seventh year. Khan then became a disciple of Amritalal Dutt, a close relative of Swami Vivekananda and music director at Kolkata's Star Theatre, with the goal of becoming an instrumentalist. At this time, he also took lessons in European classical violin from Lobo, a bandmaster from Goa.

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