INDIA – INDE Allauddin Khan – Megaphone - JNLX 1008

INDIA – INDE

Ustad Allauddin Khan – Megaphone - JNLX 1008, released in 1976, recorded in the 1940s (LP)

Allauddin Khan (1881-1972), born in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, in present-day Bangladesh, was a towering Hindustani musician of the 20th century and a legendary guru to such luminaries as his son Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009), his daughter Annapurna Devi (1927-2018), Ravi Shankar (1920-2012), Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986), Sharan Rani (1929-2008) and Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960).

 

Born into a family of passionate amateur musicians, Khan found his calling early on, and ran away from home at the age of 10 to join a Bengali Jatra folk theater. He later settled in Kolkata to study music under the tutelage of vocalist Nulo Gopal, with whom he studied for seven years until his guru’s death. Khan then moved to Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, where he became the disciple of veena player Ustad Wazir Khan (1860-1926), a great musician and teacher at the court of Rampur. It was during this time that Khan began to perform. His many years of intense, dedicated training, combined with a relentless curiosity, culminated in a mastery of many Indian instruments, including the sarod, sitar, surbahar, veena, shenai, tabla, pakhawaj, as well as the violin, mandolin and trumpet.

 

Khan quickly established his reputation, and in 1911 the Maharaja of the princely state of Maihar became his disciple and Khan became a court musician. He founded the Maihar Gharana and opened a music school in Maihar where he lived until his death in 1972.

 

The paradox with this great musical mind of the 20th century, who nurtured so many great talents and penned numerous compositions, is that there are few available albums of his music outside of a hard-to-find series of All India Radio Archival CDs. This seminal compilation of 78 RPMs from the 1940s, presenting a tantalizing program of Khan’s exceptionally brilliant playing of the sarod on Side A and the violin on Side B, serves as a perfect introduction to his musical world. 

 

Allauddin Khan (1881-1972), né à Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, dans l'actuel Bangladesh, fut un immense musicien Hindustani du XXe siècle et le gourou légendaire auprès de musiciens de génie tels que son fils Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009), sa fille Annapurna Devi (1927-2018), Ravi Shankar (1920-2012), Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986), Sharan Rani (1929-2008), et Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960).

 

Issu d'une famille de musiciens amateurs passionnés, Khan trouva rapidement sa voie et quitte le domicile familial à l'âge de 10 ans pour rejoindre une troupe de théâtre folklorique bengali Jatra ! Plus tard, il va vivre à Kolkata pour étudier la musique sous la tutelle du chanteur Nulo Gopal pendant sept ans, jusqu'à la mort de son professeur. Il s'établit ensuite à Rampur, dans l'Uttar Pradesh, où il devient le disciple du célèbre joueur de veena et professeur Ustad Wazir Khan (1860-1926). C’est à cette période qu’Allauddin Khan commença à se produire en public. Après des années d’apprentissages intenses et passionnées, mélés de curiosité acharnée, il parvient, de manière tout à fait remarquable, a maîtriser de nombreux instruments indiens, y compris le sarod, le sitar, le surbahar, la veena, le shenai, le tabla, le pakhawaj, ainsi que le violon, la mandoline et la trompette.

 

Sa réputation grandit et, en 1911, le Maharaja de l'État princier de Maihar devient son disciple et Allauddin Khan devient musicien de cour à Maihar. Il fonde le Maihar Gharana et ouvre une école de musique à Maihar où il vivra jusqu'à sa mort en 1972.

 

Le paradoxe de ce grand esprit musical du XXe siècle, qui forma tant de talents exceptionnels, est qu'il existe peu d'albums de sa musique, en dehors d'une série difficile à trouver de CD d'archives d'All India Radio. Cette compilation essentielle de 78 tours des années 1940, qui présente le jeu brillantissime d’Allauddin Khan au sarod sur la Face A et au violon sur la Face B, est une excellente introduction à son univers musical.

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Khan’s message to all musicians was: “Let me emphasize that there is no particular community in music. Music has one personality and one religion, and all votaries of “nada” are a class by themselves. As devotees of Nada Brahma, all musicians should try to revive the ancient glory of Indian music.”*

 

He used to say: “When I play, my mind forgets all the realities of the external world, and is turned inward right into my innermost self where God dwells. I play for Him only. One life-time is not enough to master this unlimited art. Musical notes must be so pure and perfect that they should melt your heart and make the tears flow. In spite of a century devoted to the pursuit of music, I have been able to touch such perfect notes only twice or thrice, in my life. At such moments, I have experienced a state of rare mental bliss, and sensed a pink brilliance before my mental eyes.”*

 

*Great Masters of Hindustani Music by Susheela Misra, Hem Publishers Private Ltd, Delhi, 1981.

Photograph below is from The Musicians of India (Illustrated) by Harendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, Ramgopalpur, 1929:

Baba Allauddin Khan on the sarod:

This fascinating 1957 documentary on Allauddin Khan by Indian film director Ritwik Ghatak (1925-1976), also features fine performances by some of his famous disciples, including his son Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee:

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