Allauddin Khan

Baba Allauddin Khan (born ca. 1862, more likely 1881 in Shibpur, now Bangladesh, died 6 September 1972) was a Bengali sarod expert and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most sought-after music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. He laid the foundation of a modern Maihar gharana that was popularized by his disciple, Ravi Shankar. He was the father of sitarist Annapurna Devi and sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan, and the grandfather of Aashish Khan, Dhyanesh Khan, and Pranesh Khan, as well as the guru of Nikhil Banerjee, Pannalal Ghosh, Sharan Rani, his nephew Bahadur Khan, his future son-in-law Ravi Shankar, and other influential musicians. In 1954 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime contribution to Indian music, in 1958 the Padma Bhushan and in 1971 the Padma Vibhushan.