Ustad Julhas Uddin Ahmed (10 November 1933 – 24 September 2021) was a Bangladeshi Nazrul Geeti singer and teacher. He was awarded Ekushey Padak for his special contribution in ''Nazrul Geeti'' by the government of Bangladesh in 2017.

Early life

Ahmed was born on 10 November 1933 at Baraikhali village in

Sreenagar Upazila Sreenagar ( bn, শ্রীনগর) is an upazila of Munshiganj District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Division of Dhaka Geography Sreenagar is located at . It has 36344 households and total area 202.98 km2. Demographics As of th ...

Munshiganj District Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

of the then British India (now Bangladesh) to Yehair Ali Bepari and Hasna Begum. He was the youngest among 9 children of the couple. He lost his eyesight at the age of two suffering from smallpox.

Career

In 1949, Ahmed was sent to Kolkata by his elder brother Farhad Hossain for studying in music. There he was first trained by Chinmoy Lahiri and then by

Tarapada Chakraborty Tarapada Chakraborty (April 1, 1909 – September 1, 1975) was an Indian classical vocalist. He was born in Kotalipara, Faridpur, Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh) to a Vedic Brahmin family. He is known for the ''khyal'' and ''thumri'' forms ...

for five years in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. He returned to East Pakistan in 1955. A year later in 1956, again he went to Kolkata and started practicing classical music with Ustad Amir Khan, Omkarnath Thakur,

Nissar Hussain Khan Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1909–1993) was an Indian classical vocalist from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. He was a disciple and son of Fida Hussain Khan and after a long and illustrious career was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1971. He was the co ...

and Ghulam Ali. From 1961 to 1975, he was a regular Nazrul Geeti performer at Radio of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh Betar). After the

independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

, he joined as the head of the Nazrul Geeti program in Bangladesh Television and retired in 1975.

Personal life and death

Ahmed never married. He died on 24 September 2021 from

Dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characterist ...

Awards and recognition

* Nazrul Gold Medal * Nasiruddin Gold Medal * Honored by Shilpakala Academy * Honored by

Bulbul Lalitakala Academy Bulbul Lalitakala Academy (now known as Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts or BAFA) is an institution of fine arts established in Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Ban ...

* Honored by the Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha *

AB Bank AB Bank (formerly Arab Bangladesh Bank) is a leading private sector bank in Bangladesh. AB Bank Limited was incorporated on 31st December, 1981 and its the first commercial private bank in Bangladesh. History AB Bank was established on 31 De ...

- Channel i Lifetime Achievement Award (2016) * Ekushey Padak (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Julhas Uddin 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Munshiganj District Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Bangladeshi Nazrul Geeti singers Deaths from dengue fever