Fakir Aftabuddin Khan (1862-1933) was a Bengali musician, composer and lyricist.

Early life

Khan was born on 1862 in

Shibpur Shibpur or Sibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the location of the ...

Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria ( bn, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, translit=Brahmôṇbaṛiya) is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Ga ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His brothers were the famous musicians

Alauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

and Ayet Ali Khan.

Career

Khan learned to play the violin and

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

at the court of the

Zamidar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

of Bangora. He trained in Tripura Raja's court under the court musician Rababi Qasim Ali Khan. He was particularly talented with a flute and also played the harmonium, dotara, and banya. He invented his own musical instruments called the meghadambur and swarasangraha. He also wrote lyrics for the poems of Manomohan Dutta. He was given the title " Fakir" for his devotion to god and the Goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

and his ascetic lifestyle.

Death

Khan died on 25 January 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Aftabuddin 1862 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian singers People from Brahmanbaria district People from Tripura Bengali musicians Bengali singers Hindustani instrumentalists Sitar players Hindustani composers Singers in British India People from the Bengal Presidency