The man who gained unparalleled fame lime Tansen during his lifetime was Alauddin Khan. He was born in 1862 at shivpur in Tripura. His father Sadhu Khan was a sitar player. Khan began playing tabla at a very young age of seven. Later, annoyed by his Mother’s attitute, he left his house and reached Kolkata.
In Kolkata, he joined the Star Theatre Company as a Shehnai player and then worked in ‘Sangeet Mandali’ of Bhai Habu Dutt. When Nandu Gopal come to know about the deplorable condition of Allauddin Khan, he gave Khan a house to reside and also taught him singing. Alauddin Khan remained in association with Nandu Gopal for almost seven years.
Alauddin Khan had rendered his services to contemporary courts of Rampur, Maihar and Mysore. It is said that he had mastery over 18 musical instruments. In 1935, he toured Europe with the dance group of Uday Shankar and popularized the Hindustani music. His renowned disciples are Pannalal Ghosh, Timir Baran, Annapurna and Nikhil Banerjee.