Mobarak Hossain Khan (27 February 1938 – 24 November 2019) was a Bangladeshi musicologist, musician, and writer. He played the

surbahar ''Surbahar'' (; ) sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to the sitar, but has a lower pitch. Depending on the instrument's size, i ...

, a bass version of the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

Background

Khan was born on 27 February 1938. He came from a musical background. His relatives include Ustad Dr.

Alauddin Khan Ustad Allauddin Khan (8 October 1862 – 6 September 1972), was a Bengali 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 many of his stu ...

(his uncle), Ustad Ayet Ali Khan (his father), Ustad Dr.

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, ...

(his cousin), Srimati Annapurna Devi (his cousin), Pandit

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

(Annapurna's husband of first marriage), Ustad Abed Hossain Khan (his eldest brother), Ustad Bahadur Khan (his elder brother), Sheikh Sadi Khan (his younger brother), his other cousins Ustad Khadem Hossain Khan, Ustad Mir Kashem Khan, his nephews Ustad

Phuljhuri Khan Phuljhuri Khan (born as Yaar Rasul Khan; 1920 – May 5, 1982) was a tabla and esraj player from Bangladesh. He was also an accomplished sanai, sitar, and pakhawaj player. Khan was born in 1920 in Beetgarh, British India, now under Nabinagar Upazi ...

, Ustad Khurshid Khan, Ustad Shahadat Hossain Khan, Ustad Bidyut Khan, Ustad Kirit Khan, Reenat Fauzia (his daughter), and many others. He was the third son of Ustad Ayet Ali Khan. His grandfather was Sabdar Hossain Khan (Sadu Khan), and other uncles include Samiruddin Khan, Fakir (Saint) Aftabuddin Khan, Ustad Nayeb Ali Khan.

Career and awards

Khan was the Director General of National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts (

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (; ) or simply known as Shilpakala Academy is the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh. It is a academy of fine and performing arts. History It is the national academy of fine and pe ...

) and former Chairman of Nazrul Institute named after the Poet-Laureate of Bangladesh

Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengalis, Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a List of works by Kazi Nazrul Islam, large body of ...

. He was also the President of the Bangladesh Chapter of International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM), the headquarters being in the US and the President of Ustad Ayet Ali Khan Academy of Music. He also served

Radio Bangladesh Bangladesh Betar (; ), is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After the independence of the country in 1971, Radio Pakis ...

and former Radio Pakistan for a long stint of 30 years. He was also the secretary general of the

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

Bangladesh Chapter, headquarters being in London, UK He visited many countries including USA, U. K., China, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, North Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Kuwait, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Australia as a leader of cultural delegation, and also as an expert on radio, Saarc,

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, as well as on classical music. Mobarak Hossain Khan and his wife Fauzia Khan were involved in planning, research and hosting a popular TV musical program on NTV, named ''Bajo ebong Bajao'', which features Nazrul Sangeet with the sangat (co-performance) of

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

, and other classical instruments.

Academics

Khan was a visiting lecturer of College of Music, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and associated with the Department of Drama and Music of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

and Rajshahi University. He earned his M. A. in History from

Books

Mobarak Hossain Khan wrote a total of 137 books, 3 of them are in English. He also contributed to the '

Banglapedia ''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The ...

' (the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh) published by the

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiati ...

. His three books on Music in English are: * * * Among his 137 books, 30 are original research books on Music in Bangla, and the 3 mentioned above are his original research books on Music in English. Besides, he has published 19 more books on Music for juveniles. He started with translations, and he had published 20 of them, and later he had translated 23 more books for Juveniles. There were 34 more books on Juvenile stories. He had published 2 novels and 2 autobiographical books. Another notable contribution is his 4 books on Bangladesh Liberation War.

Personal life

Khan was married to Fauzia Yasmin. They had one daughter, Reenat Fauzia, and two sons, Dr. Tareef Hayat Khan, and Tanim Hayat Khan.

Honors and awards

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

(1986) *

Independence Day Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglade ...

(1994) *

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award (; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar'') is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution in the field of Bengali language and literature. ...

(2002) * Nazrul Gold Medal * Moulana Akram Khan Gold Medal * Atish Dipankar Gold Medal

Death

Khan died on 24 November 2019 at the age of 81.

References

Notes

External links

Mobarak Hossain Khan: Official Home page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Mobarak Hossain 1938 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Surbahar players 20th-century musicologists Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Recipients of the Independence Award Recipients of Bangla Academy Award