Md. Sikandar Alam ( Odia: ସିକନ୍ଦର ଆଲାମ) (27 July 1939 – 8 August 2010) was a playback singer in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

film industry (known as

Ollywood The Odia film industry, colloquially known as Ollywood, is the Odia language Indian film industry, based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood. Industry In 1974, th ...

). He is sometimes called the

Salabega Salabega (, 1607/1608 –?) was an Odia religious poet of India in the early 17th century who wrote Jagannatha bhajans. He was Muslim by birth but his devotion for the Hindu God made Lord Jagannath stop his Ratha Jātrā ( Rath Yatra) in O ...

of modern Odisha. In an interview with Monalisa Jena, he said, "I can't appreciate the changing trends where music has become an instrument of titillation with vulgar lyrics. True music soothes the frayed nerves and makes one forget one's mundane life".

Childhood and education

Alam was born on 27 July 1939 in Routrapur, Baialishi Mouzaa of Cuttack district. The family moved to

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

, where he completed his Matriculation at Christ Collegiate School and his Intermediate in Science at Stewart College. Sikandar then attended the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya to study vocal

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

. He later studied

Odissi music music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-sha ...

from Pt Balakrushna Dash.

Professional career

His first work in the entertainment industry was with

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

in 1957. His debut in films was in the movie ''Laxmi'' (1964), directed by Balakrushna Dash. He sang in 50 Odia films, including ''Amada Bata, Adina Megha, Manika Jodi, Mamata, Suryamukhi and Puja'', and recorded over 2,000 songs, earning the sobriquet "the

of modern Odisha". He created a music album called ''Ala ke Huzur'' with his wife and daughter. He had performed both in India and internationally. He is credited as the first Odia singer to be heard on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

London. On 8 August 2010, he died in a city nursing home in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

at the age of 71. He was admitted to the hospital due to prolonged illness.

Family

His father was an IPS officer. His wife Naima Alam, was from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. She was also a singer of Hindustani classical music, and worked at All India Radio. His eldest daughter Sophia Alam is a television actress and his youngest daughter Nazia Alam is an Odissi classical singer.

Awards and recognition

* 1969 – Chitrapuri Award * 1980 – Soor Sagar Title from Sri Khetra Kala Prakashani, Puri * 1981 – Dharitri Samman * 1983 – Odisha Society of America * 1990 – Odisha State Film Award By Culture Department * 1991 – Santok Singh Award * 1991 – Cine Critic Award for Best Playback Singer * 1995 – Salabega Samman by Salabega Sanskrutika Parishad, Puri * 1999 – Chinta-O-Chetana Samman * 1999 – Award From Beach Festival, Chandipur * 2000 – Chalachitra Sahasrabadi Award * 2000 – Sarankul Art College & Music Samman * 2000 – Saraswati Samman from Balakrushna Das Foundation * 2000 – Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy Award * 2001 – Akashavani Abasara Binodana Kendra Award * 2001 – Soor Taranga Award * 2002 – Nehru Yuba Kendra Award * 2003 – Kalakar Boita Bandana Utshav, Angul * 2003 – Sangeet Shree Samman from P.R. Deptt.,

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

* 2003 – Rajiv Gandhi Samman Award * 2003 – Rourkela Steel Plant Award * 2003 – Lion's Club Award * 2004 – Bani Chitra Award * 2004 – Akashya Mohanty Award * 2004 – Utkal Felicitation in Odisha Festival, Kolkata * 2005 – Shanti Devi Purskar, Bhadrak

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, Sikandar Indian male playback singers 1939 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Indian composers Singers from Odisha Odia playback singers People from Cuttack district 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers