Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate bodies deeply mourn the passing away of the renowned musician and Fellow of the Akademi, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, in California, USA at around 2200 hrs. local time on 18 June 2009, which is around 10 a.m. 19 June in India.

Born in 1922 in Shibpur, now in Bangladesh, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was son of the great maestro Ustad Allauddin Khan from whom he studied Hindustani instrumental music. He also learnt the art from his uncle Fakir Aftabuddin Khan of the Senia gharana.

His towering presence in the music scene not only brought into fore, his mastery of Sarod but also his pioneering role in opening up the world to the Indian classical music, winning audiences and students for it across the globe. The Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in California bears witness to this historic achievement. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan trained several outstanding pupils, including Sharan Rani Backliwal and his sons Ashish Khan and Dhyanesh Khan. He also composed music for films such as Satyajit Ray’s Debi and Tapan Sinha’s Kshudhita Pashan. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan received honorary doctorates from the universities of Delhi, Dhaka, Rabindra Bharati, Visva-Bharati and the California Institute of Arts. The Government of Madhya Pradesh honoured him with the Kalidas Samman. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan as well as the Padma Vibhushan. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1963 and was elected as Fellow of the Akademi(Akademi Ratna) in 1992.

In his passing away, the world of music has lost a legendary personality, whose contribution to Indian music will be remembered for decades to come