Ahmad, Bedaruddin

Ahmad, Bedaruddin (1927-1998) musician, principal of bulbul lalitakala academy. He was born on 15 March 1927 in sherpur, bogra. His father name was muhammad mohiruddin and mother Nekjahan begum. At that time music used to practice by the care taker Zemindar of Sherpur. That musical environment made him become a singer. He first learnt to play the harmonium from Gour Chandra Ghosh. He gained remarkable competence in music while quite young, standing first in a children';s musical contest in North Bengal in 1940.

Bedaruddin went to Calcutta to study classical music from Ustad Yusuf Khan Quraishi, Ustad mohammad hossain khasru and Ustad munshi raisuddin. Here he met jasimuddin and abbasuddin ahmed, who deeply influenced his musical career. Bedaruddin was a regular artiste of All India Radio, Kolkata. He also recorded songs for the Colombia and HMV gramophone companies.

After partition of India, Bedaruddin came to Dhaka and joined the Dhaka centre of Radio Pakistan as a full-time singer. In 1955 he helped to found the Bulbul Lalitakala Academy. He served as the principal of the Academy for several years and helped popularise the practise and study of music in what was then a conservative society. He performed in various countries such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Afghanistan. Bedaruddin received several awards for his contribution to music, among them, the Bangla Academy Award (1974) and the Ekushey Padak (1980). [Mobarak Hossain Khan] [Khan, Mobarak Hossain former DG, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy]