The saying goes that his father would thrash him if he missed his riyaz. The training under his father, Allauddin Khan, often stretched from early morning till late at night. Along with him trained sister Annapurna Devi and Ravi Shankar.

Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan was born at Shibpur in Brahmanbaria, now in Bangladesh, and moved to Calcutta in the late 40s. He founded his first music school, Ali Akbar College of Music, in the city in 1956.

On his 99th birth anniversary on April 14, Intach, Calcutta chapter, along with Rotary International District 3291, celebrated his life and music by installing a heritage plaque at his Ranikuthi house. Ali Akbar’s grandson Siraz Ali Khan, and musicians Anindya Banerjee, Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and Bickram Ghosh were among those who attended the programme.

Ali Akbar moved to the US in 1968, where he lived for the rest of his life. The Ali Akbar College of Music, too, moved with him to Rafael, California, with a branch in Basel, Switzerland. He passed away in 2009.

“In Calcutta, he first lived in a flat on Broad Street and then on Kabir Road. But a lot of time he spent at 159/1 Rashbehari Avenue, where renowned musicians visited him. I still remember the

soul-stirring concerts on the roof of the house. In 1995, he bought a house in Ranikuthi,” said musician Anindya Banerjee.

“The installation of the plaque is for the benefit of future generations who will learn about Ustadji and his contribution to Hindustani classical music,” said Sudip Mukherjee, district governor, Rotary International District.

“We are happy that we could install the plaque on the auspicious occasion of Ustadji’s 99th birth anniversary,” said Intach’s Calcutta convenor G.M. Kapur.