Pannalal Ghosh Biography 
Pannalal Ghosh was a Bengali Indian flutist and composer who introduced the seven hole flute for the first time. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan, great vocalist and one of the most renowned music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. He was married to Parul Ghosh, a playback singer and younger sister of Anil Biswas, famous music director. Ghosh has been involved in India’s freedom struggle movement also. Ghosh, along with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar gave background score for “Aandhiyan” in 1952.
Ghosh was born on 24 July 1911 in Barisal, East Bengal of British India. Amal Jyoti Ghosh was his real name and Pannalal, his nickname. His father, Akshay Kumar Ghosh, was a sitarist who gave him initial training in music and sitar. As a child he had picked up a small flute that cowherds usually played and based on the musical lessons given by his father, he would try to play musical patterns on the flute. Once while swimming in Kirtankhola river, he found a long bamboo stick that was half-flute and half walking stick. He was only 9 then. It was longer than a traditional flute and he started practising in it. At the age of 11, he met a holy man who blessed him and said that music would be his salvation.
In 1924, at the age of 13 he got married to Parul Ghosh, who later became a popular playback singer. She was the younger sister of Ghosh’s friend Anil Biswas who later became a celebrated music director. He joined a gymnasium and learnt martial arts, boxing and stick fighting as a part of his involvement with Indian freedom struggle movement. At the age of 17, he moved to Kolkata and concentrated on his career. He did several experiments with flute and developed settled on a flute which was thirty two inches long. Many great musicians have been the disciples of this renowned composer.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 23, 2014
