Dhrupad and Khayal singer Gul Mohammad Khan was born in the city of Tirhut in Darbhanga. As a child he received voice training from his father, Ustad Ahmad Khan, a Court Musician of the king of Darbhanga. Later his grandfather Ustad Namder Khan trained him in the traditional Dagor gharana. Later in Agra he learned the style of the Agra gharana.

Gul Mohammad gave a memorable performance in 1939 at the inauguration ceremony of the Dhaka Radio Centre with which he became associated as a music teacher.

Ramesh Shil became notable for his excellence in the ability of improvisation of songs in poetic contests known as Kobigaan. This queer trend of poetic contest evolved in Kolkata and its outskirts in the 18th and 19th centuries. Kobial Ramesh Shil along with Mukundadas of Barisal and Sheikh Gumani of Murshidabad followed those pioneers in the 19th and 20th centuries. These rural bards were called Kobials and they were all born-poets and could improvise verse and hurl strophes and antistrophes at each other in contests.

Although the subject matter of such poetic contests were traditionally taken from the Puranas, Ramesh also made songs on contemporary events--social, political and financial problems. He composed songs on events such as the Non-cooperation and the Khilafat movements, the looting of the Chittagong armoury, self-sacrifice of Surya Sen, the famines, partition, refugee problems, the Language Movement of 1952, and the social injustice, corruption and exploitation that he had himself witnessed.

Before him, Kobigan was seen only as a means of entertainment, but Ramesh Shil made it an instrument with which to transform society. He tried to arouse people with his songs and attempted to stir them against these social and political ills.

Another of his claims to fame is the composition of Maizbhandari songs, and the way he made them popular through performing them. He wrote many songs praising the Maizbhandari order and its proponent Syed Ahmadullah (1826-1906) of Chittagong.

Folk singer Abbasuddin Ahmed was born at Balarampur Cooch Bihar district on October 27, 1901. In his musical career Abbasuddin was largely self-taught, except for a brief period when he learnt music from Ustad Jamiruddin Khan in Kolkata.

Initially, he became famous for Bhawaiya, Ksirol and Chatka. He became increasingly popular with his rendition of Jari, Sari, Bhatiyali, Murshidi, Bichchhedi (songs of estrangement), Marsiya, Dehatattwa and Pala Gaan, especially when these were made into gramophone records. No other singer could surpass his emotional, full-throated rendition of folk songs. He also sang songs on Islamic themes composed by Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin and Golam Mostafa.

In Kolkata, Abbasuddin made a number of gramophone records with HMV as well as with Megaphone, Twin and Regal. By singing at various functions in villages, towns and cities as well as by recording his songs, Abbasuddin made music acceptable and popular in conservative Bengali Muslim society. Abbasuddin wrote an account of his life as a singer in Amar Shilpi Jiboner Kotha (1960).