There are few reliable sources for the details of Lalon’s early life as he was reticent in revealing his past. It is not known exactly when, where and how Lalon was born. Lalon had no formal education.

Sunil Gangopadhyay related in his book “Moner Manush” that Lalon, during a pilgrimage to the temple of Jagannath with others of his native village, contracted smallpox and was abandoned by his companions on the banks of the Kaliganga River. Malam Shah and his wife Matijan, members of the weaver community in a Muslim-populated village, Cheuriya, found him faint and took him to their home to convalesce. While he was growing up, he found his mentor Siraj Sain, a Baul saint of that village.

Lalon lived within the zamindari of the Tagores in Kushtia and had visited the Tagore family. It is said that zamindar Jyotirindranath Tagore sketched the only portrait of Lalon in 1889 in his houseboat on the river Padma. Lalon died at Chheuriya on 17 October 1890 at the age of 118. The news of his death was first published in the newspaper Gram Barta Prokashika, run by Kangal Harinath. Lalon was buried at the middle of his dwelling place known as his Akhra. Researchers note that Lalon was a close friend of Kangal Harinath, one of the contemporary social reformers and a disciple of Lalon.