Short answers, pulled from the story.
Alara Kalama was a hermit and meditation teacher, born into a Brahmin family, who is identified in Buddhist scriptures as the first teacher of Gautama Buddha. He taught Gotama at Vaisali, including the meditative state known as the sphere of nothingness.
Alara Kalama taught Gotama meditation, particularly a jhana state called the sphere of nothingness, known in Pali as akimcanyayatana. Gotama mastered this practice until he reached the same level of attainment as his teacher.
Gotama left Alara Kalama because he concluded that Alara's teaching did not lead to freedom from samsara, the cycle of birth and death. Despite being offered a role as co-leader of the community, Gotama departed and sought a new teacher, Udraka Ramaputra.
While deep in meditation, Alara Kalama did not hear the sound of a caravan of five hundred wagons that passed by him. This story was recounted by a minister named Pukkusa to the Buddha as an example of Alara's extraordinary skill in meditation.
Alara Kalama taught Gotama at Vaisali. He is described in the sources as a kind of early meditation teacher who had gathered a community of students there.
No. After attaining Enlightenment, the Buddha sought out Alara Kalama to teach him the Dhamma, but found that Alara had died seven days before his arrival.