Musicians - Begum Akhtar

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	Musicians - Begum Akhtar

Begum Akhtar (b. Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, October 7, 1910 or 1914; d. 1974) was a ghazal singer from Uttar Pradesh in India. Her real name was Akhtaribai Faizabadi. Her first public performance was at the age of fifteen. She also acted in a few Hindi movies.

The name of Begum Akhtar has a special significance and meaning for ghazal. She was barely seven when she was captivated by the music of Chandra Bai, an artiste attached to a touring theatre group.With initial training from Imdad Khan, a sarangi player from Patna, Faizabad-born Akhtari began her musical career. She came to be groomed as a classicist by traditional training from Ata Mohammad Khan of Patiala and Abdul Wahid Khan of Lahore in subsequent years. Begum Akhtar's good looks and sensitive voice brought her under the spell of the silver screen in the early years of her career. But, When she chanced to hear great singers like Gauharjaan and Malakjaan, she decided to forsake the glamour of the film world to take to music. And she never looked back. Her supreme artistry in light classical music had its moorings in the tradition of pure classicism. This is the secret behind her finesse for setting her repertoire to basically classical modes, which comprised a variety of simple as well as complex ragas. She was honoured the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for vocal music and a mere Padma Shri a few years before her death. Ironically, the Padma Bhushan came to be conferred on her posthumously. But to the people at large, Begum Akhtar was the "Queen of Ghazals", and it is this acclaim that she cherished most.

Contribution To Hindi Films :

| As An Actress |

1. King For A Day (1933) Director : Raaj Hans

2. Ameena (1934) Director : -

3. Roop Kumari (1934) Director : Madan

4. Naseeb Ka Chakkar (1936) Director : Pesi Karani

5. AnaarBala (1940) Director : A M Khan

6. Roti (1942) Director : Maadhav Kaale

| As A Singer |

Naseeb Ka Chakkar | -

1. Kalyug Hai Jabse Aaya Maya Ne...

Roti | Anna Sahab Mainkar

1. Wo Hans Rahe Hain Aah Kiye Jaa... 2. Ulajh Gaye Nayanwa Chhute Nahin... 3. Char Dino Ki Jawani Matwale... 4. Ai Prem Teri Balihari Ho... 5. Fir Fasle Bahaar Aayi Hai... 6. Rehne Laga Hai Dil Me Andhera...

Panna Dai | Gyan Dutt

1. Hamen Yaad Teri Sataane Lagi... 2. Main Raja Ko Apne Rijha Ke Rahungi...

Dana Pani | Mohan Junior

1. Ishq Mujhe Aur Kuchh To Yaad Nahi...

Mohabbat karne wale kum na honge teri mehfil me lekin hum na honge — true to one of her last recordings, even 31 years after her death, people revere Begum Akhtar for her ghazals, knowing little about the person behind the rich voice.

A new book by one of the singer’s disciples, throws light on the life and little-known aspects of the personality of Mallika-e-Ghazal, who for most connoisseurs of ghazal, has remained a mystery.

"She made a great deal of money, but gave it away generously to her immediate family and all those in need of help. As a teacher, she treated her advanced disciples like her own children," says Hiranand.

When she died, no one came forward to help. At the All India Radio, Ahmedabad, where she had gone for a programme, no duty officers turned up to help so that her body could be taken to Delhi. Even the hospital coldly told her assistants to remove the body once it had been embalmed.

Hiranand says they were not able to charter a flight to bring her body as it required a minister’s prior permission. "... these arguments and discussions just go to prove the utter callousness of the government of the time."

Begum Akhtar had such an aura and commanded such respect that even Pandit Nehru once is said to have got up as she reached the dais at Red Fort to perform. At her first concert in Calcutta in 1934, the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu, after hearing Begum Akhtar, praised her.

"She was a fiercely independent-minded person and a brave character who drew her life path herself. She was among a small number of artists who grew up in feudal culture and sparkled in its aftermath.

"Spanning the transition from colonial times was in Begum Akhtar’s case a transition also from being the wife of a respected lawyer of Lucknow," she says, adding "she (Begum) was candid enough to admit that she came from a tradition of tawaifs. But added that she earned her living from that profession with honesty."

So strong was her wish to get married and reach a respectable status in society that as part of an arrangement she gave up singing after her marriage, says the book. As her husband Ahmed Abbassi later admitted in an interview that this took emotional and physical toll on her. It became worse after her mother’s death in 1950 and physicians advised him that "Unless I permit her to resume her singing and provide her with an emotional outlet, she might become deranged with sorrow. So I had to agree. Slowly she resumed her radio programmes and concert performances."

"...the influence of Abbassi Saheb and his love for Urdu poetry gave Ammi the clarity of her recitation of prose," says the author, noting that "over the years Ammi developed a style completely peculiar to her."

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Musicians - Begum Akhtar

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