Yesteryear ghazal singer Akhtaribai Faizabadi, most commonly known as Begum Akhta was born on October 7, 1914 in a samll town of Uttar Pradesh. Nobody from her upper class family had any inclinations or connections to music in the remotest sense.
Begum Akhtar was the first to show interest in music and was trained by some of the stalwarts in the field. She gave her first musical performance at the age of 15 years. Later on, her ghazals, thumris etc won her great acclaim and recognition. Even Sarojini Naidu was impressed by her ghazals.
Acclaimed director Mehboob Khan gave her the first break in the Hindi film music industry in the year 1942 in the movie titled Roti. Music director MAdan Mohan persuaded her to sing in movies like Daana Paani and Ehsaan. Her last film was that of a classical singer in the Satyajit Ray film Jalsa Ghar.
Begham Akhtar is fondly remembered as Mallika-E-Ghazal or Queen of Ghazals.She was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Hindustani Music (Vocal). Her last performance was in an ahmedabad concert. She left for heavenly abode on October 30, 1974 but still lives on with her melodies in the eharts of her fans.
Here's a playlist of some of the best remembered songs of the celebrated ghazal singer:
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