Maharashtra CM sanctions Rs1 lakh for ailing Mubarak Begum

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs1 lakh from the CM's relief fund to ailing singer Mubarak Begum.

The septuagenarian singer, the voice behind evergreen hits like 'Mujhko apne gale lagaa lo, O mere humrahi' and 'Kabhi tanhaiyon mein yun hamari yaad aayegi', has been unwell for some time and her economic condition is also weak, an official release said.

She gets a monthly honorarium of Rs1,400 from the state government under its scheme for old artists, the release said.

The singer lives in penury in a small house in Behrampauda area in western suburb of Jogeshwari with an ailing daughter and a son, who drives a taxi.

The singer, now faded in oblivion, had once mesmerised an entire generation of music lovers with her immortal numbers like 'Mujhko apne gale lagaa lo, O mere humrahi' from film Humrahi and 'Bemurrawwat bewafa begana dil' from Susheela.

Widely appreciated in the 1950s and the 1960s, Mubarak Begum did not attain pole position in the Hindi mainstream movies.

The versatile singer's number 'Hum haal-e-dil sunaenge' in Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958) is still remembered even more than 50 years later. Even though many other such popular numbers had music aficionados wanting for more, the film fraternity has turned a blind eye to her plight.