Begum Akhtar

About Begum Akhtar

Who is it?: Singer
Birth Day: October 07, 1914
Birth Place: Bhadarsa, Indian
Died On: 30 October 1974(1974-10-30) (aged 60)\nAhmedabad, Gujarat, India
Birth Sign: Scorpio
Birth name: Akhtaribai Faizabadi
Origin: Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Genres: Ghazal, Thumri, Dadra
Occupation(s): Singer
Years active: 1929–1974

Begum Akhtar Net Worth

Begum Akhtar was born on October 07, 1914 in Bhadarsa, Indian, is Singer. Begum Akhtar, also known as Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, was a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, most famous for her renditions of the Ghazal, Dadra, and Thumri genres. Honored with the title of Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals), she was one of the best known Indian singers of her era, known for her soulful, poignant, and melancholy melodies. A highly successful professional artiste, her personal life was a very tragic one. She was exposed to life’s difficulties at a young age after her father abandoned the family leaving her mother alone to fend for the children. Another tragedy followed soon after when she lost her beloved sister to poisoning. Miseries followed her throughout her early years, and singing offered her solace from life’s injustices and tragedies. Naturally inclined towards music, she started receiving singing lessons as a little girl and gave her first public performance at the age of 15. She received encouragement from the famous poet Sarojini Naidu which motivated the teenager to make a career in music. Good looking and talented, she ventured into films as an actress and also sang her songs herself in all her films. With her rich and soulful voice she carved a niche for herself, and received several honors and awards for her contribution to classical music.
Begum Akhtar is a member of Singers

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1930

Begum Akhtar's good looks and sensitive voice made her an ideal candidate for a film career in her early years. When she heard great Musicians like Gauhar Jaan and Malak Jan, however, she decided to forsake the glamour of the film world for a career in Indian classical music. Her supreme artistry in light classical music had its moorings in the tradition of pure classicism. She chose her repertoire in primarily classical modes: a variety of raags, ranging from simple to complex. After the advent of talkie era in India, Begum Akhtar acted in a few Hindi movies in the 1930s. East India Film Company of Calcutta approached her to act in "King for a Day" (alias Ek Din Ka Badshah) and Nal Damayanti in 1933.

1934

Her first public performance was at the age of fifteen. The famous poet Sarojini Naidu appreciated her singing during a concert which was organised in the aid of victims of the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. This encouraged her to continue singing ghazals with more enthusiasm. She cut her first disc for the Megaphone Record Company, at that time. A number of gramophone records were released carrying her ghazals, dadras, thumris, etc. She was amongst the early female Singers to give public concert, and break away from singing in mehfils or private gatherings, and in time came to be known as Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazal).

1942

Like others of that era, she sang her songs herself in all her films. She continued acting in the following years. Subsequently, Begum Akhtar moved back to Lucknow where she was approached by the famous producer-director Mehboob Khan, to act in Roti which was released in 1942 and whose music was composed by the Maestro Anil Biswas. "Roti" contained six of her ghazals but unfortunately due to some trouble with the Producer, Mehboob Khan subsequently deleted three or four ghazals from the film. All the ghazals are available on Megaphone gramophone records. Begum Akhtar, meanwhile, left Bombay and returned to Lucknow.

1945

In 1945, Akhtari Bai married a Lucknow-based barrister, Ishtiaq Ahmed Abbasi, and became known as Begum Akhtar. However, after marriage, due to her husband's restrictions, she could not sing for almost five years and subsequently, fell ill. That is when her return to music was prescribed as a befitting remedy, and in 1949 she returned to the recording studios. She sang three ghazals and a dadra at Lucknow All India Radio station. She wept afterwards and returned to singing in concerts, which she continued to do unto death. She sang publicly in Lucknow, in a women's only concert in aid of the war, which was held in 1962.

1974

She died on 30 October 1974 in the arms of Nilam Gamadia, her friend, who invited her to Ahmedabad, which became her final performance.

2005

Her disciples include Shanti Hiranand, who later received Padma Shri and wrote, a biography Begum Akhtar: The Story of My Ammi (2005). Art critic S. Kalidas directed a documentary on her titled Hai Akhtari.

2017

On October 7, 2017, Google dedicated a Doodle commemorating the 103rd birthday of Begum Akthar.

2018

Her tomb was a mango orchard within her home, ‘Pasanda Bagh’ in Thakurganj area, of Lucknow. She was buried alongside her mother, Mushtari Sahiba. However, over the years, much of the garden has been lost to the growing city, and the tomb has fallen into disrepair. The marble graves enclosed in a red brick enclosure, were restored in 2012, along with their pietra dura style marble inlay. Attempts are on to convert her home built in 1936 in China bazaar, Lucknow into a museum.