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Begum Akhtar

A husband’s ban silenced her for five years. She came back anyway, and became the “Queen of Ghazals.”

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Begum Akhtar

Five silent years, then a comeback that made her the “Mallika-e-Ghazal.”

1914

Born in Faizabad

Born Akhtaribai Faizabadi. Trained under several ustads, including Ata Mohammed Khan of Patiala.

1942

Sings six ghazals in “Roti”

Directed by Mehboob Khan, with music by Anil Biswas.

1945-1949

Marries, then falls silent

Her husband bars her from singing. She returns to All India Radio, Lucknow, in 1949.

1968-1975

Padma Shri, then Padma Bhushan

Padma Shri in 1968. She dies in 1974; the Padma Bhushan follows in 1975, posthumously.

A comeback built on silence: her husband’s restrictions kept her off stage for nearly five years. She still went on to record almost 400 songs.

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📑 Contents

Begum Akhtar was born Akhtaribai Faizabadi, on 7 October 1914, in Faizabad.
She trained under several ustads, including Ata Mohammed Khan of Patiala and Abdul Waheed Khan of the Kirana Gharana.
She specialised in ghazal, thumri, and dadra — genres of Hindustani classical music.
She acted in and sang for early talkie films, including “Roti” (1942), directed by Mehboob Khan.
In 1945, she married Lucknow barrister Ishtiaq Ahmed Abbasi. Her husband then barred her from singing.
This silence lasted nearly five years. She returned to All India Radio, Lucknow, in 1949.
She earned the title “Mallika-e-Ghazal,” meaning “Queen of Ghazals.”
She died on 30 October 1974, in Ahmedabad, at age 60.

She recorded her first gramophone discs with Megaphone Record Company, while still a teenager.
Her career spanned nearly 400 songs, mostly built around classical raags.
She was among the first female singers to give public concerts, rather than private mehfil performances only.
The government awarded her the Padma Shri in 1968, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1972.
She fell fatally ill during a concert near Thiruvananthapuram, in 1974, after straining her voice.
The Padma Bhushan followed in 1975, awarded posthumously.

Her honours arrived on an uneven timeline. The Padma Shri came in 1968, while she was alive. The Padma Bhushan came only in 1975, after her death.
Don’t confuse her early film work with her main legacy. She acted in several 1930s-40s talkies, but she is remembered chiefly as a classical ghazal and thumri singer, not as an actress.
Her student Shanti Hiranand later won a Padma Shri of her own. Hiranand also wrote a memoir about her, “Begum Akhtar: The Story of My Ammi” (2005).