Begum Akhtar

Begum Akhtar, the legendary singer, was known as mallika-e-ghazal, the queen of ghazal, ghazal is an Urdu poem. Her musical sensibility and feeling for lyrics were unmatched. She was born in Faizabad in 1914 in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Early in her career she was known as Akhtari Bai Faizabadi. In addition to her mastery of ghazal, she excelled in thumri and dadra, light classical forms. She passed away in 1974.