Gems of Begum Akhtar

Begum Akhtar, the voice for an unquestionedpre-eminence in the domain of light classical music added a new dimension to thePurab-ang vocalism in light classical music. Her savior faire to cast the touching tone of her poetic theme in an equally delicate tune - be it thumri, dadra or ghazal - was perhaps equalled by few, surpassed by fewer still. Few could, indeed, reveal in their renditions, as they did, that delicate grace of spontaneous niceties of musical phrasing, or that poetic excellence of her songs. Behind this was her high sense of literary appreciation of the great ghazals of Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Jigar Moradabadi, among several others, which she used to sing with passion. It was not only the hypnotic quality of Begum Akhtar's voice, or the naturalness and spontaneity of style that compelled special admiration from her countless votaries. To her, voice was Allah's gift and she would say so, in all gratitude and humility.

Widely travelled, Begum Akhtar ranked high among our cultural ambassadors. She was the recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padmashree. Unlike in the case of Siddheswari Devi, it would appear that the powers that be, thought it fair to elevate her, posthumously, with, Padma Bhushan, the next higher civilian honour. As for the Begum, these accolades and distinctions simply did not matter.

Her mission in life was to regale her audiences with her soulful, elevating music. Needless to say, they returned home with gladdened hearts. A regular broadcaster, she also had to her credit some four hundred songs, released through 78 rpm discs and later through long-play discs and tapes. The treasure left by her is fortunately preserved and is available to the present generation of connoisseurs.

Her Thumri, Dadra or Ghazal, in this album, contains the delicate grace of spontaneous musical phrasing. The poetic excellence of her songs are accompanied by Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh & Pt. V.G. Jog.