Roshan Ara Begum ( ur, ) (1917 – 6 December 1982) was a vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana (singing style) of
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...
. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Mauseeqi'' (The Queen of Music) and ''The Queen of Classical Music'' in both Pakistan and India.
Early life and training
Born in the
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
city of
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
in undivided India. She was the daughter of Abdul Haq Khan and Chanda Begum, and the cousin of Ustad
Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan ( Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Kirana gharana.
Born in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
in 1917 CE, Roshan Ara Begum visited
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
during her teens to participate in musical soirées held at the residences of affluent citizens of Chun Peer in Mohalla Peer Gillaanian at
Mochi Gate
The Mochi Gate locally known as Mochi Darwaza (موچی دروازہ) located in south of the Walled City of Lahore between Akbari and the Shah Alam Gates in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the thirteen gates of the Walled City of Lahore ...
,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
(now in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
). During her occasional visits to the city, she also broadcast songs from the then
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All ...
station in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
and her professional name was announced as ''Bombaywali'' Roshan Ara Begum. She had acquired this popular nomenclature because she shifted to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
, then known as Bombay, in the late 1930s, to live near her cousin
Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan ( Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...
for 15 years. In 1930s Roshan Ara was selected due to her singing as at time heroines were required to be trian in singing and she worked in four films in hindi, urdu and punjabi as leading lady.
A senior police officer in Bombay and a music lover, Chaudhry Ahmed Khan, approached her with an offer of marriage in 1944. Roshan Ara Begum consulted her tutor, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, about it. She finally accepted the marriage offer on one condition that she would not have to give up her music after marriage. Her husband kept his promise and she continued to sing throughout her life. In
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
, she lived in a sprawling bungalow with her husband Chaudhry Ahmed Khan.Profile of Roshan Ara Begum on travel-culture.com website Retrieved 26 April 2022
Career
Melody was considered the most important feature of her singing.
Migrating to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in 1948 after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
, Roshan Ara Begum and her husband settled in
Lalamusa
Lala Musa (; ur, , pa, ), is a city located in the Gujrat District of the Punjab province, Pakistan with a population of 91,500 in 2018.
History Toponymy
Lala Musa is a combination of two nouns which mean Brother Musa with ''Lala'' (from ...
, a small town in
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
from which her husband hailed. Although far away from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
, the cultural centre of Pakistan, she would travel back and forth to participate in music, radio and television programmes.
A widely-respected classical music patron of Pakistan,
Hayat Ahmad Khan
Hayat Ahmad Khan (1921 – 6 February 2005) was a connoisseur and sponsor of classical music in Pakistan. He founded the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) in 1959 and was its secretary-general for a long time.
Early life and education
H ...
approached her and convinced her to become one of the founding members of
All Pakistan Music Conference
The All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) is a volunteer organization founded in 1959 for the promotion of classical arts in Pakistan and continues to preserve and promote Pakistani classical and folk music and dance. It hosts a concert of musi ...
in 1959. To promote classical music, this organization continues to hold annual music festivals in different cities of Pakistan even today.
She was called "Malika-e-Mauseeqi" (Queen of Music) in Pakistan. She would wake up early in the morning and start her 'riyaz' (musical practice) after her morning religious prayers. She decided to adopt a boy and a girl since she herself remained childless.
Roshan Ara Begum also sang some film songs, mostly under music composers like Anil Biswas, Feroz Nizami and ''Tassaduq Hussain'', for films such as ''Pehali Nazar (1945)'', Jugnu (1947), ''Qismat (1956)'', ''Roopmati Baazbahadur (1960)'' and
Neela Parbat
Neela Parbat ( ur, ) is a 1969 Pakistani Urdu film directed by Ahmad Bashir. The cast included Mohammad Ali, Husna, Sofia Bano, Komal, Zareen Panna and Agha Talish.
Story theme
It was Pakistan's one of the earliest experimental feature fi ...
Bade Fateh Ali Khan
Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan ( ur, ; ; 1935 – 4 January 2017) was among the foremost Khyal vocalists in Pakistan, and a leading exponent of the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the younger of the legendary singing duo Amanat Ali an ...
Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan ( Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
at
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
on 6 December 1982 at the age of 65.
Awards and recognition
Roshan Ara Begum received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz Award or (Star of Excellence) Award and the
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
Award in 1960 from the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Bibliography
* ''Kirana'', by Roshan Ara Begum. Published by Gramophone Co. of India,