Kajjan Begum (1932 2000) was a Pakistani classical and a film playback singer. Before migrating to Pakistan, she was a famous singer in India.

Early life

Kajjan Begum's birth name was Imam Baandi. She was born in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

on 24 January 1932. Her mother, Hussaini Begum and her two younger sisters, Ishrat Jehan and Shamim Bano were also singers. She was schooled in classical singing with her two sisters at the Lucknow School.

Career

She started singing ''Marsiya'' with her mother in 1940. She was later employed at Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan's (Raja Saheb of Mahmudabad) palace, where she would sing songs and recite elegies during religious days and in the month of

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

. On other days, she would sing thumris, kajris, dadras, purbi geets and light classical Hindustani music. Kajjan Begum remained in India after the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

for some time and became a popular singer there. In the late 1950s, she migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

with her family. She later started singing on

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

, Karachi. She also trained her daughter

Mehnaz Begum Mehnaz Begum (, 1958 – 19 January 2013) was a Pakistani TV, radio, and film singer. She was well known as a film playback singer in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the recipient of several Nigar Awards.Chiragh Jalta Raha Chiragh Jalta Raha is a 1962 Pakistani Urdu film produced and directed by ''Fazal Ahmad Karim Fazli''. The film introduced Zeba, Deeba, Muhammad Ali (actor), Muhammad Ali, Talat Hussain (actor), Talat Hussain, and Kemal Irani. Fatima Jinnah, the ...

'' (1962 film), to which she agreed. The film was a Silver Jubilee box office hit. It was premiered by

Fatima Jinnah Fatima Jinnah (31 July 18939 July 1967) was a Pakistani politician, stateswoman, author, and Activism, activist. She was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the List of Pakistan Movement activists, founder and first governor-general of ...

, the chief guest in the opening ceremony held at Nishat Cinema, Karachi.

Awards

She was honored with the ''

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

'' award from the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

for her contributions to the music Industry in 2000.

Personal life

Kajjan Begum married co-singer Akhtar Wasi Ali in 1952, with whom she had four children including

Mehnaz Begum Mehnaz Begum (, 1958 – 19 January 2013) was a Pakistani TV, radio, and film singer. She was well known as a film playback singer in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the recipient of several Nigar Awards.Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan at age 68.

Songography

Awards and recognition

References

External links

*
Kajjan on Apple Music website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Kajjan 1932 births Pakistani radio personalities 20th-century Pakistani women singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Urdu-language singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women classical singers 20th-century Indian women singers Women ghazal singers Punjabi-language singers 20th-century Indian women musicians Radio personalities from Lahore Pakistani tawaifs Pakistani classical singers 20th-century Indian actresses Patiala gharana 2000 deaths Pakistani ghazal singers Pakistani playback singers Indian courtesans Recipients of the Pride of Performance Singers from Lucknow Muhajir people Indian emigrants to Pakistan