Farida Khanum: Private Life, Career & Achievements
From Kolkata, in West Bengal, comes the classical singer Farida Khanum. She is also referred to in Pakistan and India by the honorific name Malika-e-Ghazal (The Queen of the Ghazals).
Farida Khanum Early Life: She was born in Calcutta, British India, in the autumn of 1929. She has a sister and three brothers as siblings. Mukhtar Begum, a well-known singer, is her sister. When she was 18, the entire family relocated from Amritsar, in eastern Panjab (India), to Lahore. (Pakistan)
From Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala Gharana, she began learning Khayal, Thumri, and Dadra.
She used to go to the Khans’ house for frequent Riyaaz with her sister, Mukhtar Begum when she was younger (for the practice of classical music). Her family relocated to Pakistan because of the 1947 Partition of India.
Farida Khanum- Career
At the early age of 21, Farida Khanum performed exceptionally well in front of an audience for the first time. She then joined Radio Pakistan, where she rose to fame. When Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan summoned her to a public recital in the 1960s, she instantly rose to fame.
On Pakistan Television and other Pakistani TV stations, she has frequently performed. She is notably recognized for the ghazal Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Naa Karo by renowned poet Fayyaz Hashmi.
She performed this ghazal on Coke Studio Season 8 in 2015 when she was 86.
The live performances by Farida Khanum have been very well received in India.
She also performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with local musicians and singing Persian ghazals.
Private life- Farida Khanum
Pakistan’s Lahore is where Farida Khanum resides. She has a son and five daughters. Her niece, Sheeba Hassan, is well-known for her role in the PTV drama series Sona Chandi (1982). Farida Khanum is jokingly referred to as the Queen of Ghazals in Pakistan.
Achievements- Farida Khanum
She frequently gave live radio performances and helped shape radio culture in Pakistan and in the Indian states where it could reach. As Farida steadily began entrancing everyone with her singing, her musical prowess brought her to the Pakistani President’s offices when, in the 1960s, Abu Khan invited her to perform.
She may have been the most prominent artist in Pakistan then, making this the turning point in her career. Now, people from all over the world are praising her musical brilliance. The Pakistani President gave Farida the ‘Pride of Performance’ Award in 1970.
Beginning in 1978, Farida released her compilation and live albums. 1978 saw the release of her album “Farida Khanum in Concert,” which featured the song “Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo” as its opening track. It was the song that everyone loved.