Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Roshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum (Urdu: رَوشن آرا بیگم) (1917 – 6 December 1982) was a vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana (singing style) of Hindustani classical music. 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.
Born in the city of Kolkata in British India, she was the daughter of Abdul Haq Khan and Chanda Begum, and a cousin of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, also of the Kirana gharana.
Possessing a rich, mature, and mellifluous voice that could easily lend itself to a wide range of intricate classical music pieces, her singing features a full-throated voice, short and delicate passages of sur, lyricism, romantic appeal, and swift taans. All these flourishes were combined in her unique style, which reached its peak from 1945 to 1982. Her vigorous style of singing was interspersed with bold strokes and layakari. She had control over a wide range of ragas. Melody was considered the most important feature of her singing.
Born in Calcutta in 1917, Roshan Ara Begum visited Lahore 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, Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan). During her occasional visits to the city, she also broadcast songs from the then All India Radio station in Lahore, and her professional name was announced as Bombaywali Roshan Ara Begum. She had acquired this popular nomenclature because she shifted to Mumbai, then known as Bombay, in the late 1930s, to live near her cousin Abdul Karim Khan, from whom she took lessons in Hindustani classical music for 15 years.
Roshan Ara Begum was also invited to the Royal Courts by the Nawabs and Princes; at their courts, she would sing songs.
In the 1930s, Roshan Ara was selected due to her singing, as at that time, heroines were also required to be trained in singing. She worked in four films in Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi as the 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 the 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, she lived in a sprawling bungalow with her husband, Chaudhry Ahmed Khan.
Melody was considered the most important feature of her singing.
Hub AI
Roshan Ara Begum AI simulator
(@Roshan Ara Begum_simulator)
Roshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum (Urdu: رَوشن آرا بیگم) (1917 – 6 December 1982) was a vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana (singing style) of Hindustani classical music. 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.
Born in the city of Kolkata in British India, she was the daughter of Abdul Haq Khan and Chanda Begum, and a cousin of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, also of the Kirana gharana.
Possessing a rich, mature, and mellifluous voice that could easily lend itself to a wide range of intricate classical music pieces, her singing features a full-throated voice, short and delicate passages of sur, lyricism, romantic appeal, and swift taans. All these flourishes were combined in her unique style, which reached its peak from 1945 to 1982. Her vigorous style of singing was interspersed with bold strokes and layakari. She had control over a wide range of ragas. Melody was considered the most important feature of her singing.
Born in Calcutta in 1917, Roshan Ara Begum visited Lahore 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, Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan). During her occasional visits to the city, she also broadcast songs from the then All India Radio station in Lahore, and her professional name was announced as Bombaywali Roshan Ara Begum. She had acquired this popular nomenclature because she shifted to Mumbai, then known as Bombay, in the late 1930s, to live near her cousin Abdul Karim Khan, from whom she took lessons in Hindustani classical music for 15 years.
Roshan Ara Begum was also invited to the Royal Courts by the Nawabs and Princes; at their courts, she would sing songs.
In the 1930s, Roshan Ara was selected due to her singing, as at that time, heroines were also required to be trained in singing. She worked in four films in Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi as the 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 the 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, she lived in a sprawling bungalow with her husband, Chaudhry Ahmed Khan.
Melody was considered the most important feature of her singing.