Farida Khanum

Trivia

• She is deeply religious and does not accept any concert engagements or grant any interviews during the month of Ramzan.
• Khanum’s most famous ghazal “Aaj jaane ki zid na karo”, is one of the best known songs in the Subcontinent.
• She was honoured with the prestigious Indian distinction, the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan award for 2005, presented to her by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Gwalior.
• The ghazal she is most famously associated with is "Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Naa Karo".
• Farida Khanum gave her first public concert in 1950, where renowned singers like Zeenat Begum and Iqbal Begum also sang.
• She started learning Khayal from her sister Mukhtar Begum at age seven and later learnt classical music from the renowned maestro of Patiala Gharana, Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan.
• She migrated to Pakistan after independence in 1947.
• In 2005, she was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honour by President Pervez Musharraf.
• She was given the title "Malika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazal) in tribute to her singing talent.
• Farida Khanum is a renowned Pakistani Ghazal singer from Punjab.

Quotes

• “Even if I wanted to do riyaaz, there was so much post Partition opposition to music in Pakistan that if one sang in the morning, the neighbours would complain.”
• “I thought what’s my mukaam (stature) in front of them? I then decided to stick to light classical music.Understanding my weaknesses helped me to build on my strengths.”