Zarina Begum, 87, known to be the only living court singer of the Awadh Court and one of the most popular singers of 1950s and 1960s, lives a life of anonymity today.
The sole surviving singer who can voice the baithak thumri once sung in Lucknow's royal houses, today struggles to find herself heard.
Zarina Begum who was in the city recently to perform some of her famous ghazals, reminisced on the era gone by, ghazal maestro Begum Akhtar as well as the difficult life she faced after her demise.
"My brother took away everything I had, all the property and money. I led a very difficult life. It wasn't easy," Zarina said haltingly, her ill health not permitting her to speak more than a couple of words at a time. Members of her family say no one from either the government or the public came forward to uplift the "royal" singer, who now lives under poverty.
"Nobody has come forward to help us. Such a big singer of the country has got such a bad treatment. Today she has nothing, all her money and property has been lost but no one is willing to help us," her son-in-law said. Born in Nanpara, Bahraich, Zarina Begum had begun her musical training under Gulam Hazrat at the age of 11.
Years later when Begum Akhtar, also known as Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, heard her, she immediately took her under her guidance. "Begum Akhtar loved her. She once heard her singing and asked her father to give Zarina ji to her. She wanted to adopt her. She took her under her guidance and Zarina ji went to become a huge name," Zarina Begum's son-in-law said, Gradually, Zarina became a must at the royal mansions and one of the most admired courtesan singers in Lucknow.
The song "Humari Atariya" from the Madhuri Dixit-starrer film "Dedh Ishqiya" was originally sung by Zarina Begum.
However, after the death of Begum Akhtar things changed for Zarina. She often used to team up with her husband on the tabla for various performances but that partnership too came to an end with his death. Despite her ill-health which causes her speech to be laboured, Zarina mustered up her strength to regale her audience with a performance here recently at an event dedicated to the legacy of Begum Akhtar.
The event a symposium titled "The last song of Awadh" conceptualised by Manjari Chaturvedi, also witnessed a discussion by renowned scholars like Janaab Iqbal Ahmed Khan, Salim Kidwai, Pran Neville and Chhayya Ganguli. "Zarina Begum's love and passion for ghazals have made her stay strong despite difficulties and all odds, Ghazals have kept her alive. She never left singing," said Zarina Begum's son-in-law.
Meanwhile, Chaturvedi, a sufi kathak dancer says she plans to build an archive on the awadi ghazals.
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