Farida Khanum (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani classical singer. She is also known by her honorific title Malika-e-Ghazal (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India and is widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the ghazal genre of singing. Khanum has been affectionately called Queen of Ghazal in Pakistan.

Early life

Khanum was born in 1929 in Amritsar, British India, into a Punjabi Muslim family. She had four siblings — a sister and three brothers. Her sister is the famous singer, Mukhtar Begum. Their entire family moved from Amritsar, Punjab, to Lahore, Pakistan, when she was 18 years old. She started learning Khayal, Thumri, and Dadra from Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of Patiala gharana. As a child, her sister Mukhtar Begum would take her to the Khan's place for regular riyaaz (practice of classical music). Her family moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947.

Career

Farida Khanum gave her first public concert in 1950 at the very young age of 21, and then joined Radio Pakistan, where she gained recognition for herself. She became a star when Pakistan's president Ayub Khan invited her to a public recital in the 1960s. Farida also acted in films, and she also sang songs for films. She has been a frequent performer on Pakistan Television and other Pakistani TV channels. The ghazal she is most associated with is Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Naa Karo, written by the famous poet Fayyaz Hashmi. In 2015, at the age of 86, she sang this ghazal in Coke Studio Season 8. Khanum's live concerts in India have been very popular. She visited Kabul, Afghanistan, in the late 1960s and early 1970s for concerts where she collaborated with Afghan musicians and sang Persian-language ghazals.

Personal life

Farida Khanum lives in Lahore, Pakistan. She has five daughters and one son. Her niece, Sheeba Hassan, is also an actress.

Filmography

Television shows

Film

Discography

Studio releases

Compilations and live albums

Awards and recognition