FEROZA BEGUM

Feroza Begum, a legendary singer, gave Nazrul's songs the passion with her unforgettable seasoned voice and she will remain afresh in the heart of millions. For her unstinting dedication to music, Feroza Begum has been awarded the Shadhinata Puroshkar including many other prestigious awards. She has been awarded the D Lit title from Bardhaman University of India as recognition of her special contribution in the musical arena.

Life and Career
At the age of 10 she started her career. And by that time she met poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and had the brief opportunity of taking lessons from the maestro himself. She first sang on All India Radio while studying in class 6. In 1942, HMV, the gramophone record company, recorded her first Islamic song. Since then, 12 LP records, 4 EP records, 6 CDs and more than 20 audio cassette records have been released. She lived in Kolkata from 1954 until she moved to Dhaka in 1967. In 1956, Feroza married Kamal Dasgupta, a singer, composer and lyricist.

"I always dreamt of
recording my songs and
hoped everybody would
listen to my music."

At the beginning of my professional career
as a singer, I faced obstacles from my family.
They told me to quit music and go back to
Faridpur. They tried to marry me off, since
they thought that an unmarried Muslim girl
should not be allowed to continue an
artistic career far from home.

For my family and
three sons– Tahseen,
Hamin and Shafin –
I sacrificed the golden
days of my life for
six years."

Source: The Star Magazine and Wikipedia