RAJ BEGUM: THE FORGOTTEN NIGHTINGALE OF KASHMIR …A TRIBUTE
I have known her since 1979. She would come for banking-related work at our bank only. She gave enormous respect to my immediate boss and a saintly person Shamboo Nath Kaul ( from Bandipore, Kashmir ) with whom she confided almost every financial secret of her family. And this pious man never shared anything with any person. I could always feel that she was not on a strong footing financially. She also asked for a loan once. And one-day Shamboo Nath Ji told me this:-
“ If I am not in the bank and Raj Begum comes for any work, treat her like my sister and help her. Saraswati resides in her throat. ” I did follow late Shamboo Nath Ji’s words.
In 2008, during my posting as Chief, of Retail Banking Hub, Kashmir valley, I was happy to see that Raj Begum had her pension account with our bank only. I met her three or four times later as and when she would come to withdraw her pension. During this second interaction with her ( which started in 2008 ), I never told her anything about late Shamboo Nath Kaul or her old dealings with the bank. She also appeared to be a little withdrawn.
Raj Begum was born in a poor family of Maisuma ( more specifically near Gawa-Kadal ), Srinagar, on March 27, 1927. To supplement the family income, she started singing in her childhood. As she grew up, she started singing in marriages ( Mehndiraat functions ) of Pandit and Muslim families in the Kashmir valley . In a way ,she dared to break the social stigma of women singing in public. In 1950, the well-folk singer, Ghulam Qadir Langoo introduced her to Radio Kashmir Srinagar as a casual artist. Finally, she became a permanent employee of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar wherefrom she retired in 1986.
Her unique voice and delivery of songs drew the attention of music lovers right away, especially her rendering of the famous love tale Gulrez. She went on to sing at Radio Kashmir till 1986. She has sung in most of genres of singing: folk, religious, Ghazals, romantic, light, etc. Some people familiar with the Kashmiri music scene estimate that she has sung around two thousand songs. Some songs sung by her touched new heights of popularity. These songs could be listed as under:-
1 Vyasiye gulan aavuy bahar
2 Subuh phul bulbulav tul shore-googa( From Masanavi Gulrez)
3 Rum ghayam sheeshas byegur gov baana
myon( duet )
4 Wal az vyesiye dokh sukh mashrith sheraw lolik khwwab
5 Kyah roze pardan zchhaaye zchaaye soz e jigar myon
6 Mashraavthas jaanan tse kar yaad
7 Rang Tsatti na myani Jawaani
8 Kyah Kyah vanaai aey dost tse
9 Husnas tse pholwun roozinai gulzaar ithaai-kaen
10 Hazrat Nabiyas laghos naavas ( Naat )
11 Bahaar aav Bahaar
12 Damma roz katha boz
13 Bomburo bomburo sham rang bomburo( lead voice in the group song)
14 Karaai gath ba aendh aendh tse
15 Beyi pheur sontuk vaav bahaar aav bahaar aav ( duet )
16 valo vaavo vanaai
17 Poshe maeti laalo chhaav achhaposh ( duet)
Raj Begum had the distinction of having rendered her playback voice to the feature film “ Mehjoor ”. Some lovers of her singing called her Asha Bhosle of Kashmir. Many were tempted to call her Reshma of Kashmir. Begum Akhtar also had an appreciation for her high-pitch, haunting, deep and pulsating voice. This voice gave her a special aura among the singers of Kashmir. Begum Akhtar had suggested her to sing only Gazals.
She was honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2002. The Films Division, Ministry of Information And Broadcasting created a biographical documentary on the life of Raj Begum. The documentary film, named, “Her Theme of Freedom – Raj Begum – The Melody Queen of Kashmir” was broadcasted at many locations. About the new generation of singers in Kashmir, she once said this:-
“I am happy to see them around as some of them are quite talented and sing well. Some of them have excellent voices and have worked hard also. I am a little pained to find that a good number of these singers from the young generation have little knowledge of good Kashmiri poetry and traditional Kashmiri music and the accompanying instruments .”
About Raj Begum and her co-singers ,Quaiser Qalandhar writes this:-
“Raj begum’s first song was again Maqbool Shah Kralwari’s ghazal…’ Wesiye Gulon Aawye Bahar’…with better diction and pronunciation. You would recall the rendering of Rasa Javidani’s ghazal…Mushravthas Janane…Tse Kar Yaad Peymeeay Ba…besides many of her popular performances of her under my direction and with my composition of music. Both Raj Begum and Naseem Akhtar have innumerable songs to their credit composed by me. Mirza Aarif’s lyric…Rumm Gayam Sheshas Begurr Ghom Bana Meyoun…is one of the many outstanding presentations. Both these ladies also presented compositions of Mohan Lal Aima and Verinder Mohan during the first decade of Radio Kashmir Srinagar. "
About Raj Begum, noted singer Arti Tiku Kaul wrote this on my Facebook post:-
“ She is an artist who touched millions of hearts with her deep, resonating voice. With minimum/no training in music, she had an amazing talent to sing words with utmost depth and emotion. I also remember that she did not read and write any of the songs but relied upon a fellow artist to say the words in her ear, just before she got the signal to sing her part. I used to watch her in awe, when she sang many feet away from the mike, while other artists had to stay as close as possible and still managed to get her voice heard better than the others. Yes, she does remind us of Reshma who relied only on the depth of her voice with a touch of right emotion. She also is a very warm and motherly person and would always shower me with blessings..”
She sang many duets or group songs with old time singers like Tara Begum, Zoon Begum, Naseem Akhtar, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, Ghulam Mohammad Rah, Ali Mohammad Sheikh, Mohan Lal Aima, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Balpuri, Ghulam Qadir Langoo, Ali Mohammad Nashtar and many more. She also worked with noted musicians and composers like Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma ( father of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma ), Qaisar Qalander, Virendra Mohan, Nassar-ullah Khan, Mohan Lal Aima and many more. The then Prime Minister of Kashmir Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad remained an ardent admirer of her singing.
Raj Begum was a witness to the period when well-known Sufiana singers and musicians like Ustaad Sidda Joo, Ustaad Ramzan Joo, Ustaad Mohammad Abdullah Tibetbaqal, Ustaad Amir Joo, Ustaad Ghulam Mohammad Qalinbaaf, Ghulam Qadir Mujavir, Mohammad Sultan Mir, Peer Nizamuddin and some Hafiza artists also performed for the Radio Kashmir, Srinagar. This could be a period of training and learning for her.In 2008, I asked her about Kashmiri musician Mohan Lal Aima and she said this:-
“ Tamiss aassin swarguss manz Jaai. Gaash ta bahaar aissinas taati . Tyoothh zaanavol katie anon. Khuda zaanie katie anoakh tim swargvaasi ? ”(Let his abode be in the Swarga ( Heaven )! Let there be light and spring season in that Swarga( Heaven )! Where can we get learned men like him? God knows where from we shall get men like him now .) Saying so she wiped tears from her eyes and asked for a glass of water. She was not well. I also noticed that she was on some medicines.
Survived by two sons, a daughter and grandchildren, Raj Begum died in 2016. At the time of her death, Raj Begum was putting up with her daughter who lives in the Chaanpora locality of Srinagar city.
I end this write-up with lines from a Kashmiri Gazal of poet Rasa Javidani sung soulfully by Raj Begum…
“Masharaavthuss janaana tse kar yaad peymoy baa,
Chhukh az wafaa begaana tse kar yaad peymoy baa.
Raadhaaiy jigras kaan taarith baal maarith guv,
Goopaal krishen kanhaa tse kar yaad peymoy baa.” …..( Rasa javidaani )
(Love! Willfully, you forgot me,
when shall you remember me?
You, who plays stranger to my love,
when shall you remember me?
Piercing arrow in Radha’s tender heart,
you move playfully away.
O Gopala! O Krishna! O Kanha!
when shall you remember me ?)
( Avtar Mota )
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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