2020-04-14 Tue

Shamshad Begum was one of the first playback singers of Indian cinema. From more than 6,000 songs that she had sung in a variety of Indian languages, 1287 were for Hindi films. Her voice behind hit songs like 'Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon', 'Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar' and 'Kajra Mohabbat Wala'.

Shamshad Begum was born in Lahore, British India (present-day Pakistan) on 14 April 1919; the day after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in nearby Amritsar. Her significant breakthrough came when she began singing on All India Radio in Peshawar and Lahore. Soon after, she became a well-known artist in the Hindi film industry and was at the peak of her career from 1940 to 1955 and again from 1957 to 1968.

She worked with legendary music directors like; Naushad Ali, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, and O. P. Nayyar. The songs she left behind in her long career continue to mesmerize music lovers even today. To honor her India Postal Department has issued a 500 Paise commemorative stamp featuring her portrait in 2016.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/