Google creates doodle to commemorate ghazal queen Begum Akhtar's 103rd birth anniversary

To commemorate the 103rd birth anniversary of Begum Akhtar, who is known as Mallika-e-Ghazal or the Queen of Ghazals, Google released a doodle on 7 October. In it, she is portrayed playing the sitar, surrounded by an audience seated in a hall lit by candles. [caption id=“attachment_4118269” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Google doodle of Begum Akhtar[/caption] Born in 1914 in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, and named Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, she began training under Ustad Imdad Khan, a sarangi exponent, since childhood. Notably, she was one of the first female singers to perform in public, and gave her first ever performance at the age of 15. Apart from ghazals, she is also remembered as a singer of the Thumri and Dadra genres of Hindustani classical music. During the course of her career, she was awarded the Padma Shri in 1968, the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1972, and also the Padma Bhushan, posthumously, in 1975. It is said that she gave up singing after she got married, but returned to her art when her health began deteriorating. She composed many of her own melodies and visited recording studios until her death in 1974. She fell ill during her last concert in Ahmedabad.