Firoza Begum (singer)
Bangladeshi singer (1930–2014)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Firoza Begum (Bengali: ফিরোজা বেগম; 28 July 1930 – 9 September 2014) was a Bangladeshi Nazrul Geeti singer.[3] She was awarded the Independence Day Award in 1979 by the government of Bangladesh.
- Singer
- songwriter
Feroza Begum | |
|---|---|
ফিরোজা বেগম | |
Begum in 1955 | |
| Born | 28 July 1930[1] Faridpur, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 9 September 2014 (aged 84) Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1940–2014 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed |
| Relatives |
|
| Awards | Independence Day Award (1979) |
Early life and career
Firoza Begum was born in Gopalganj District on 28 July 1930 to the zamindar family of Ratail Ghonaparha.[4] Her parents were Khan Bahadur Mohammad Ismail of Faridpur, and Begum Kowkabunnesa.[3] She became drawn to music in her childhood.[3] She started her career in 1940s.[5]
Firoza Begum first sang in All India Radio while studying in sixth grade. She met the national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam at the age of 10. She became a student of his. In 1942, she recorded her first Islamic song by the gramophone record company His Master's Voice in 78 rpm disk format. Since then, 12 LP, 4 EP, 6 CD and more than 20 audio cassette records have been released.[6] She lived in Kolkata from 1954 until she moved to Dhaka in 1967.[3]
Personal life
On 28 March 1956, Feroza Begum married Kamal Dasgupta (who converted to Islam before the marriage and took the name Kamal Uddin Ahmed), a singer, composer, and lyricist. Kamal died on 20 July 1974. Two of their three sons, Hamin Ahmed and late Shafin Ahmed are musicians. They are members of the rock band Miles.[3]
Death
Firoza Begum died on 9 September 2014 in Apollo Hospital, Dhaka due to heart and kidney problems.[3]
Awards and honours
Awards
- Independence Day Award (1979)
- Netaji Subhash Chandra Award
- Satyajit Ray Award
- Nasiruddin Gold Medal
- Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Gold Medal
- Best Nazrul Sangeet Singer Award
- Nazrul Academy Award
- Churulia Gold Medal
- Gold Disk from CBS, Japan
- Meril-Prothom Alo Lifetime honorary award (2011)
- Sheltech Award (2000)[7][8]
Honours
- D Lit from University of Burdwan
- Bongo Shomman from Mamata Banerjee (2012)
Legacy
The 'Feroza Begum Memorial Gold Medal' was introduced from 2016 by Dhaka University. The recipient is selected by a jury board each year from nationally recognised music artists.[9]
On 28 July 2018, Google celebrated Firoza Begum's 88th Birthday with a Google Doodle.[10]
