Farida Khanum

Farida Khanum (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani classical singer. She is also known by her honorific title Malika-e-Ghazal (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India and is widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the ghazal genre of singing.

Early life Khanum was born in 1934 in Amritsar, British India, into a Punjabi Muslim family. She had four siblings — a sister and three brothers. Her sister is the famous singer, Mukhtar Begum. Their entire family moved from Amritsar, Punjab, to Lahore, Pakistan, when she was 18 years old.

She started learning Khayal, Thumri, and Dadra from Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of Patiala gharana. Her family moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947.

Career Farida Khanum gave her first public concert in 1950 at the very young age of 15, and then joined Radio Pakistan, where she gained recognition for her singing talent. In 2015, at the age of 80, she sang this ghazal in Coke Studio Season 8.

Personal life Farida Khanum lives in Lahore, Pakistan. She has five daughters and one son.

Awards and recognition Year Award Category Result Title Ref. 1970 Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan Herself 2000 PTV Award Best Singer Herself 2005 Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan Herself 2017 5th Hum Awards Hum Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award Herself 2021 20th Lux Style Awards Unilever Chairman's Lifetime Achievement Award Herself