Roshanara Begum

Roshanara Begum was a well-known and respected Classical Vocalist of Indian Classical Music. She was born in Calcutta in 1917 and spent her teenage years travelling to Lahore to sing for its wealthy residents.  

At the time, Lahore had a beautiful music scene where concerts and musical gatherings regularly took place. However, after the Partition of India in 1947, which resulted in the creation of Pakistan as an independent country, Roshanara and her husband relocated to  Lampusa, a small town in Punjab Pakistan (which as you might remember, influenced her musical practice).  

Partition created a difficult situation for the once flourishing musical scene of Lahore and wider Pakistan. Governmental and religious restrictions meant that the audience and funding for classical music had dried up. This provided a difficult situation for Roshanara, who found the limited music scene in Pakistan uninspiring. Although she often travelled to Lahore for radio opportunities, and although borders were introduced, music allowed her to cross them, even if it happened much less frequently than she hoped!