Begum Akhtar
Begum Akhtar was an Indian vocalist of Ghazal, Dadra and Thumri. Her first public performance was at the age of fifteen. She also acted in several Bollywood films, including Mumtaz Beghum (1934), Jawaani Ka Nasha(1935) and King for a Day (1933). She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan (posthumously) by Government of India. Akhtar was barely seven when she was captivated by the music of Chandra Bai, an artist attached to a touring theatre group. However at her uncle's insistence she was sent to train under Ustad Imdad Khan, the great sarangi exponent from Patna, and later under Ata Mohammed Khan of Patiala.