Today marks the 103rd birth anniversary of Begum Akhtar (October 7, 1914 – October 30, 1974), a renowned Indian singer of Ghazals. Her genre was, however, not ghazals alone, but also included splendid renderings of Hindustani classical music like Dadra and Thumri. She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan (posthumously) by Government of India. She was also referred to as Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals). Apart from her singing, she also acted in several films, the most notable being Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar.