Awadh’s last courtesan lies ill, impoverished

LUCKNOW: The last living Awadhi court singer and Hindustani classical music maestro Begum Akhtar's disciple Zarina begum is undergoing treatment for severe dehydration at a private hospital on Nabibullah Road. Hit by paralysis about four years ago, Zarina cannot move without wheelchair.
Hearing the news that the family was finding it difficult to afford her medical expenses, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav announced the state government would bear the cost.Citing the CM, an official spokesperson said, “Zarina begum is extremely talented and earned a reputation for her soulful singing. She is reeling under financial crisis, so the state would bear cost of her treatment.”
Zarina’s son-in-law Naved told reporters that she couldn’t save enough for old age because she didn’t know about banking. “Whatever she earned was spent in raising their three children,” said Naved, married to Zarina’s daughter Rubina.
Her eldest son Aslam lives in Kanpur with his family and rarely visits her as he is caught in his own struggle to survive. The youngest of her children, 36-year-old Ayub is a tabla player inspired by his father but he lost his legs in an accident. Now, he sings in small qawwalli gatherings.
“The earnings are meager,” he rued. It may be noted that Zarina received the first Begum Akhtar award, instituted by department of culture, in August this year.