‘Ishq se tabiyat ne zeest ka mazza paaya dard ki dawa paayi, dard be-dawa paaya
Pain as the condition of love.
“Chhoti si baat ka bura lagta hai aur phir woh theek ho jata hai. Lekin unko behad takleef hoti thi, zara si badgumani ho jaye toh unko lagta tha ki kisi ne khnajar maara aur woh khanjar chubha hi rehta tha jab tak woh uska pura mazza na le lein!”
The absolute beauty of even the cry of the cuckoo contains a lurking sadness revealed to only a few.
Hum toh samjhe thay ke barsat mein barsegi sharab, aayi barsaat to barsaat ne dil tod diya
Some desires are meant to remain just that: desires. Searching within worldly compulsions to fulfil those defeats the purpose of their existence.
“Begum Akhtar was the last link to the Nawabi culture of Lucknow.”
“Agar insaan imaandaar hai toh uske gaane mein taseer bhi hogi!”
“Iss qadar rang tha unki shakhsiyat mein, ki koi bhi cheez phiki nahin lagti thi. Chahe woh dukh ho ya dard ho, ya ‘ishq ho ya hansi ho, har cheez bohot rang le kar aati thi!”
“Agar heere se zyada kisi cheez mein chamak hai, toh woh hai Begum Akhtar ki muskurahat”
“Agar kisi shayar ki ghazal Begum Akhtar ne ga di, toh usse aur kya chahiye!”
Cheena bazaar (Lucknow) ke galiyon mein likha hai Akhtari ka naam
Dil hi toh hai na sang-o-khisht dard se bhar na aaye kyun royenge hum hazaar baar koi humein sataaye kyun
Love as a condition of life.
Diwana banana hai toh diwana bana de, warna kahin qismat tumhein mujhsa na bana de
“Kaan ki kacchi thi lekin dil ki bahut badi thi… waqti taur se har mehfil ko aisa khushgawar bana deti thi ki unka jhooth aur sach sab maaf tha!”
“Unko khud nahin maloom tha unko kya chahiye tha. Jo bhi chahat thi woh mil toh gayi thi. Dost thay, chahne waale thay, lekin aisi kuchh chah thi jo woh khud nahin samajhti thi. Aur yeh chah na hoti toh shayad Begum Akhtar na hoti!”
Yun toh har shaam ummeedon mein guzar jaati hai…
“If the balance sheet of her life has to be drawn, then it will be shown that she gave a lot more than she had received and not taken anything from anyone.”
Woh jo hum mein tum mein qarar tha, tumhein yaad ho ki na yaad ho
“An overwhelming regret for the love lost forever.”
“Begum Akhtar’s technique was much subtler. You never associated her music with effort. Her music was something shared, something effortlessly stated with great restraint.”
“Ladayi hai Allah Miyan se, baat nahi karungi! Humara toh aisa hi rishta hai Allah miyan se, jab jee chahega tab karungi, jab nahi chahega toh nahi karungi. Gunhegaar toh hun hi!”
“Her social role as Begum was just as flawless as her performances as Akhtari Bai!”
