Begum Akhtar's home in Lucknow may be shrouded in neglect but her place of burial in the same city is aglow with candles and incense sticks fired by numerous fans.

Melodious tributes are paid to the great ghazal queen often beside her grave as the city celebrates her 100th birth anniversary this year also by organising talks and discussions.

Alpika, a local cultural organisation brought together historian Saleem Kidwai, scholar Sharib Rudaulvi and musician Amit Mukerjee recently at an event titled ruh-ba-ruh, or face to face where four ghazals sung by Begum Akhtar were played, leading to an interesting discussion on how and why the vocalist chose certain poetry to lend it her soulful voice.

Speakers concluded that Begum Akhtar was not just a vocalist but a pioneer for having introduced to music connoisseurs a love for light classical music. By singing the ghazal, or poems about love, Begum Akhtar got many more people interested in both Urdu poetry and Hindustani music.

Although trained from a young age in classical music, Begum Akhtar found expressing herself in light classical music that seemed much more suited to her poetic and romantic temperament.

“She understood poetry and that is why her singing continues to touch the heart of every listener,” said Mukerjee of Begum Akhtar who was born to a well known tawaif, or courtesan of Faizabad. She learnt music from the age of seven years first from sarangi maestro Ustad Nawaz Imdad Khan, then Ustad Ata Muhammad Khan and later from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan of the kirana gharana.

After her marriage to Ishtiaq Ahmad Abbasi, prominent lawyer, there was an attempt to hide her courtesan background.

It is unnecessary to do so feels Kidwai.

“That she was a tawaif is a historical fact and so what? It is important not to forget where Begum Akhtar came from as that fact is very crucial to understanding her art,” Kidwai insists. For the courtesans of late 19th century and early 20th century were remarkable women and the only women to showcase their talent with pride, to practice their art and to appear in public at a time when a majority of the average woman was wrapped in chadar and confined to chaardiwari.

Begum Akhtar too was a remarkably brave woman who knew what she wanted in life and made sure that she got it. She was determined to earn respectability, fame and fortune through her singing and she achieved that. She married but never stopped to sing even for a single day.

According to Rudaulvi, Begum Akhtar chose to sing poets like Mirza Ghalib mainly because of human values like love, togetherness and tenderness found in their verse.

Born in Faizabad, Begum Akhtar was sent to Kolkata and Mumbai by her mother to earn a living by acting in films. Begum Akhtar did all that but eventually returned to make a home in Lucknow as the cultural milieu of this city was best suited to her gracious personality.

Only till a few years ago, Begum Akhtar's grave was hidden in the wilderness. After a hunt by fans and family members alike, the site was found, identified and renovated into a mausoleum by Sanatkada, a local NGO and the Sadbhavna Trust. Architect Ashish Thapar volunteered to design the last resting place of Begum Akhtar who lies buried beside Mushtari Bai, her mother in the Pasand Bagh area of the city.

The pietra dura work on the mausoleum in marble was done in Agra after a donation by Mumbai based designer Parag Pradhan and a modest grant from the government.

Padma Shri Padma Bhushan Shanti Hiranand, prime disciple and author of Begum Akhtar's biography declared the premises open to public after a concert in November 2012.

“We hope the citizens of the city will come forward to take ownership of the site. The site will have to be maintained and it is their responsibility to keep it in a state that is befitting of the dignity of the great artist,” Kidwai does not tire of repeating.

What the huge fan following of the Begum desire now is to get a road named after her in Lucknow. It will be a dream come true if the two homes she spent her life in were restored and converted into a museum and a music academy in the name of Begum Akhtar who died here at the age of 60 years in 1974.