Raj Begum is the melody queen of Kashmiri music whose mellow voice compliments and supplements perhaps every musical instrument ever invented. Her evocative, poignant and lingering intonations have a timeless quality about them which reverberate with the feelings of gloom, desolation, dejection, isolation and seclusion in the human heart, spirit and mind clad in the sentiment of ecstasy veiled in her mystifying fashion of singing.

Raj Begum came into limelight when she started singing in the 1940’s, a time when women singing in public had to face social stigma. Bearing all odds, Raj Begum became the first woman whose songs were broadcast on Radio. She broke new ground for other female singers in this conformist society thus contributing immensely to Kashmiri music in general and singing in particular.

Though Raj Begum faced criticism and disapproval from the traditionalist people of that time, she valiantly faced it and was suitably rewarded by the Government of India with the coveted Padma Shree in the year 2004.

Raj Begum is and will always remain the torch bearer for the modern day female singers, as well as a philosopher, guide and mentor for Kashmiri music.