Gauhar Jaan
Gauhar Jaan | |
---|---|
British India | |
Genres | Ghazal, thumri, dadra |
Occupation(s) | Musician, dancer |
Years active | 1887–1930[1] |
Gauhar Jaan (born Angelina Yeoward; 26 June 1873 – 17 January 1930)
Early life
Gauhar Jaan was born as Eleen Angelina Yeoward on 26 June 1873 in Azamgarh, of Armenian descent.[4][5] Her father, Robert William Yeoward, worked as an engineer in a dry ice factory, and married her mother, Adeline Victoria Hemmings, in 1872. Victoria, was the daughter of Hardy Hemmings, a british soldier and Rukmini in Allahabad and had a sister Vela, Vicky as she was called had been trained in music and dance.[citation needed]
In 1879 the marriage ended, causing hardships to both mother and daughter, who moved to
Career
In time, Victoria (now 'Malka Jaan') became an accomplished singer, Kathak dancer and a tawaif in Banaras, and made a name for herself, as Badi Malka Jan; she was called Badi (elder) because at that time three other Malka Jans were famous: Malka Jan of Agra, Malka Jan of Mulk Pukhraj and Malka Jan of Chulbuli, and she was the eldest amongst them.[7]
Malka Jaan moved back to Calcutta in 1883, and established herself in the courts of Nawab
Gauhar Jaan gave her maiden performance at the royal courts of
Gauhar Jaan first visited
Eventually, in her final days, she moved to Mysore, at the invitation of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV of Mysore, and on 1 August 1928,[8] she was appointed as a 'Palace musician', though she died within 18 months, on 17 January 1930 in Mysore.[10]
In her lifetime, she recorded more than 600 songs from 1902 to 1920, in more than ten languages,[11] including Bengali, Hindustani, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, Persian, Pushto, French, and English. She would round off her performances for a record by announcing 'My name is Gohar Jan'.[3][12]
She popularised light
Inspiration and honours
It is said that Begum Akhtar in her early days wanted to pursue a career in Hindi films, but after listening to the singing of Gauhar and her mother, she gave up the idea completely and devoted herself to learning Hindustani classical music, in fact, her first teacher was Ustad Imdad Khan, who accompanied the mother-daughter duo on sarangi.[citation needed]
On 26 June 2018, Google commemorated Gauhar Jaan with a Doodle on her 145th birth anniversary.[15] Google commented: "Gauhar Jaan, who emerged on the scene at the turn of the 20th century, gained popularity through her singing and dancing, and would go on to define the future of Indian performance art.".[16]
India's first recording sessions
India's first recording sessions included Gauhar Jaan, singing a
Restoration and release
Her songs are also part of the 'Vintage Music From India' (1996) audio album, and her image forms its cover.[23]
Contemporaries
There were four singing contemporaries of Gauhar Jaan with first names pronounced the same way as hers and sometimes spelled in English in different ways:
- Gauhar Jan of Patiala;[citation needed]
- Miss Gohar, who was associated with Parsi Theatrical Company in Bombay (Mumbai);[citation needed]
- Gohar Kayoum Mamajiwala (also known as Miss Gohar), a singer actress who was associated with and mistress of Sardar Chandulal Shah of Ranjit Films (studio), Bombay; and
- Gohar Bai Karnataka of Bijapur. She is typically associated with Bal Gandharva.[citation needed]
See also
Further reading
- Sampath, Vikram (2010). My Name is Gauhar Jaan!. Rupa Publications. ISBN 978-8129116185.
- Khayal and thumri gayaki of Late Gauhar Jan of Calcutta, S. R. Mehta, Volume 5 (January 1992), The Record News, The Journal of 'The Society of Indian Record Collectors' (SIRC).
- Widdess, Richard (1994). "Review: Vintage Music from India: Early Twentieth-Century Classical and Light-Classical Music". British Journal of Ethnomusicology. 3: 132. JSTOR 3060823.
- Lall, Inder Jit, "Erotic Malika who wrote poetry", Patriot Magazine, 22 April 1973
References
- ^ The Tribune. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ^ Thiyyadi, Sreevalsan (26 June 2018). "The Unheralded Revolution Gauhar Jaan Brought in to Indian Classical Music". Outlook. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ a b c 'First dancing girl, Calcutta'
- OCLC 631243857.
- ^ Savitha Gautam (13 May 2010). "The Hindu : Arts / Music : Recording Gauhar Jaan". Beta.thehindu.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- The Tribune, 26 May 2002.
- ^ a b c 'My name is Gauhar Jan' Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine www.the-south-asian.com, October 2003.
- ^ a b Gohar Jan Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Chowk, 16 April 2008.
- ISBN 978-81-291-2233-9.
- ^ Gauhar Jan in Madras[usurped] The Hindu, 14 January 2008.
- ^ Making musical waves[usurped] The Hindu, 3 February 2003.
- ^ Gauhar Jan Discography
- The Tribune, 13 April 2008.
- ^ Ras Ke Bhare
- ^ "Who was Gauhar Jaan, the singer Google Doodle is honouring today?". India Today. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Gauhar Jaan's 145th Birthday". Google. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- S2CID 164864077.
- ^ Gauhar Jaan: Early Recordings in India This announcement was necessary since the wax masters were sent to Hanover in Germany for pressing the records and the technicians would make proper labels and confirm the name by listening to these announcements at the end of the three minutes performance.
- Wall Street Journal, 10 December 2007.
- ^ a b Rebuilding a 100 years of priceless recordings Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Indian Express, 17 September 2006.
- The Telegraph, 1 November 2002.
- ^ 'Vintage Music From India'