Gauhar Jaan

🪔 About

Gauhar Jaan, born Angelina Yeoward on June 26, 1873, in Azamgarh, was a pioneering Indian singer and dancer who rose to prominence as India's first celebrity recording artist. Her mother, Victoria Hemmings (later Malka Jaan), an accomplished musician and dancer, played a crucial role in her early life and training. After her parents' separation, Angelina and her mother moved to Banaras (Varanasi), where they converted to Islam, and Angelina adopted the name Gauhar Jaan. Gauhar Jaan received extensive training in various classical arts. She learned pure and light classical Hindustani vocal music from esteemed gurus such as Kale Khan of Patiala, Ustad Ali Baksh Jarnail (founding members of the Patiala Gharana), and Ustad Vazir Khan of Rampur. She also trained in Kathak dance under the legendary Brindadin Maharaj, Dhrupad-Dhamar from Srijanbai, and Bengali Kirtan from Charan Das. Her maiden performance took place at the royal courts of Darbhanga Raj in 1888, where she was subsequently appointed as a court musician. By 1896, Gauhar Jaan had established herself as a leading performer in Calcutta (Kolkata). She became a pivotal figure in Indian music history in 1902 when she was among the first Indian artists to record music on 78 rpm records for the Gramophone Company. This earned her the moniker "the gramophone girl" and cemented her status as India's first recording superstar. Over her career, she recorded more than 600 songs in over ten languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, Persian, Pushto, French, and English. She was instrumental in popularizing Hindustani classical music forms like thumri, dadra, kajri, tarana, and bhajans. Gauhar Jaan also composed ghazals under the pen-name 'Hamdam'. Her fame extended to performing for King George V at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. In her final years, she moved to Mysore at the invitation of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV and was appointed a 'Palace musician' in 1928, before her death on January 17, 1930.