Setting the record straight

An ongoing exhibition in New Delhi unearths the golden voices from the musical history of the nation

April 07, 2010 06:52 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 08:47 pm IST

Jaddan bai

Jaddan bai

They were the first ones who ensured that their music lived on long after they are gone, not just metaphorically but literally. In the early 20th Century, the baijis, as the tawaifs were addressed in those times, took a revolutionary decision of concurring to let their golden voices be canned on 78 rpm vinyl records. A novelty in the course of music in this country, it then created a stir and later came to change the way music was to be heard. The singing stars of yore are at the centre of CMAC's “Women on Record”. Blending various art practices — seminars, performances and an exhibition, the exercise probes how these women “democratised music and made it accessible to people,” as described by photographer Parthiv Shah, who along with his classical musician wife Vidya has put it all together.

The scale of the business and its vibrancy can be gauged from the fact that around 500 artists — as mentioned on a panel displayed in Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts' Maati Ghar — were recorded in different regional languages all over India. “It was a well worked-out business. The challenge was to train them to sing for gramophone records, that is presenting a raga in just three minutes. Then, they were to sing into a horn and the methodology was called wax horn. A number of genres, not just khyal and thumri but even sadra, chaturang, qawwalis and ghazals were recorded. Gauhar Jan and Zohra Jan Agrewali had mastered the technology. In one of the records, she apparently concludes by saying ‘Main Gauhar Jan, champion',” says Vidya.

Funny it may sound but announcing their names at the end of the recording — in order to establish authorship — was a common practice among the singers. For instance, Acchan Bai ended her recording with ‘Acchan Bai ka gaana, gramophone record.'

Vidya, who has been researching on the subject for one and a half years, informs that they were excellent singers who had gone through rigorous training. If Zohrabai Agrewali was known for her brilliant taankari, Janaki Bai's formidable talent evoked such a response from the audience that they showered coins on her. On one such occasion, around 14,000 coins were showered on her. Her skill earned her coins and even 56 knife scars from a supposed jealous rival, which got her the title of ‘Chhappan Chhuri'.

“They traversed different genres with ease. Jaddan Bai, Nargis's mother, had a clever business acumen. She started a film company ‘Sangeet Movie Tone',” notes Parthiv elaborating on the panel which shows a rare image of the mother-daughter duo with a playful Nargis having her arms around Jaddan Bai.

The panels replete with stories of singers like Miss Jadumani, Husnajan, Fanibala and Angurbala make the exhibition a delightful fare. Kesar Bai Kerkar was the only artiste from India whose voice was sent to space by NASA in 1977. The composition ‘Jat Kahan Ho' was a hori and the classic thumri “Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal Ched Gayo Re” was originally recorded by Miss Indubala.

Old record covers

Also on view are the old record covers of Columbia, His Master's Voice (HMV), HMV Safari, the print ad promoting the new portable transistor radiogram with 2 wave hands and 4 speed player. Its catchline, ‘Is your house complete without a gramophone' evokes a smile.

Then there are scores of photographs of ‘Heera Mandi' in Lahore, home to tawaifs in the Moghul era, different baris like Roy Bari, Ghosh Bari, Shova Bazaar and Raj Bari in Kolkata, whose owners, the great rasiks, patronised different streams of art including music.

But for the massive project, the avenues available for research were few.

“The great ustads, considering it below their dignity to record, either never recorded their music or recorded it some 15 years later. If I want to listen to the music of 1900, it is only the records of these women which are available but sadly they were not celebrated by the State. They were conveniently forgotten while doing our ‘cleansing act' post-independence. There are hardly any books, no museum, no archives to refer to,” rues Parthiv.

(The exhibition “Music and Nostalgia” is on at Maati Ghar, IGNCA, till April 13. The multi-media project will travel to other cities.)

Jaan's journey:

Gauhar Jaan, the first lady of the gramophone era, who recorded 600 discs in seven languages, has inspired Vikram Sampath, a Bangalore-based author and classical musician, to write about her enchanting life in “My Name is Gauhar Jaan”.

The artiste could sing in 20 languages and was paid a fee of Rs. 300, a handsome amount in those days.

An Armenian by birth, Eileen Angelina Yeoward, Gauhar Jaan later converted to Islam.

She flouted Government regulations and went around Kolkata in a four horse-driven buggy, for which she even paid a penalty of Rs. 1000 a day to the Viceroy! She was known to have even thrown a lavish party worth Rs 20,000 when her cat produced a litter of kittens.

The book will be released by Vice-President Hamid Ansari today.

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