Gauhar Jaan never hesitated in trying something new with her craft of singing. That is what prompted her to record her music, which was an important development because it democratised music and now it became available to the common man, breaking the class boundaries. She compressed khayal singing into three minutes. Her contribution to Hindustani classical music is remarkable. The legendary dancer and singer recorded more than 600 records between 1902 and 1920, across diverse languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, Persian, Pushto, French, and English. A ‘tawaif’ of repute, she had her own stature and grace. During the 1920s, when the Indian elite, armed with western education, campaigned against Tawaifs and the Viceroy was approached for banning the profession, Gauhar commented that the Viceroy should mind his own business since his monthly salary was equal to what she received for one ‘mujra’!
For non-Hindi-Urdu speakers, we have subtitled this video in English, which has been translated by Ms TOSHALI GOEL, Wellesley College Wellesley, MA, USA.
Some links of songs of Gauhar Jan-
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