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These women are legends in recorded music

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  • These women are legends in recorded music

    These women are legends in recorded music

    April 3rd, 2010 - 2:56 pm ICT by IANS -

    New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) They came from the bylanes of the
    courtesans' colonies in heartland India to become legends in the
    annals of recorded music.

    An exhibition, `Women on Record: Celebrating the Music of Women in the
    Early 20th Century', traces the history of women in Indian classical
    music and their involvement with the 78 rpm vinyl records through a
    series of collages, texts, archival prints and photographs of the
    women, their lives and their patrons.

    The 15-day exhibition at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts
    (IGNCA), inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gurcharan
    Kaur Friday, is spread across three sections.

    The introductory section, `Think Through' was a seminar that brought
    together artistes, historians and filmmakers to discuss the =80=9Cidea
    of touring companies', the construction of the music market, the voice
    hierarchy, the gendered performer and the status of women
    professionals in the entertainment industry.

    The second section - `Music and Nostalgia' - was the exhibition
    offering an overview of women who sang in the gramaphone era and the
    third section was a scripted narrative-based performance and concert
    that chronicled the challenges faced by the women performers.

    `Women had to struggle so hard to make livelihoods and a name for
    themselves with their musical prowess in that era. We should be
    grateful to them for the songs that they sung and for leaving behind
    such a rich body of composition and diversity of voices,' Gurcharan
    Kaur told IANS, commenting on the tradition of women's involvement
    with the vinyl.

    Women recorded several kinds of classical and semi-classical music
    like Dhrupad, Dhamar, Sadra, Khayal, Chaturang, Tarana, Thumris and
    Dadras - while some blended folk with religious music.

    Over 500 women artistes recorded their music in different regional
    languages across the country.

    The second section featured Malka Jan - an Armenian musician - the
    most notable `gaanewali' at the turn of the century who became a
    gramaphone celebrity. She was an Armenian jew and like Eurasian women
    had a flair for music.

    She later married a European and after the birth of a daughter moved
    to Varanasi to revive her career. She also trained her daughter Gauhar
    Jan, who became the first superstar `gaanewali' of the 20th century.

    Gauhar, known for her crystal voice and childlike demeanour and who
    proclaimed `my name is Gauhar Jan' after each concert, was one of the
    most expensive vocalist of her time. She charged Rs.300 for every
    recording.

    Gauhar, who could sing in 20 languages and regional dialects, served
    as a court musician at Darbhanga and Rampur. Her's are among the first
    600 records that made up the legacy of gramaphone music in India.

    In India, most of the recordings of the gramaphone era belong to the
    Baijis, the professional women singers who were tutored by the
    `ustads'.

    An excerpt from the life stories of exponent of the Kirana gharana,
    late Gangubai Hangal, read: `For my first recording, when HMV insisted
    that I go to Bombay, I went there because they were taking care of my
    journey and sight-seeing. Later, they gave me Rs.400 for my recording
    but my family was annoyed because my name read as Gandhari Hubali on
    the record.'

    Between 1902 and 1910, the Gramaphone Company and its rival units had
    recorded more than 2,000 songs in Bengali, Parsi, Gujarati, Urdu and
    Marathi.

    The textual references at the exhibition estimate that the number of
    records issued in India over the past 100 years would amount to
    500,000 - a large number of which remain inaccessible.

    More at : These women are legends in recorded music
    http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncatego rized/these-women-are-legends-in-recorded-music_10 0342886.html#ixzz0k97nDRFO
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