My Name is Gauhar Jaan by Vikram Sampath
The earliest recordings of Indian music are characterised by the high-pitched announcement, 'My name is Gauhar Jaan.' This declaration epitomised a milestone in the history of Indian classical music, one that would forever change its content, structure and style.The musical scene in India at the turn of the 20th century witnessed tumultuous changes. The traditional custodians of the art form, the devadasis in the south and the nautch girls in the north, who had nurtured the art for centuries, became victims of the moralityaws of the British government and the prudery of an 'enlightened' Indian elitist class. Gauhar Jaan (1873-1930), however, an eminent Hindustani vocalist, symbolises the resurgence of women musicians of her era.Born Eileen Angelina Yeoward, an Armenian Christian whoater converted to Islam, Gauhar Jaan was a naturally gifted musician with an outstanding repertoire. One of the earliest women artists to seize the opportunities that rose with the advent of recording technologies, hers was the first Indian voice to ever be recorded in 1902. She went on to cut close to 600 records, the most successful female musician of her time.This book traces her story, a story peppered with the stuff myth andegend, as well as the times during which sheived. It also describes the evolution of the Indian recording industry and its impact on the country's music, theatre and socialife.Vikram Sampath, a Bangalore-based historian, is the author of three acclaimed books-Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars, My Name Is Gauhar Jaan: The Life and Times of a Musician and Voice of the Veena, S. Balachander: A Biography. Vikram was awarded the Sahitya Akademi's first Yuva Puraskar in English literature and the ARSC International Award for Excellence in Historical Research in New York for his book on Gauhar Jaan. The book has also been adapted as a play, Gauhar, by Lillete Dubey and is being adapted into a Hindi movie by Ashutosh Gowariker.
Vikram has a doctorate in history and music from the University of Queensland, Australia, and is currently a senior fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. An engineer/mathematician from BITS Pilani and an MBA in finance from S.P. Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, he is also a trained Carnatic vocalist. He has established the Archive of Indian Music, India's first digital sound archive for vintage recordings, and is the founder-director of the Bangalore Literature Festival, Indic Thoughts Festival and the ZEE Group's ARTH: A Culture Fest.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9788129120588 |
| ISBN 10 | 8129120585 |
| Title | My Name is Gauhar Jaan |
| Author | Vikram Sampath |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd. |
| Year published | 2012-01-01 |
| Number of pages | 318 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |