The divas with magical voices also stole many hearts. Begum Akhtar, synonymous with ghazal singing, had to deal with quite a few crazy fans. The story goes that when her song ‘Diwana banana hai to deewanan bana de’
(‘Make me go crazy if you want to’) became hugely popular in 1933, a fan wrote the words “Hai Akhtari” (oh Akhtari) over and over again in front of her home for the distance of a furlong, or about 200 metres. With recognition came money, which was used to lead the good life. Fred Gaisberg, the first representative of the Gramophone Company, who came to Calcutta in 1902, wrote an interesting account of Gauhar Jan that features in the project: “She was an Armenian Jewess who could sing in 20 languages and dialects. Her fee was Rs 300 per evening and she used to make a brave show when she drove at sundown on a ‘maidan’ (field) in a carriage, hers were among the 600 records, which proved a firm foundation for our new enterprise... every time she came to record she amazed us by appearing in a new gown... each one more elaborate than the last. She never wore the same jewels twice. Strikingly effective were her delicate black gauze draperies embroidered with real gold lace, arranged so as to present a tempting view of bare leg and a naked navel. She was always ‘bien soignée’.
Similarly, Sundera Bai of Pune was also fond of luxury. Sundera - who has cut about 100 rpm gramophone records and was awarded a gold medal by HMV for the highest sale of records - bought two cars and hired the entire top floor of Empire Hotel in Bombay. Later, she also went on to own a record company, Nabharat. Kesar Bai Kerkar (1892-1977), another singing star, was honoured in a unique way when her voice was sent to space by NASA in 1977. She recorded 13 titles with HMV and four with Broadcast.
From the ‘kotha’ to the public sphere - it was quite an upward journey. It must have given these women both confidence and a sense of equality. Gauhar Jan singing Rabindra Nath Tagore’s songs - with his permission - and adapting them to her own tunes was quite a privilege, as this couldn’t be done by anybody else until the copyright on Tagore’s compositions ended recently.
The era has certainly had a great impact on the way the world of music evolved in India.
(Women’s Feature Service)
