Dear Listers, It seems that the first musical record recorded in India was in Calcutta on November 02, 1902 when the American, Fred Gaisberg, one of the first pioneers of this new technology, recorded a 3-minute piece of Indian classical music rendered by Gauhar Jan, a celebrated courtesan-singer of Calcutta. For more on Gaisberg, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Gaisberg Gauhar Jan (1873-1930) was born as Angelina Yeoward in 1873 in Patna. Her parents were William Robert Yeoward and Allen Victoria Hemming. Robert Yeoward was an Armenian Jew working as an engineer in an ice factory at Azamgarh near Banaras and Allen Victoria Hemming was the daughter of an English father and a Hindu woman named Rukmini. Victoria had trained in Indian music and dance. The marriage of Gauhar Jan's parent broke up in 1879, causing hardships to both mother and daughter. They migrated to Banaras in 1881 with a Muslim aristocrat and man of leisure by name Khursheed, who appreciated Victoria's music more than her husband Robert Yeoward did. Victoria, converted to Islam and changed Angelina's name to 'Gauhar Jan' and her own to 'Malika Jan'. Malika Jan appointed good teachers to teach music and dance to Gohar Jan. She herself became a famous singer in Calcutta where they had moved from Benaras. She purchased a 'Haveli' (a palatial house) in Calcutta at the cost of Rs. 40,000. Nawab Vajid Ali Shah of Oudh, retired by the British to Calcutta, appointed the mother-daughter duo as court singers in his exiled court. Malika Jan also wrote Urdu poetry and a collection of her compositions was printed in 1886 in Calcutta. Gauhar Jan's first performance at the age of 15 was before the Darbhanga court. Her fame soon spread all over India and she ruled the field for the next 25 years, travelling all over the country and singing in many princely courts. A major milestone occurred in 1902 when was asked by the "Gramophone Company" to record a series of songs for them. This corpus of recordings became a cornerstone for their business for many years. She was reportedly paid Rs. 3,000 rupees per recording, which was a lot of money in those days. From 1902 to 1920 she recorded over 600 songs in more than 10 languages and became India's first 'recording star'. She is often given credit for developing the three minute format of 78 rpm records. This was the time limit imposed by the recording technology of the day. This format remained the standard till it was overtaken by new technology in the recent past.. Here is a description of the first recording: "At around 9.00 a.m. a young lady entered the studio with all her paraphernalia, including accompanists and relatives. Loaded fully with very expensive ornaments and jewelry, this 30 year old, fair, medium-built lady went onto the stage prepared for the recordings. Sarangi, harmonium, and tabla players began to tune their instruments. Gaisberg personally checked the equipment. A thick wax master record was placed on the turntable rotating at 78 rpm. A huge recording horn was fitted on the wall behind her and close to her face, and she was asked to sing loudly into the horn. At the narrow end of the long horn a diaphragm fitted with a needle was connected to the recording machinery, with a needle placed on rotating disc for cutting the grooves. Gaisberg requested her to sing for three minutes and announce her name at the end of the recording. At the end of the trial recording she announced - "My name is Gauhar Jan". This announcement became standard and was necessary because the wax masters were sent to Hanover in Germany for pressing the records and the German technicians would make proper labels and confirm the name by listening to these announcements at the end of the three minutes performance." She had several paramours in her life but no relationship was long-lasting. Her considerable wealth was wasted on them and on her relatives. Towards the end of her life she lived at Mysore on a pension of Rs 500 per month given by the Mysore Durbar. She died there in comparative obscurity in 1930. Some of her recordings and photos are available in youtube and you can reach them by entering the search term 'Gauhar Jan'. In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HIMlyHZ5c you can see her recording a piece, with the 'recording horn' to collect the sound just near her face. Incidentally, Wajid Ali Shah is now mostly remembered for his poignant piece in Raag Bhairavi 'Babul Mora...'. It is sung by several singers. Among the best are KL Saigal's from the 1938 movie 'Street Singer' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSD1l5YCbU&feature=related and Bhimsen Joshi's version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R2yZ6y3hh4 . For those interested in listening to it, here is the Hindistani text and its freely done English translation - baabul mora naihar chuuto hi jaaye chaar kahaar mile, mori Duliyaa uthaaye moraa apanaa begana chhuTo hi jaaye anganaa to parbat bhayaa, dehlii bhayi bides je baabul ghar aapano, mai chali piyaa ke des O dear Father, I departing from my home Four bearers are ready to lift my palanquin I'm leaving those who were my own. The courtyard is now like a mountain, and the threshold, a foreign land, As I leave my father's home and go to my husband's country. Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, May 29. 2010.