LEGENDARY COURTESAN GAUHAR JAAN COMES ALIVE IN A NEW BOOK ABOUT HER LIFE AND TIMES

Indian Express
d/608745/
April 20 2010
India

The glitter of Gauhar Jaan’s nose pin, her teasing smile as she
sang Raseeli tori akhiyan sawaria, her sensual adaa — these created
havoc in the hearts and minds of music connoisseurs who visited this
high-profile tawaif in the early 20th century Calcutta. Little is
known about Jaan’s life– how a girl born as Eileen Angelina Yeoward
to an Armenian Jew couple in Azamgarh became one of the highest paid
courtesans of the Varanasi kothas and Chitpur baris in Calcutta, and
then finally turned into a celebrity as the first woman to record
for the Gramophone Company of India. My Name is Gauhar Jaan! –The
Life and Times of a Musician (Rupa & Co, Rs 595) is an attempt to
plug these gaps as Bangalore-based author Vikram Sampath, 30, traces
Jaan’s tumultuous life as a singer and performer. Sampath recently
released the book in Delhi.