So, June 26 was Gauhar Jan's birthday. The grand lie that she was the first Indian recording artist was repeated, again, ad nauseum. She absolutely was not the 1st, or 2nd, or 3rd, etc. The most authentic work, based on archival records, is the book, The Gramophone Company's First Indian Recordings 1899-1908, by Michael Kinnear sets the record straight. One can see from the first two pages of the 78 discography that the earliest recordings were done in London in 1899 and she was nowhere near it.

The recordist. F Gaisberg, then came to Calcutta in 1902 and did many more. Here are the next two pages. Gauhar Jan shows up on the last page.. Even discounting the London recordings, one can see that she is not even in the first 5.

Now you know!

Rafi 46

Share this post