Google honours legendary singer Gauhar Jaan with a doodle

On Tuesday Google marked Gauhar Jaan's 145th birth anniversary with a dedicated doodle. One of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India she was born as Angelina Yeoward on 26 June 1873 in Azamgarh to Armenian parents.

Her father William Robert Yeoward worked as an engineer in a dry ice factory, and her mother, Victoria Hemming, an Indian by birth, was trained in music and dance. When the marriage broke, the mother and the daughter travelled to Benaras, where Victoria converted to Islam, renaming Angelina as 'Gauhar Jaan' and herself as 'Malka Jaan'.

Known for her exceptional beauty and talent, Gauhar Jaan represented secularism in classical music- something that Indian classical music imbibed in later years. Gauhar's maternal grandmother was Hindu, grandfather a British and father Armenian Christian.

While she and her mother converted to Islam and remain devout Muslim all through her life, her compositions were mostly about Lord Krishna.

Her formative years were spent in Calcutta where she took training in classical music and Kathak dance. Having recorded nearly 600 records from 1902 to 1920, in more than ten languages including Bengali, Hindustani, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, Persian, Pushto, French, and English, the singer-dancer was the court musician for the Darbhanga king. She would typically round off her performances for a record by announcing 'My name is Gohar Jan'.

One of the few artists to have performed at the coronation of King George V at Delhi Durbar, where she sang a duet, Ye Hai Tajposhi Ka Jalsa, Mubarak Ho Mubarak Ho, with Jankibai of Allahabad, Gauhar Jaan settled in Mysore in her later years. She was appointed as the palace musician at Krishna Raja Wadiyar's court in Mysore where she ultimately breathed her last in 1930.

Known for condensing elaborate classical compositions into three minute long songs, Gauhar Jaan popularised light Hindustani classical music with her thumri, dadra, kajri, chaiti, bhajan, tarana renditions.

Today's doodle has been illustrated by artist Aditi Damle.

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