Ghaiinfra: Creating Some Data Added Tags

2026-02-11T13:10:35Z

Creating Some Data Added Tags

New page

{{Short description|Indian singer and dancer (1855 – 1907)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Malka Jaan
| image =
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| alias =
| birth_name = Adeline Victoria Hemmings
| birth_date = 1855
| birth_place = [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]], [[British Raj|British India]] (Present day [[Prayagraj]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1907|1855}}
| death_place = [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[British Raj|British India]] (Present day [[Kolkata]], [[India]])
| genre = [[Ghazal]], [[thumri]], [[dadra]]
| occupation = Musician, dancer
| in =
| years_active = 1883{{endash}}1907
| associated_acts = [[Gauhar Jaan]] (daughter)
| module =
| module2 =
}}

'''Malka Jaan''' (born: '''Adeline Victoria Hemmings'''; 1855 – 1907) was an Indian courtesan (tawaif), singer, poet and Kathak dancer who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> She was known as ''Malka Jaan of Calcutta'' and ''Malka Jaan of Benaras''. She was a prominent figure in the cultural life of [[Varanasi|Banaras]] and later [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], and is best known as the mother and early musical guru of [[Gauhar Jaan]], a pioneering recording artist of [[India]].<ref name=TheDailyStar/>

== Early life ==
Malka Jaan was born Adeline Victoria Hemmings, the daughter of a British soldier and a local Hindu woman named Rukmini.<ref name=TheDailyStar/> She was born in [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]] since childhood she was a talented singer and dancer from a young age. In 1872, she married Robert William Yeoward, a factory engineer of [[Armenians in India|Armenian descent]]. The couple had a daughter, Eileen Angelina Yeoward, in 1873 in [[Azamgarh]].<ref name=TheDailyStar>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/in-focus/news/the-story-gauhar-jaan-1941589|title=The story of Gauhar Jaan|website=The Daily Star|date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> The marriage ended in 1879 due to her husband's affair, and Victoria and her daughter faced financial hardship.<ref name=SouthAsian>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-south-asian.com/Oct2003/Gauhar_Jan.htm|title=My name is Gauhar Jan, First dancing girl, Calcutta|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517083302/http://www.the-south-asian.com/Oct2003/Gauhar_Jan.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008|date=October 2003|website=the-south-asian.com website|author=Suresh Chandvankar|access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1881, after her divorce, Victoria and her daughter moved to Banaras (now [[Varanasi]]).<ref name=SouthAsian/> They were mentored by a Muslim nobleman named Khursheed.<ref name=SouthAsian/> In Banaras, Victoria and Eileen converted to Islam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/gauhar-jaan-honoured-with-google-doodle-on-145th-birth-anniversary/articleshow/64741473.cms?from=mdr|title=Gauhar Jaan honoured with Google doodle on 145th birth anniversary|website=The Economic Times|date=June 26, 2018}}</ref> Victoria adopted the name Malka Jaan, and her daughter was renamed Gauhar Jaan.<ref name=SouthAsian/> Malka Jaan, already trained in music and dance, became a well-regarded courtesan in the city.<ref name=SouthAsian/> To distinguish herself from other popular performers with the same name, she was known as "Badi" (elder) Malka Jaan.<ref name=SouthAsian/>

Malka Jaan relocated to Calcutta (now [[Kolkata]]) in 1883 and quickly established herself in the court of Nawab [[Wajid Ali Shah]] at [[Matiaburj]]. Malka Jaan became one of the city's most celebrated performers between the 1870s and 1890s.<ref name="Tribune2008">{{cite news |last1=Nevile |first1=Pran |date=13 April 2008 |title=Melodies on record |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080413/spectrum/main1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227025222/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080413/spectrum/main1.htm |archive-date=27 February 2022 |access-date=6 November 2024 |newspaper=The Tribune (Chandigarh) newspaper}}</ref><ref name="Tribune">(Pran Nevile) [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020526/spectrum/main7.htm The importance of being Gauhar Jan] The Tribune (Chandigarh) newspaper, Published 26 May 2002, Retrieved 8 November 2024</ref> Within three years, she had purchased a building at 24 Chitpore Road (now Rabindra Sarani), which became a cultural hub for music and poetry.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> She was a noted poet (Sahib-e Divan poet) and published a collection of Urdu poems titled Makhzan-e-Ulfat-e-Malka Jan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-02-26 |script-title=bn:নবাবদের বাইজি নয় রাজনীতির পাপিয়ারা ভয়ঙ্কর |url=https://www.bd-pratidin.com/editorial/2020/02/26/505619 |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=Bangladesh Pratidin |language=bn}}</ref>

As a successful musician and courtesan, Malka Jaan oversaw her daughter Gauhar Jaan's extensive musical training.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> Gauhar received instruction in various classical and light classical forms from renowned masters at their home in Calcutta.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> Under her mother's guidance, Gauhar Jaan learned Kathak dance, Hindustani classical music (including thumri and khayal), Bengali kirtan, and Rabindra Sangeet.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/music/indias-first-singing-superstar-gauhar-jaan-challenged-viceroy-crorepati-who-had-personal-train-lata-mangeshkar-md-rafi-101737447807239.html|title=India's first crorepati singer challenged Viceroys, travelled by personal train, out-earned Lata Mangeshkar, Md Rafi|website=The Hindustan Times|date=January 21, 2025}}</ref> Malka Jaan ensured that Gauhar was fully trained and poised to begin her own career.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> Gauhar gave her first performance in the royal court of Darbhanga in 1888 and became a court musician.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/>

== Personal life ==
At the age of 15, she met Robert William Yeoward, an engineer of Armenian descent, who fell in love with her and married her in 1872.<ref name=SouthAsian/> The couple had a daughter, Eileen Angelina Yeoward, born in [[Azamgarh]] in 1873 but the marriage ended in 1879.<ref name=SouthAsian/>

== Death ==
Malka Jaan died around 1907.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2016/Mar/16/the-story-of-indias-first-dancing-girl-912049.html|title=The Story of India's First Dancing Girl|website=The News Indian Express|date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> Her death was a significant turning point in her daughter's life.<ref name="Sampath">{{cite book|author=Vikram Sampath|title=My Name is Gauhar Jaan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpSaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120|publisher=Rupa Publications|isbn=978-81-291-2233-9|pages=120–122}}</ref>

== Contemporaries ==
There were four singing contemporaries of Malka Jaan with first names pronounced the same way as hers and sometimes spelled in English in different ways. The name Malka Jaan was common among courtesans (tawaif) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and there were several prominent singers with this name. The title "Badi" (elder) was prefixed to her name to distinguish her from other contemporary performers who shared the name Malka Jaan. The most famous Malka Jaans of that era were:

* Malka Jaan of Agra a contemporary of Gauhar Jaan, she was renowned for her powerful, full-throated style of thumri singing. She recorded for the Gramophone Company and was a court musician for Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
* Malka Jaan of Mulk Pukhraj another famous courtesan and singer of the time
* Malka Jaan of Chulbuli a nautch girl who also left recorded discs.
* Malka Jaan of Gaya a performer who also made recordings.

== Inspiration and honours ==
[[Begum Akhtar]] in her early days wanted to pursue a career in Hindi films, but after listening to the singing of Malka Jaan and her daughter Gauhar Jaan, she gave up the idea completely and devoted herself to learning [[Hindustani classical music]], in fact, her first teacher was Ustad [[Imdad Khan]], who accompanied the mother-daughter duo, Malka Jaan and Gauhar Jaan, on [[sarangi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nrcw.nic.in/shared/sublinkimages/209.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 April 2009|date=19 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410014918/http://nrcw.nic.in/shared/sublinkimages/209.htm |title=Begum Akhtar (1914–1974) – Begum Akhtar Profile|website= NRCW, Government of India website|access-date=4 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://feminisminindia.com/2022/10/28/begum-akhtar-profile-urdu-ghazals/|title=Begum Akhtar: A Glance Into The Music And Life Of The 'Mallika-e-Ghazal'|website=Feminism In India|date=October 28, 2022}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
She is remembered for her contributions to Urdu poetry and as an accomplished performer in her own right.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> Her voice was recorded by The Gramophone Company, and her mansion was a celebrated cultural salon. Beyond her musical talents, Badi Malka Jaan was also a poet who wrote in Urdu. Her collection of verses, Makhzan-e-ulfat-e-Malka, has been rediscovered and published.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Recording-Gauhar-Jaan/article16300480.ece|title=Recording Gauhar Jaan|website=The Hindu|date=May 13, 2010}}</ref> Her most enduring legacy, however, is her role in shaping and mentoring her daughter, [[Gauhar Jaan]], who would go on to become a national icon and [[India]]'s first recording superstar.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/> It was in their Calcutta home on Chitpore Road that the young Gauhar Jaan received training from some of the best masters of the time.<ref name=TheHindustanTimes/>

== In popular culture ==
* In 2019, ''My name is Gauhar Jaan'', a theatre play based on her and her daughter Gauhar Jaan's life in which the role of Malka Jaan was portrayed by [[Neena Kulkarni]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thetheatretimes.com/review-of-gauhar-a-peep-into-a-bygone-eras-history-emotions-and-reality/|title=Review of "Gauhar": A Peep Into a Bygone Era's History, Emotions and Reality|website=The Theatre Times|date=May 15, 2024}}</ref>
* In 2024, ''[[Heeramandi]]'' an Indian Hindi-language period drama television series created and directed by [[Sanjay Leela Bhansali]] the role of Malka Jaan was played by [[Manisha Koirala]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/tawaifs-sex-workers-sanjay-leela-bhansali-heeramandi-9316484/|title=The British reduced all tawaifs to sex workers – so has Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Heeramandi|website=The News Indian Express|date=May 15, 2024}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Discogs artist|Malka Jan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaan, Malka}}
[[Category:1855 births]]
[[Category:1907 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindustani singers]]
[[Category:Indian women classical singers]]
[[Category:Kathak dancers]]
[[Category:Singers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Indian people of Armenian descent]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian singers]]
[[Category:Women Hindustani musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women singers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women singers]]
[[Category:Singers from British India]]
[[Category:Dancers from British India]]
[[Category:Indian courtesans]]

Malka Jaan - Revision history

Ghaiinfra: Creating Some Data Added Tags