Enchanted voice of a courtesan
Malka Jaan of Agra (born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh) was one of the foremost thumri singers of the early twentieth century. She migrated to Kolkata with her mother where she was under the patronage of Seth Dulichand in the period 1850-1920. She was trained by different gurus and ustads who brought in a different finesse to her singing.
In Agra, she was taught by Ghulam Abbas Khan of the Agra Gharana and in Kolkata by Shyam Nath among others. The major influence on her music comes from Maujuddin Khan of Benaras who was the most renowned thumri singer of that time. Malka was fortunate to learn musical skills from him. It is said that he was deeply in love with her – a sentiment which was not reciprocated by Malka.
Apart from Maujuddin, his mentor Bhaiyaa Ganpatrao also helped Malka hone her skill, which was made possible by his constant presence as Maujuddin’s harmonium accompanist. Malka widened her repertoire and extended it to dhrupad, khayal, hori, chaiti, tappa and ghazal along with thumri. She developed her own style of singing which was full throated, clear and with variations in pronouncing words. She brought innovation to her singing by rendering the same phrases in different tonal combinations accompanied by suitable gestures and expressions. She also presented dadra and bhajans in a similar man
ALONG WITH GAUHAR JAAN, HER CONTEMPORARIES WERE MALKA JAAN CHULBULEWALI (BADI MALKA) AND JADDAN BAI
ner. Her bandish ‘Beete jaat barkha ritu, saajan nahin aaye’ in Raga Desh and ‘Papihara piu piu kare’ in Raga Sawan enraptured the audience and have been immortalized in gramophone discs.
Her favourite ragas were Malkauns, Kafi, Jhinjhoti, Jogiya, Bhairavi and Hameer as mentioned in the book ‘Mashhur Gawaiya’ by Babu Harinarayan Verma Booksellers, Kachori Gali, Varanasi. In the later years of her life, she had a passionate love affair with Ustad Fayyaz Khan, who was many years junior to her. Malka Jaan was a star of the golden era of Indian Music where the courtesans reigned. Along with Gauhar Jaan, her contemporaries were Malka Jaan Chulbulewali (Badi Malka) and Jaddan Bai. She was a singing superstar of her era.