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The Times of India
Jan 12 2014
Divas, spies and first ladies of their ilk
Ratnottama Sengupta,TNN | Jan 12, 2014, 02.26 AM IST
KOLKATA: When they died, both Gauhar Jaan and Noor Inayat Khan were
laid to rest in unmarked graves. Other than this, they had another
thing in common - Kolkata. This emerged on the fourth day of AKLF, on
at The Park, in association with The Times of India.
Gauhar Jaan 'Kalkattewali', the first Asian to be recorded on 78 RPM,
was the toast of this city's upper crust. They were mad about her
ghazals and thumris; she was mad about her cat and hosted lavish
parties for their litter. Born to a Hindu grandmother, British
grandfather, and Armenian father, she would ride down Red Road on her
four-horse buggy and wave at the viceroy if he happened to pass by,
even if that spelt a thousand-rupee penalty. Inevitably, she was
paupered and had to seek employment with the Wodeyars of Mysore. Two
years later when she died, childless, no one bothered to place a
tombstone on her grave.
Noor was daughter of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a descendent of Tipu
Sultanwho died fighting the British rulers. Being a Sufi, Inayat
didn't care for fights: When his murshid told him to travel west, he
arrived in California with his veena and his chelas. There, he fell in
love with this beauty called Ray Baker, married her and headed for
London. When he realised he was being trailed, he fled to Moscow where
Noor was born full 100 years ago, on January 2. When the October
Revolution happened, Inayat returned to London where they stayed
through WW1. Again, when he was followed, he moved to Paris where he
suddenly died. Noor, all of 13, took charge of her mother and
siblings.
In 1939, with war clouds hovering over them, Noor's brother Vilayat
said, "Though Sufis, we must fight fascism." So they're back in
London, he joins RAF, she its women's wing. The war had empowered the
women in many ways: Noor learnt radio transmission and became the
first woman wireless operator. Soon she was inducted into the secret
service: one day a young man unilaterally informed her in French:
"You'll be sent to Paris. If you're caught you'll be killed. Are you
ready?" Noor didn't think even once, she simply said "Yes".
Nora or Madelaine - as she was known - had an appetite for adventure.
But the job at hand was full of danger - she could decode in less than
72 hours but her circuit was broken in less than a week. She rebuilt
it and had a busy time for three months. But her beauty proved her
undoing: She was betrayed by an informer whose infatuation she didn't
reciprocate. The feisty spy found herself in Dachau, condemned to
'disappear without trace'.
Spy or diva, both citizens of the world had to get the better of
logistical challenge. Noor, wherever she went, had to carry the
transmission machine in a box, plug it electrically, transmit and
scoot - with the box! And Gauhar? Since there were no microphones
then, she had to scream at the top pitch into a horn, with two
technicians standing by her to hold back her hand if she lifted it to
her ears, Hindustani-vocalist style! Don't you see? It'd disturb the
recording - that ended with the declaration 'I am Gauhar Jaan!' -which
would then be cut into a disc by a technician in Hanover.
Screechy, even funny to our stereophonic-and Dolby-attuned ears, these
recordings still bring us the story of the diva who led the vinyl
recording movement that went unnoticed in its 100th year - 2002.
That's why Vikram Sampath has taken up the task of making available to
everyone who's interested in the 'Voices of India.'
Noor? She was decorated by the Brits with a George Cross and the
French with a Grand Croix. But India did not know of her. Full 50
years after WW2 had ended, when the secret service records were
declassified, details of her war against fascism surfaced. And
Shrabani Basu picked up her trail. Besides penning down her
impassioned story, she even raised 100,000 pounds for a bronze bust
that was unveiled in London 2012 - by Princess Anne!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Divas-spies-and-first-ladies-of-their-ilk/articleshow/28694315.cms
From: Baghdasarian
Jan 12 2014
Divas, spies and first ladies of their ilk
Ratnottama Sengupta,TNN | Jan 12, 2014, 02.26 AM IST
KOLKATA: When they died, both Gauhar Jaan and Noor Inayat Khan were
laid to rest in unmarked graves. Other than this, they had another
thing in common - Kolkata. This emerged on the fourth day of AKLF, on
at The Park, in association with The Times of India.
Gauhar Jaan 'Kalkattewali', the first Asian to be recorded on 78 RPM,
was the toast of this city's upper crust. They were mad about her
ghazals and thumris; she was mad about her cat and hosted lavish
parties for their litter. Born to a Hindu grandmother, British
grandfather, and Armenian father, she would ride down Red Road on her
four-horse buggy and wave at the viceroy if he happened to pass by,
even if that spelt a thousand-rupee penalty. Inevitably, she was
paupered and had to seek employment with the Wodeyars of Mysore. Two
years later when she died, childless, no one bothered to place a
tombstone on her grave.
Noor was daughter of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a descendent of Tipu
Sultanwho died fighting the British rulers. Being a Sufi, Inayat
didn't care for fights: When his murshid told him to travel west, he
arrived in California with his veena and his chelas. There, he fell in
love with this beauty called Ray Baker, married her and headed for
London. When he realised he was being trailed, he fled to Moscow where
Noor was born full 100 years ago, on January 2. When the October
Revolution happened, Inayat returned to London where they stayed
through WW1. Again, when he was followed, he moved to Paris where he
suddenly died. Noor, all of 13, took charge of her mother and
siblings.
In 1939, with war clouds hovering over them, Noor's brother Vilayat
said, "Though Sufis, we must fight fascism." So they're back in
London, he joins RAF, she its women's wing. The war had empowered the
women in many ways: Noor learnt radio transmission and became the
first woman wireless operator. Soon she was inducted into the secret
service: one day a young man unilaterally informed her in French:
"You'll be sent to Paris. If you're caught you'll be killed. Are you
ready?" Noor didn't think even once, she simply said "Yes".
Nora or Madelaine - as she was known - had an appetite for adventure.
But the job at hand was full of danger - she could decode in less than
72 hours but her circuit was broken in less than a week. She rebuilt
it and had a busy time for three months. But her beauty proved her
undoing: She was betrayed by an informer whose infatuation she didn't
reciprocate. The feisty spy found herself in Dachau, condemned to
'disappear without trace'.
Spy or diva, both citizens of the world had to get the better of
logistical challenge. Noor, wherever she went, had to carry the
transmission machine in a box, plug it electrically, transmit and
scoot - with the box! And Gauhar? Since there were no microphones
then, she had to scream at the top pitch into a horn, with two
technicians standing by her to hold back her hand if she lifted it to
her ears, Hindustani-vocalist style! Don't you see? It'd disturb the
recording - that ended with the declaration 'I am Gauhar Jaan!' -which
would then be cut into a disc by a technician in Hanover.
Screechy, even funny to our stereophonic-and Dolby-attuned ears, these
recordings still bring us the story of the diva who led the vinyl
recording movement that went unnoticed in its 100th year - 2002.
That's why Vikram Sampath has taken up the task of making available to
everyone who's interested in the 'Voices of India.'
Noor? She was decorated by the Brits with a George Cross and the
French with a Grand Croix. But India did not know of her. Full 50
years after WW2 had ended, when the secret service records were
declassified, details of her war against fascism surfaced. And
Shrabani Basu picked up her trail. Besides penning down her
impassioned story, she even raised 100,000 pounds for a bronze bust
that was unveiled in London 2012 - by Princess Anne!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Divas-spies-and-first-ladies-of-their-ilk/articleshow/28694315.cms
From: Baghdasarian