JOIN USBengaluru International Arts Festival 2017’ is now celebrating its 10th year and epitomising ‘Celebration of Harmony through Arts’.
Thought provoking and well-curated art presentations by artistes from both India and abroad have been the benchmark of BIAF for nine years. As part of the festival, ‘Gauhar’, directed by Lillete Dubey, will be staged on September 22, 7.30 pm at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
‘Gauhar’, written by Mahesh Dattani, is inspired by Vikram Sampath’s book ‘My Name Is Gauhar Jaan!’ It traces the journey of courtesan Gauhar, one of the earliest female artistes, and the first Indian voice to be recorded on the gramophone, way back in
1902.
Unlike another courtesan, Umrao Jaan, whose story has always been a popular subject for recreating on celluloid and in theatre, Gauhar’s has relatively been unexplored.
Not many know that the singer cut close to 600 records in 20 languages and even today, many artistes sing her compositions.
And this is just a part of her professional life that the play explores.
Her independent lifestyle, spunky personality, passion for music and yearning for unconditional love are the other aspects of her lesser-known personal life that the story delves into.
This is a fascinating story of one of the classical superstars of her time and a fiery, feisty, independent minded woman of her generation, who was the first to sing on a wax record, and whose personal life was as mesmerising as her professional one.
The play has Rajeshwari Sachdev, Zila Khan, Denzil Smith, Danny Sura, Rajeev Siddhartha, Gillian Pinto and Parinaz Jal. Donor passes are available on www.bookmyshow.com