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Originally sung by Indubala — a courtesan from Bengal — the thumri is now remembered only as the popular Krishna raas from the film Mughal-e-Azam,whose music was composed by the legendary Naushad.

But Delhi based semi-classical singer Vidya Shah begs to differ as she goes in search of the original singer of the piece. “Indubala composed and sang it in front of the Bengal nobility and recorded it for the Gramophone Company of India in the early 20 th century,” says Vidya.

Indubala is not the only one though. Vidya is in search of women musicians of yore,whose music might now be lost from public memory,but who made a mark in their time,recording their music for the Gramophone Company. Called ‘Women on Record’,the project is her tribute to these talented but lesser known artistes. It will be marked by performances on April 2 and 3 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA),Janpath by Vidya,while acclaimed Kathak dancer Rani Khanum dances to the beat of the forgotten songs. Actor Neena Gupta will perform the role of a sutradhar. Funded by Centre for Media and Alternative Communication and IGNCA,there will also be a seminar and an accompanying exhibition by Vidya’s husband Parthiv,a multi-media artist.

“Most recordings of the gramophone era belong to these professional women singers or courtesans,who learnt music and received intensive training from the great ustads of those days. But very little literature survive to this day on people like Gauhar Jan,who recorded her music as far back as 1902,” says Vidya,who travelled to Kolkata to research on the project. The

reason,says Vidya,is because these people were marginalised because of their association with displaced morality. “The society that had held them in great esteem for their art eventually looked down upon them as mere sex workers,” she adds.

The multimedia production titled Inhi Logo Ne is a mishmash of thumris,bhav-ang kathak with an interplay of photographs,lights and colours to give the stage an effect of a landlord’s manor. There are also incorporations of Zohrabai’s khayals,taranas by Mehboob Jaan Junagarhwali,as well as the famous Rasili tori akhiyan jiya lalchaye by Janakibai. “In their time these musicians were the only women in India who were well-educated,while a sizeable chunk of women were illiterate,” says Parthiv,who has put the exhibition together.

The performances will be on April 2 and 3 at IGNCA. For details,contact: 26498977