TANNO BAI: Famous ‘Mujre Ki Rani’ of Azimabad Aka Patna City

Azimabad was the name of modern-day Patna during the eighteenth century, before the British Raj. Today, Patna is the capital of Bihar, a state in North India. In ancient times, Patna was known as Pataliputra. This was the capital of the Maurya and Gupta Empires. When there was a lot of Tawaifs here. Azimabad, a city known for the Ganges-Jamuni Tehzeeb, now named Patna. Previously, this city was considered as the Mark of Mausiki-o-Adbo-Tehzeeb. There was more than one songwriter, tabla players and sarangi players here. There has been a long list of singers from Patna, with Bada Kannis, Chhoti Kannis, Mohammed Bandi, Allazillai Bai, B Ramajo, B Hutan, Faizi, Chandar, Mundar, Gangadhari, Ramdasi and Zohrabai-like Funkara in their Ilmo-Hunar. The tawaifs of Banaras, Allahabad and Agra were often included in their processions. The fame and glory of Azimabad, with a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims, had increased so much in those days that it had become a strange city in the whole of India. The names of Bandi Jaan 'Naaz', Amirzan 'Amir', and Sahib Jaan were very popular among the Sher-Go tawaifs. In the song Thumri, Zohrabai of Patna City was the topper, whom you know by the name of Zohrabai Agraveli, who had settled in Patna in 1913. Patna's B Ramajo, B Hakan and Mohammad Bandi were adept at their talent. The gramophone records of Mohammad Bandi and Zohrabai Agrawali's Thumri and Dadra began to be made in 1908.

Some part of this story was received courtesy of Arun Singh the writer of ‘Patna: Ek Khoya Hua Shahar’
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