BADI MALKA JAN Aka ADELINA VICTORIA HEMMINGS: Ab Rang Tabiyat Ki Badal Jaye To Achha...

Malka Jaan became popular by the name Badi Malka Jaan, as there were three other Malka Jaan, younger than her. She became an accomplished singer & Kathak dancer of Banaras. In 1883, she moved to Calcutta to establish herself in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who had settled in Matiaburj near Calcutta. She became so popular, that within 3 years, she earned enough money to buy herself a building at 24 Chitpore Road (Now Rabindranath Sarani) for 40,000 rupees. Pre-independence India may have been home to highly respected courtesan-performers who were talented powerhouses, but the cultural reimagination that accompanied India’s independence turned this around. Robert Yeoward had no Armenian in his bloodline. Eileen Yeoward aka Gauhar Jaan had no Armenian in her bloodline. Adeline Victoria Hemmings aka Malka Jaan had no Armenian in her bloodline. This is a case of if you say it often enough, repeated it often enough, quote it often enough, eventually the internet thinks it is true. Gauhar Jaan was talented, smart, adventurous, and most importantly ground-breaking in her art and culture, but, I'm sorry to say, she wasn't Armenian.

For non-Hindi-Urdu speakers, we have subtitled this video in English, which has been translated by Ms TOSHALI GOEL, Wellesley College Wellesley, MA, USA.

Disclaimer: The song which is playing in the background of this video is not of Badi Malka Jaan, but of Malka Jaan Agrawali. Since this fact was confirmed, we were not able to remove it.

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