Gauhar Karnataki
...Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life....
About Gauhar Karnataki:
Her father was a tabla player named Hussein Khan, based at Bilagi (biLagii) which is 40 km from Bijapur. He had six daughters and a son. The eldest was Allamma urf Ahilya, born around 1904. Then Amirbai, then Goharbai, then Badi Manni, then Nanni Manni, and info is missing about one daughter. Some sources claim that Goharbai (born around 1908) was also called Gauramma in her early life. Their brother Dastgir was B Sc and worked for AIR.
Amirbai and Goharbai hated each other, but both worked for Vanivilas Naatak Company, a Kannada troupe, around 1930. Gohar learned under a blind singer named Panchakshari Gawai. (He also taught Panchakshari Mattigatti (b 1927), it seems.) She had told some people that her guru's name was Nilkanth-shastri. I don't know whether Nilkant Buwa and Panchakshari Buwa are the same person or different. Basavraj Mansur, brother of Mallikarjun, used to compose Kannada songs for her and also accompany her on harmonium. Mallikarjun's first main teacher was also Nilkanth Buwa of Gwalior Gharana and Gohar, who was almost the same age as Mansur (b 1910) and from the same area, may well be referring to the same person as her teacher.
Marathi stage singer Shankar Nilkanth Chapekar (sometimes spelt Chaphekar or Chafekar) discovered Amirbai and Goharbai and advised them to come to Mumbai. He and Gohar were companions in Mumbai for a few years in 1930s. Gohar had a daughter named Ashamma or Ashabi, probably born before her move to Mumbai. Ashamma lived with Gohar right until Gohar's death in Nov 1964.
Gohar's infamous association with Narayanrao Bal Gandharva(BG) from
late 1937 to her death in 1964 (and beyond) is an independent topic. Very
briefly :
Gohar had published 78 rpm-s of songs tuned for the play 'Kanhopatra'
for BG by Master Krisnarao (Phulambrikar), and BG sued her. But the lyrics
by Kanhopatra were traditional and it was ruled that a tune was no individual's
property. BG avoided her for a few years after the episode. But Gohar first
managed to meet him in 1937 when her singing pleased BG. The meeting took
place at Himalayawala's posh place when he and his wife/consort Amirbai
were away and BG was surprised that a woman whom he considered lowly had
access to such a nice place. Just what transpired at that meeting has been
a matter of speculation, laced with intrigue, and dealt at length in an
article on BG by Marathi writer Ravindra Pinge published in 'Manoos' in
1971, and at greater length in a book on BG by the playwright Vasant Shantaram
Desai (not to be confused with composer Vasant Desai). There were whispers
that she hypnotised BG using a 'magic handkerchief' in this very first
meeting. A mantrik named Fakruddin offered to de-hypnotise him, but the
attempt was never made. It is a fascinating story.
Gohar joined Gandharva Natak Mandali in April 1938 prompting many old timers to leave the troupe. For 30 years before this, BG was famous for his rectitude, which partly made his fans think that Gohar cast an evil spell on him. Narayanrao's broken-hearted wife died in 1940. He and Gohar got married in 1951. There were persistent rumours that Narayanrao had become a muslim which he denied but he also made some contradictory statements. When he died in July 1967, the route of his funeral was secretly changed, fearing muslim demand to bury him, and he was cremated in haste while people waited with flowers along the original route to pay their respects.
After Gohar's move to Mumbai, 'Nanasaheb' Chapekar used to visit film studios dozens of times to get a role for her. According to his memoirs, Gohar was working for Bhavanani Films at a salary of Rs 800 per month before her entry into Gandharva Naatak Mandali in April 1938, but I could not find any Bhavanani film with Gohar in it.
Some of of Gohar's films : Raas Vilaas (1932, Sharda Movietone), with Gohar as Radha, and either Anant Damle or Krishnarao Chonkar as Krishna. The only famous Anant Damle I know about was 4-5 years old at this time, and I am inclined to believe that it was Chonkar who played Krishna in the film as Radha's seducer.
Her films:
Shak_karta Shivaji (1934) - Produced by Shri Jaidevi Cinetone
Company {It was Gohar Karnataki's first marathi film.}
Raas Vilaas (1932)
Not in Kaalaa Pahaad (1933) , imdb site had made a mistake about it.
Sohni Mahiwal (1933, with Krishnarao Chonkar as Mahiwal.)
Kaalaa Waagh (1934)
Pyaar Kii Maar (1935)
Bansari Baalaa (1936)
Gol Nishaan (1936)
Graduate (1936),
Chaabuk Sawaar (1937) as actress and composer.
Kaalaa Bhoot (1937, Navinchandra seems to have acted in many films
opposite her)
Vijay Dankaa (1938, one Bapu Apte has directed some of her films)
Hawaaii Khatolaa (1946)
Swadesh Sewa (1946)
Her Music:
(the below list has been taken from http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellpatke/Miscellany/gohar_of_bijapur.htm )
1a GE 1508 Bageshree
priyakara mama bala
1b
Karnataki kafi na peluve
2a GE1529 Jogiya
dhaarini natha ( MP3 Excerpt )
2b
Bhairavi
mama deva tava deva
3a GE 1541 Gazal
khabar hamne thumari
3b
Gazal
raja ke chaman se mali
4a GE 1571 Karnataki kafi
karuna kar madhava
4b
Karnataki bhavan
bhagye srirama
5a GE 1601 Bhimpalas
mohan shyam shobhana
5b
Pahadi
jhani dawi paya
6a GE 1628 Bhajan
satata wimala bhajana
6b
Abhang
awaghachi
sansara
7a GE 1678 Pilu Bhajan
tuma bina meri kaun khabar
7b
Jilha Bhajan gokul chod gaye mathura
8a GE 1696 Gazal
aapako chahane walonki
8b
Gazal
hur men masti kahan
9a GE 1726 Bhairavi
prabhu teri dassi hun mein
9b
Jilha
bagikul chhod chale prabhu
10a GE 1739 Bhairavi
fazal karam kar
10b
Bageshree yarab sainya
11a GE 1794 Mishra mand premasange
jhimma kheku ya
11b
Kafi sindhura hoshil kan priya majhi aata
12a GE 1845 Tilak kamod
nayani nache hari
12b
Gazal
prem bharale aantarangi [music - D. P. Korgaonkar]
13a GE 1934
dina patita anyayi
13b
wishayache sangati
14a GE 1944
warma wairi yanche hathi
14b
pandurangi majhya bala
15a GE 1992
he ambika jagadambe
15b
amar hai prema ki shakti
16a GE 1975
prabhu tera mahima kare
16b
jagatame jivan do dina ka
17a VE 1001
patita pavana mhanwisi
17b
aja vaikhuntichya raya
18a VE 1006 Bhavgeet
ye nabhala charuta
18b
Bhavgeet rajas padas kari chala
19a VE 1007
Bhajan majhya
giriche jivan
19b
Bhajan patita tu
pavana
20a VE 1010
saba kaliya khile
20b
kaise naina chalawe
21a VE 1015
Bhimpalas deva murali madhur
21b
Tilak kamod murali mohavi manas
Hindi films and music...
