Gauhar Jaan, a name that many must have heard for the first time today, courtesy the doodle dedicated to her by Google on her 145th Birth Anniversary, deserves all the respect and love that is coming her way now. Born in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district, on June 26, 1873, she became one of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records India, which was released by Gramophone Company of India.

The Ghazal and Thumri expert must have sung a lot in her days but a few of her recordings, which are worth their weight in gold, are available on Youtube. We will spare you the trouble by listing a few of those gems here. Hear the first ever recorded song in India:

Here is another Thumri by the artist recorded in the year 1905:

Hear this rare recording of Darbari Ghumar by Gauhar Jaan Niyazi.

Vikram Sampath has written a book on the Gauhar Jaan, and in this remarkable book, he has brought to light some of the lesser known facts about the artist's life. In fact, his book unearthed many unknown facets of the artist's life. She had the two remarkable qualities that make a great artist: the humility to learn and the desire to take the art to the people.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 10:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).