Indubala

Indubala (1898 – 30 November 1984), sometimes credited as Miss Indubala, Indubālā Debī, or Indubala Devi, was a Bengali singer and actress. She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975.

== Early life == Indubala was born in Amritsar, the daughter of Motilal Bose and Rajabala. Her parents were with the Great Bengal Circus, and separated soon after her birth.Her father was a circus owner, her mother performed acrobatics in the circus. Her mother also had other siblings, including Matibala who worked in performance and Tinkary a circus performer. She lived with her mother in Calcutta. Her mother later began her singing career in Kolkata. She trained as a singer in Calcutta with several teachers, including Gauhar Jaan, Kamal Dasgupta, and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Gauhar Jaan was indubala's most helpful teacher, not only teaching her to sing but also instructing her in etiquette. Indubala began her singing career as a courtesan (tawaif) in her teens. Indubala's mother wanted her to become a nurse, she had even been accepted as an intern at a hospital in Pataldanga, Kolkata. However, Indubala didn't like nursing and ultimately chose to follow in her mother's footsteps as a singer, despite her mother's disappointment at her decision to give up nursing.