Indian Classical Music

[Traverso]

I can't imagine how much an LP from India could cost. Several times I have seen huge piles of old dusty LPs in Kolkata that were sold for next to nothing. This is probably due to the fact that Kolkata is where Indian LPs were produced first of all. CDs are cheap compared to prices in the West. The peculiarity is that the sales of music on media in India is very scarce. There is very little information and you have to dig it out from under the ground. There is no marketing as such. In my years of travelling in India I have seen a few relatively extensive CD shops in Varanasi, and that was more of an exception. In big cities like Mumbai or Chennai or New Delhi I've never seen a serious CDs shop, let alone a LPs shop. Could be it just didn't happen. With all that said, the 200 euro price seems strange at least. Kumar Gandharva's recordings are well represented on Qobuz, though far from being complete.

I found this on Ebay, the so-called Bollywoodshop

 https://www.ebay.nl/itm/404444122145?itmmeta=01HWZN8F2RBKPSVK08C2V900HV&hash=item5e2abf8c21:g:za4AAOSw2gZk3TUV&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4NHmRX0zsfx7gtZunKRbmnxEYQBrMSuCdDdHgTwajE0m3o0LxaX7KZlkegLFVSIIK1EP8DYwo0nLv%2B91VshGX%2BKVooEaKitgCF1vRiJUR6iHbu55rWOE4jPCm38%2BNX9blHt9n4RVnCUmtNIonTdHnUMtsxQ5ZA3ww1Wn25YfFfiio%2FCcGu676CXc8Tw6IF8ck6ihG7pbnFeT7eKhE6SRKy%2BdFBS%2FRxHzPvTn9PEt6YSUI90LrebkqT7kU7nVbkp9RfIatqyA1cXJruzoeZIXwx5GUHhzy%2FUYG6gy9teCET5Q%7Ctkp%3ABFBMuvGh9edj

You would almost think that the hunger for good classical music from India is greater in the West than in India itself. 

[AnotherSpin]

I found this on Ebay, the so-called Bollywoodshop

 https://www.ebay.nl/itm/404444122145?itmmeta=01HWZN8F2RBKPSVK08C2V900HV&hash=item5e2abf8c21:g:za4AAOSw2gZk3TUV&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4NHmRX0zsfx7gtZunKRbmnxEYQBrMSuCdDdHgTwajE0m3o0LxaX7KZlkegLFVSIIK1EP8DYwo0nLv%2B91VshGX%2BKVooEaKitgCF1vRiJUR6iHbu55rWOE4jPCm38%2BNX9blHt9n4RVnCUmtNIonTdHnUMtsxQ5ZA3ww1Wn25YfFfiio%2FCcGu676CXc8Tw6IF8ck6ihG7pbnFeT7eKhE6SRKy%2BdFBS%2FRxHzPvTn9PEt6YSUI90LrebkqT7kU7nVbkp9RfIatqyA1cXJruzoeZIXwx5GUHhzy%2FUYG6gy9teCET5Q%7Ctkp%3ABFBMuvGh9edj

You would almost think that the hunger for good classical music from India is greater in the West than in India itself. 

Unfortunately, this may be true. In pursuit of an anonymous future, India is discarding as unnecessary its great traditions, which seem to interest mostly foreigners.

[DaveF]

Great to have an Indian Music topic here.

In London in the '70s I saw Imrat Khan perform a couple of times.  Once I was in the 2nd row of the audience, wow, what a sense of connection.  Imrat Khan was (I think) the son of Vilayat Khan and like him was a sitarist, but he also often performed on the surbahar, which is a larger instrument with a deeper tone and slower action, most suited to the Alap.

Younger brother of Vilayat, I believe.  Yes, there's no comparison between the live and recorded experiences - I saw him and his sons at a late-night Indian Prom in the early '90s, and theirs, among all the other performances, is still the one that sticks in my mind.  That Nimbus series was invaluable!

[AnotherSpin]

Younger brother of Vilayat, I believe.  Yes, there's no comparison between the live and recorded experiences - I saw him and his sons at a late-night Indian Prom in the early '90s, and theirs, among all the other performances, is still the one that sticks in my mind.  That Nimbus series was invaluable!

Wikipedia confirms that Imrat was Vilayat's younger brother. What is important is that they belonged to the same gharana or family style, that is, a tradition preserved through generations.

[aukhawk]

I sit corrected, thanks.
Before Nimbus there was the EMI Music from India Series, which were issued as LPs in the late '60s.  I had most of these and have needledropped most of the ones I had.

1. Vilayat Khan & Bismillah Khan (Shehnai) (HMV ASD 2295)
Duets: Chaiti-Dhun, Bhairavi-Thumree
2. Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod) (HMV ASD 2304)
Duets: Raga Shree, Raga Sindhu Bhairavi
3. Bismillah Khan & Prof. V. G. Jog (Violin) (HMV ASD 2312)
Duets: Raga Jai Jaiwanti, Raga Bahar, Dhun in Mishra Khamaj
4. Ravi Shankar (HMV ASD 2341)
Raga Khamaj, Raga Lalit
5. Ali Akbar Khan (HMV ASD 2367)
Raga Durga; Dhun in Khamaj
6. Nikhil Banerjee (HMV ASD 2394)
Raga Lalit, Raga Sindhu Bhairavi, Raga Puriya Kalyan
7. Vilayat Khan (HMV ASD 2425)
Raga Yaman
8. Ravi Shankar (HMV ASD 2418)
Raga Nata Bhairav, Raga Mishra Piloo
9. Bismillah Khan (HMV ASD 2446)
Raga Sarang, Raga Dadra, Raga Chandra Kauns, Raga Kajaree
10. Imrat Khan (Surbahar) (HMV ASD 2461)
Raga Marva, Raga Suddha Saranga
11. Vilayat Khan (EMI ASD 2460)
Ragas Jaijaiwanti, Rageshree

Alongside these I also had the very fine Inde du Nord LP by Ram Narayan (Sarangi)
Ragas Bairagi-Bhairav, Kirvani, Madhuvanti
which had far better, more informative sleevenotes than either the EMI or Nimbus issues.

I saw Ram Narayan live too (weirdly, performing in a CofE church) - very lovely but that instrument looks so painful to play!

[Traverso]

Younger brother of Vilayat, I believe.  Yes, there's no comparison between the live and recorded experiences - I saw him and his sons at a late-night Indian Prom in the early '90s, and theirs, among all the other performances, is still the one that sticks in my mind. That Nimbus series was invaluable!

I fully agree on that

[Traverso]

I saw Ram Narayan in a very informal setting during a Sunday morning concert. It was there that I bought an LP afterwards "Sarangi/the voice of a hundred Voices". It was at the time that when I listened to a Sarangi LP my  landlady often thought that her children were crying. As already noted, the instrument is very difficult to play, the fingers are not on the string but the nail slides along the string.
Not only is there the loss of Nimbus and their many valuable recordings of so-called world music, but Chhanda Dhare has also been of great importance in keeping the music from India alive.

Nonesuch also has its share, although it is a shame that I have seen very few reissues on CD.

https://www.atlasensemble.nl/news.html

India Instruments EN » Network » Texts » Chhanda Dhara - Label Discontinued
CHHANDA DHARA - LABEL DISCONTINUED
By Yogendra
(June 2009)

Renowned Indian music label Chhanda Dhara has been discontinued from July 18th onwards. The owners, Bengali couple Gopi and Shefali Nag, retire and move back to India. Chhanda Dhara has been a leading producer of classical Indian music recordings for more than 30 years. In the end they had a backlist of more than 65 titles with masters like Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma and many other greats.

IThe story of Chhanda Dhara began in 1971 with the founding of a school for Indian dance in Stuttgart - and the vision of making the best of Indian music and dance available to the public. Hence Chhanda Dhara started organising concerts with great masters and produced the first studio LP recordings. When live recording technology evolved and the CD allowed for longer uninterupted recordings in the 1980s, Chhanda Dhara became a trendsetter by publishing full live recordings. A real highlight of Gopi and Shefali Nag's work were several all-night-concerts between the late 1980s and 2001. Fans from all over Europe streamed to these unique events, which presented one top artist after the other from early evening throughout the whole night until early morning, much like in major festivals in India. In the new millenium Chhanda Dhara stopped organising concerts, but completed another historical task by publishing a series of 11 previously unreleased live recordings of legendary sitar master Nikhil Banerjee, who had passed away prematurely in 1986. The Indian classical music community owes a lot to Gopi and Shefali Nag for their accomplishments.

I start listening now to this recording.

[AnotherSpin]

I sit corrected, thanks.
Before Nimbus there was the EMI Music from India Series, which were issued as LPs in the late '60s.  I had most of these and have needledropped most of the ones I had.

1. Vilayat Khan & Bismillah Khan (Shehnai) (HMV ASD 2295)
Duets: Chaiti-Dhun, Bhairavi-Thumree
2. Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod) (HMV ASD 2304)
Duets: Raga Shree, Raga Sindhu Bhairavi
3. Bismillah Khan & Prof. V. G. Jog (Violin) (HMV ASD 2312)
Duets: Raga Jai Jaiwanti, Raga Bahar, Dhun in Mishra Khamaj
4. Ravi Shankar (HMV ASD 2341)
Raga Khamaj, Raga Lalit
5. Ali Akbar Khan (HMV ASD 2367)
Raga Durga; Dhun in Khamaj
6. Nikhil Banerjee (HMV ASD 2394)
Raga Lalit, Raga Sindhu Bhairavi, Raga Puriya Kalyan
7. Vilayat Khan (HMV ASD 2425)
Raga Yaman
8. Ravi Shankar (HMV ASD 2418)
Raga Nata Bhairav, Raga Mishra Piloo
9. Bismillah Khan (HMV ASD 2446)
Raga Sarang, Raga Dadra, Raga Chandra Kauns, Raga Kajaree
10. Imrat Khan (Surbahar) (HMV ASD 2461)
Raga Marva, Raga Suddha Saranga
11. Vilayat Khan (EMI ASD 2460)
Ragas Jaijaiwanti, Rageshree

Alongside these I also had the very fine Inde du Nord LP by Ram Narayan (Sarangi)
Ragas Bairagi-Bhairav, Kirvani, Madhuvanti
which had far better, more informative sleevenotes than either the EMI or Nimbus issues.

I saw Ram Narayan live too (weirdly, performing in a CofE church) - very lovely but that instrument looks so painful to play!

The largest and most important LPs production in India was organised by HMV at the Dum Dum factory in Calcutta in the very late 50s. I have owned quite a few HMV Dum Dum LPs over the years. By the way, not only with Indian music, they also published Wester popular music, I remember a Beatles Abbey Road LP made at the Dum Dum factory. About 7 or 8 years ago I went to the suburbs of Calcutta where the factory was located, I was curious to see the place. It turned out that factory no longer existed. Saregama seems to be the main publisher in India lately.

[Traverso]

Here are three  links regarding the Indian division of EMI

 

 

https://grammophon-platten.de/page.php?577

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/7CfWBoy2w5ezqPB5f4ndzM/The-house-of-vinyl.html

https://bajakhana.com.au/discographies/

[Traverso]

Vilayat Khan          assisted by his son Hidayat Khan also on Sitar

Raag Bhairo Bahar 

[Traverso]

Some information about Girija Devi

It was a time when girls going and singing on stage was not appreciated. But who would Girija fear! Her father himself was with her. He had brought her up like a son. Not just music, he also tried to give her the training of horse riding, swimming and self defence. Studies would not interest Girija but her father kept Hindi, Urdu and English teachers. Music is embedded in holy city of devotion and spirituality, Banaras. Musical gatherings have been a part of Banaras temples since when even radio was not functional. In those days singers like Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Faiyyaz Khan, Mushtaq Ali Khan, Krishna Rao were dominant. Music was played in temples all night. Living in Banaras, Girija Devi got a chance to listen to many great singers.

Once in Kashi's Mankameshwar temple Ustad Faiyyaz Khan was rehearsing raga Lalit at 3:30 am. Seven year old Girija Devi had gone to listen to Khan Sahab with her father. Girija Devi says that listening to the alaap sung by him, tears rolled down her cheeks. Faiyyaz Khan saw her and asked whose daughter she was. Ramdev Rai came forward with folded hands. Faiyyaz Khan said to the father that a great artist was born in his family. She had such a great sense of music at this tender age, what would she do when she grew up!

Khan Sahab had said the right thing. Girija Devi did not take time to gather fame. In 1949 she got a call from The Allahabad Radio. Girija Devi says that the station director listened to Khayal in raga Desi for 45 minutes, Thumri for 15 minutes and Tappa briefly for 5-7 minutes. The audition went on for about an hour and a half. After that she got the letter of the first programme with Rs. 90 as remuneration for it, along with first class travel fare. At that time, in radio, there were no grades for artists. With the remuneration offered, Girija Devi realized that she was in the list of the topmost artists, because 90 rupees was what senior artists like Bismillah Khan, Siddheshwari Devi, Rasulan Bai, Kanthe Maharaj were also getting.



 


 



 





"When I heard that the legendary singer Girija Devi of Banaras has passed away, I was filled with sorrow. She was in Kolkata. It's a great loss for the world of music especially Thumri style of singing. She became an institution during her lifetime. She was the only lady in my life who tied rakhi on my wrist every Raksha Bandhan," said Amjad Ali Khan.

https://feminisminindia.com/2018/08/17/girija-devi-thumri-biography/

[Traverso]

This recording contains the raga Hemavati,
Hemavati (pronounced hēmavati) is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 58th Melakarta rāgam in the 72 melakarta rāgam system of Carnatic music.

It is beloved especially of nadaswaram vidwans. It is said to be borrowed into Hindustani music from Carnatic music, especially with instrumentalists


"I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment," said Lord Yehudi Menuhin.

Since 1973, Dr. Subramaniam has made historic collaborations and recordings with people like George Harrison of the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelli, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Steven Seagal, Ruggiero Ricci, Herbie Hancock, Anne Sophie Mutter, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Jasraj, Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman, amongst others.


Nadaswaram  ( not on this recording )







Tavil of southern India is one of the barrel shaped percussion instruments. It is commonly used in folk music as well as in classical music with nagaswaram. It is an important instrument of an ensemble of a wind instrument band, known as periya melam.

Tavil drum



The drum consists of a barrel-shaped solid shell, which is made out of a large cylindrical block of jackwood, about sixteen inches long and in the centre it is thirteen-and-a-half inches in diameter and less than half a centimetre in thickness. Both the faces of the instrument are almost of the same diameter. The left face of the drum is loaded with a paste on the inside of the drum face to a circular area of two inches. The skins, often in layers, are stretched and stitched over both the faces in a very peculiar manner. The rings or the hoops, fixed over the parchment, consist of a set of six or seven bundled bamboo sticks, bent and tied together with the help of hemp. These hemps are stitched with the skins stretched over both the faces. These hemps are connected with the leather braces. A separate band of leather braces also goes around the middle portion of the drum to tighten the membrane in order to produce the desired pitch. The right head is played by the right hand, wrist and fingers, and the left head is struck with a stick held in the left hand. Occasionally the player wears thumb caps on all the fingers of the right hand.

 

[AnotherSpin]

Pandit Nityanand Haldipur on Indian bamboo flute in nice sound quality on Qobuz.

He learned from Ma Annapurna Devi (pictured in the middle of the cover), famous surbahar player.

[AnotherSpin]

More from Qobuz, a master of sarod Pandit Basant Kabra, another disciple of Annapurna Devi within Maihar Gharana tradition.

By the way, Annapurna Devi was Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's sister, her first husband was Pandit Ravi Shankar.

[Traverso]

It has a long tubular body made of wood or bamboo with a length between 54 and 62 inches. Two large, round resonators, made of dried and hollowed gourds, are attached under the tube. Twenty-four brass-fitted raised wooden frets are fixed on the tube with the help of wax. There are 4 main strings and 3 chikari strings.

As Rudra is a name for the Hindu god Shiva, rudra vina literally means "the veena dear to Shiva".

Further information
https://worldmusiccentral.org/2023/08/23/the-ancient-rudra-veena-of-india/