Category: Indian

There is an interesting pocket of Indian music on 78 rpm where Indian musicians were integrating Western concepts and instruments such as the violin and piano into traditional Indian ensembles.

I don’t know anything about Mr. Suren Paul or the orchestra he directs here in the early 1930s – but listening to the music, I feel this music is 40 years ahead of its time.

It reminds me of a time in Western music where Indian concepts and instruments such as the sitar and tabla were being widely integrated into Western ensembles. Think of a group such as Ralph Towner’s Oregon from the early 1970s. “Music from Another Present Era” could have been Mr. Suren Paul’s grandchild.

In the late 1930s, Western music and instruments began to be seen as damaging to traditional Indian music. For example, the harmonium began to be seen as an “un-Indian” instrument not suitable for Indian classical music and in 1940 was banned outright from appearing on All India Radio.

An excellent article on this topic appears at:
https://www.heritagetimes.in/when-harmonium-was-banned-at-all-india-radio

I’m wondering if such orchestras also were discouraged from pursuing integrative music with Indian and Western instruments. I need to learn more about this.

Released as Senola QS 482
I believe this recording was made in Calcutta, India circa 1933.

Both sides of a scarce Indian sitar recording of the legendary master, Enayat Khan, and his son, Ustad Vilayat Khan on the Calcutta-based Megaphone label. The original Megaphone sleeve is also featured – one side showing a photo of Ustad Enayat Khan.

Enayat Khan passed away at age 43 in 1938, so this recording was likely made shortly before his death. Vilayat Khan, on the other hand, was only ten years old at the time of this recording! This pairing shows the passing of the torch from one master to the next.

Matrix OMC. 8699
Bhairavi Gat (the queen of morning Ragas)
Prof. Enayet Khan – sitar

Matrix OMC. 8698
Jogiya (a morning Raga based on Bhairavi Thaat)
Mr. Vilayet Hossain (Son of Prof. Enayet Khan) – sitar

Released as Megaphone J.N.G. 5274.
Recorded circa 1938.

This transfer is by request from a patient viewer in Pakistan. 🙏 Peace to you my friend. I hope you enjoy this record.

Kaloo Qawwal was an early Indian qawwali – a singer of Islamic devotional music in the mystical Sufic tradition. He recorded extensively in the 1930s and also performed on Indian radio stations and in large live concerts.

My technology-assisted translation of the title is “Neither position nor wealth nor power is needed.” If a native speaker has a better translation, please comment below.

Released as His Master’s Voice N.4115 (Matrix OE. 80)

Legendary classical vocalist Gauhar Jan was born in Azamgarh, India in 1870. She could sing in over 20 languages and recorded over 600 records.

This was from a very early session from 1904. It was reissued as HMV P-17 which I also have a copy of, but believe it or not, the older GCR made for a slightly better transfer!

This early acoustic recording made for a very tricky transfer – and it really took a lot to minimize noise without sacrificing the performance. Hopefully it is enjoyable!

If you stick around until the very end, you’ll hear the voice of Gauhar Jan herself announcing her name as was the custom of many early recordings.

Recorded by William Sinkler Darby in Calcutta, India in December 1904.
Released as Gramophone Concert Record G. C. – 13842 (mx. E2585h)

Miss Gauhar Jan is accompanied by unknown artists on harmonium and tabla.

Notes from Michael Kinnear “Discography of Miss Gauhar Jan of Calcutta”, The Record News, Vol. 9, Jan. 1993.

Today I learned that my friend and fellow 78 rpm collector Dr. Suresh Chandvankar passed away. Suresh was a founding member of the Society of Indian Record Collectors and a tireless proponent, archiver, and preserver of Indian music of the 78 rpm era.

I first ran across Suresh on Discogs when I stumbled across some 78s he had for sale. I wrote him and we began talking about Indian music. He steered me toward the treasure trove of back issues of The Record News, available online, which contain a wealth of information on Indian music, record labels, and artists of the 78 rpm era.

I really was astounded by the amount of dedication and effort Suresh put into the preservation of the important records he collected. He had started uploading them to Discogs and archive.org to help more people have access to them. He had started selling his collection and told me he was glad that other collectors were interested in them – as he much preferred them to have an active life of being listened to and enjoyed rather than sitting in an archive. The last sentence from his last email to me simply read: “Enjoy the music.”

Rest in peace, my friend.

This record of solo Harmonium Tarz by Master Amarutlal Dave was in the last shipment of records I received from Suresh last year. I hope you, too, dear listeners, will enjoy the music.

Suresh estimated release date as 1928 – could be earlier.
Released as Zonophone N.1451