RMIM Archive Article "365".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Fading Sounds of LP Records
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# Source: Indian Express
# Author: Shekhar Krishnan
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The Fading Sounds of LP Records
Shekhar Krishnan
The Indian Express, July 97
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Do you ever long to hear the familiar vignette of Radio
Ceylon's Binaca Geet Mala? Or curious to hear Mukesh singing
jingles for the Congress Party? All of these recordings and
more are tucked away in the collections of members of
Mumbai's Society of Indian Record Collectors (SIRC).
Vinyl records have long ago vanished from the shelves of
music shops throughout the world, surpassed in quality and
convenience by cassettes and compact discs. As older
recordings are transferred onto the newer mediums, one might
think that progress has plied its logical course. But lost
in the grooves of those unwieldy wax discs is a treasure
trove of valuable information on the history of audio
recording in India, which began in 1902 with the founding of
the Gramophone Company of India in Calcutta. SIRC, founded
in 1990 by several record enthusiasts, is furthering the
science of discography which traces the roots of what we
take so much for granted today.
It was with the guidance of Michael Kinnear, an Australian
musicologist who worked as an engineer with HMV Bombay in
the sixties, that the society was first founded to help in
developing a chronology and encyclopedia. Kinnear later
published two books which introduced the science of
discography to Indian music enthusiasts -- one on Hindustani
and Carnatic classical music from 1950 to 1985, and the
second on the first Indian recordings of the Gramophone
Company of India from 1898 to 1908. Kinnear sought the help
of Narayan Mulani, now president of SIRC, and Suresh
Chandvankar, the secretary, in deciphering for the first
time the various impressions and numbers on the record label
and on the vinyl which denotes the manufacturer and date of
pressing, the wax master number, the catalogue numbers and
batch identity. All of these factors were essential to
constructing a chronology, identifying missing editions and
new releases, and establishing the progress of the Indian
recording industry in its early days.
The recording industry has come a long way since the days
when colonial archivists would travel the corners of British
India recording tribal folk songs and temple bhajans making
wax masters which they took back to England for
pressing. The Dum Dum factory of the Gramophone Company of
India -- later known as HMV (His Master's Voice) -- was
established in 1908, and was India's largest record
manufacturer until Polydor opened a Bombay factory in
1969. But as vinyl record production increased, it was
steadily eclipsed by newer mediums until the present day,
when it is no more than a collector's item.
However, Chandvankar, whose fascination with vinyl began
with his childhood hand-cranked gramophone, is enthusiastic
about preserving the musical history of Indian culture. His
collection of over 5,000 records ranges from Hindi and
Marathi film music to Marathi bhavgeet to such rarities as
Mohammed Rafi singing in English and old advertisements from
Vividh Bharati.
For the last seven years, the SIRC has been meeting at
monthly listening sessions at the homes of collectors -- of
which there are 100 in Mumbai -- and in public halls to
discuss a specific topic, listen to music and sponsor
lectures by noted musicians or industry experts. SIRC
publishes a quarterly journal The Record News which takes up
topics ranging from the history of recording to classical
and popular music. The Society has grown from a handful of
hobbyists in Mumbai to opening branches in Pune, Solapur,
Nanded, Tuljapur and Goa and memberships abroad. The tastes
of its collectors range from the commonplace -- film and
classical music -- to the esoteric.
Its senior-most member, Prabhakar Davedar of Pune, maintains
a library of Marathi natya sangeet in its original editions,
and has extensively studied its links with Marathi drama. As
word of mouth spreads the cause of discography, Chandvankar
and his colleagues are now seeking to cement their
achievements by constructing a depository for old records,
gramophones, catalogues and books that would eventually
become an archive similar to the National Film Archive in
Pune. While questioning "When we go, what will become of our
collections?" Chandvankar is confident that normally
possessive hobbyists will be interested in developing not
only a central archive, but listening rooms in local
libraries throughout the country. The history of this medium
which has transformed the musical and visual culture of
modern India deserves no less.
Enquires about the SIRC or contributing to the fund for the
creation of a sound archive can be addressed to
Suresh Chandvankar, secretary,
SIRC
Ph: (91) (22) 2189726,
e-mail: sschand@tifrvax.tifr.res.in
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian