Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
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Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Dear all,

In today’s modern age with technology making its presence felt in every walk of life, especially in the field of music and audio recording, it is ironic that is almost impossible to listen to the earliest recordings of our music right from the wax cylinder, gramophone shellacs (78 RPMs) and vinyl LP eras unless one has the required player or already digitized format of the records. A lot of these rare recordings which capture the voices of our ancestors are depleting at an alarmingly rapid rate. Digitization of these records and preserving of this music for posterity and making them easily and electronically available to musicians, researchers, students of music and interested public is the need of the hour. It is to achieve this hallowed objective that the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) has been established as a private and not-for-profit Trust that can help conserve the gramophone recordings and bring them back into circulation.

The plan was to begin with South Indian recordings starting 1904 when the first Artists from the South were recorded. This would include classical, folk, Theatre and early cinema recordings of that era, as also non commercial recordings like voices of common Indians, speeches of leaders etc that some companies from Europe made. In the long run, of course the idea is to expand beyond South India and create a central repository for all kinds of recordings and genres including from other parts of India. Headquartered in Bangalore, AIM would begin operations by September this year which would also involve the launch of a Website that would post these digitized clips regularly.

Since the goal of the Archive is to ensure that these rare treasures of our past are not only preserved but also reach out to the maximum number of people, dissemination is an important component. The website is a major tool through the clips would be made available to people right from the comfort of their homes. In addition, brief biographical details of the artists, vintage photographs, gramophone sleeves etc would also be put up there.The Archive seeks to also set up kiosks at important venues like sabhas in major cities, in schools and Universities to increase the reach of these recordings and also make people familiar about this era of 1900-1940 which is what the bulk of the clips would belong to. It hopes to conduct guided listening sessions and curate theme based exhibitions in the long run after it has built up a suitable corpus to achieve this objective.

The Times of India did a curtain raiser on the Archive- the link of which is shared below.
http://www1.lite.epaper.timesofindia.co ... I&max=true

I have been lucky to gain the goodwill of several record collectors across India who have joined hands in this project. The Archive is also guided by an eminent Board of Advisors: Chinmaya Gharekhan, President of IGNCA, Delhi, eminent filmmaker Mr Shyam Benegal, Bharatanatyam exponent Smt Alarmel Valli, musicologist and scholar (formerly with ITC SRA Kolkata) Pt. Vijay Kichlu, renowned musicians Smt Shyamala G. Bhave, Smt Bombay Jayashri, Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh and Smt Lalith Rao, Bharatanatyam exponent and dance critic Smt Nandini Ramani, Ms. Arundhati Ghosh of India Foundation for Arts and Mr. Bhaskar Mitra of Sangeet Ashram, Kolkata.

Understandly, this is a mammoth task and I seek the support of many like-minded individuals on this Forum. Once the website is ready i will certainly post the details here and seek your feedback. In the meanwhile, if anyone has or knows people who have gramophone records or old LP's that need to be digitized, please do drop me an email either on vikram.sampath@gmail.com or through my website http://www.vikramsampath.com

Thanks and regards
Vikram.

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by mohan »

Great initiative Vikram. Good luck and looking forward to seeing the website in operation.

Sreeni Rajarao
Posts: 1283
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:19

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

Vikram,

Best wishes for your initiative!

You might already know that this forum has some active members who are veterans in this kind of work. You are in the right place in your effort to connect with like-minded rasika-s.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

Moore Market - in the relocated premises - next to chennai railway station has thousands of records priced at rs . 40-65 per record . stored in pathetic ways .They are deteriorating badly , by the day .
Better to look for sponsors to pump in the money . btw there is a very active organisation based in mumbai which has done this work already , though it leans towards non-carnatic music .

harimau
Posts: 1819
Joined: 06 Feb 2007, 21:43

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by harimau »

There is already in Chennai this:

http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19238

Are you going to be able to get equipment similar to that? I doubt it, as those are built-to-order, one-of-a-kind devices and they can choose whether they want to build one for you or not.

Google for "Laser Turntables" and you will find that there is a Japanese company selling a model for about $17,000 pounds sterling.

If you are going to get an ordinary turntable and then compress the music to MP3, my suggestion would be not to bother. Either we capture the music as much as possible, clean it up as much as within our reach and disseminate it at the highest quality or just store the records in an airconditioned room and wait for better times/equipment.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Thanks to all for the wishes and the suggestions!
@Varsha: Yes i am aware of this dealer in Moore Market and have in fact already purchased a huge set of records from him and hope to complete a few more in the days ahead. The organization u mention is possibly the Society of Indian Records Collectors in Mumbai ? If u see the article i attached carefully, one of its founder members and Honorary Secretary Dr Suresh Chandvankar is on the Board of Trustees for the Archive as well. So yes, the idea is to create synergies and pool in the best talent and expertise in this domain.
@Harimau: Valid advice! Have seen the IRENE and it's a neat system. But there havent been too many instances of its use in the past for us to have data points about whether its better than the conventional machines and/or can be portable. Other than Berkeley and RMRL, dont think its being used elsewhere. the Archive has imported machinery from US, England and Denmark and these meet the international guidelines set on fidelity in sound transfers, as put out by the British Library. So i am guessing it should be up to the mark

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

Dr Suresh Chandvankar is on the Board of Trustees for the Archive as well.
Brings in much needed legitimacy to the proceedings . In the sense that other Organisations in the past have been tight fisted when receiving , but have very wide open arms when it came to taking :(

Very badly needed effort for South Indian Music . Will get in touch with you .

There is the biggest problem of retaining this sense of debt (to past masters) over long periods of time , though . By not becoming power centres themselves in the process of serving the future . Something which has afflicted big names and helped pamper egos . Hope the Lord Almighty gives you all the strength to avoid these pitfalls

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by rshankar »

Vikram, best wishes!

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by arasi »

Vikram,
Your work for CM has been very impressive so far. Authorship at such a young age is commendable. To organize something like this on top of it needs a lot of dedication and generosity with one's time. More power to your work!

PUNARVASU
Posts: 2498
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by PUNARVASU »

An initiative that is much needed. All the best Vikram Sampath.

Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Rsachi »

As someone who liked his two books on Gauhar Jaan and Wodeyars, I would like to compliment Vikram Sampath on this initiative. Obviously this calls for more organization and upkeep than creative writing.

Some thoughts:
1. What about All India Radio, and more recently DD? They need help and encouragement to digitize, catalog and distribute much better their treasure-trove (orders of magnitude bigger than the body of shellac/vinyl records) ...
2. Nowadays Amritavarshini and Chandana do a poor job of even compering their programs. I know no reliable place to find out what CM programs will feature today/tomorrow/next week with details of artistes (and themes if any.) I found Australian Broadcasting Corp. =ABC FM a true marvel in this regard.
3. It's high time an association with membership and money was created in Carnatic Music to respond to/orchestrate/support many such efforts from Academies, Samajas and initiatives like this Archive. Is Rasikas.Org such a place to start? How do we create resonance rather than cacophony?
4. Some community churches collect x% of earnings from each one. Can self-proclaimed rasikas contribute say 1% to such an association membership? My math tells me it can become a huge collective fund.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by arasi »

All very good ideas, Rsachi.
Yes, at Rasikas.org, we can do our bit. Whatever we can give is fine--even token amounts. When the donors' numbers run in thousands, they make a handsome offering. More than reluctance, it is not carrying out the intent which results in poor contribution, we have noticed time and again :(
Rasikas.org is a dynamic place. Many eager minds come together in music and in other arts here.
Hope the government and organizations shoulder the effort. We rasikAs should join in, our reward being the satisfaction of offering our appreciation in kind, however humble--just as when a temple is brought back to its old glory, every little bhaktha takes pride and is happy in offering his little token for a good deed--however much the government, religious institutions and the wealthy of the land contribute to the effort.

Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Rsachi »

LET's DO IT!

Please lead me to where this is discussed and actioned - I need to know Rasikas.Org much better.

Arasi in Kannada means Searching. Also it means a Queen. So no one to lead me is better than Arasi!

harimau
Posts: 1819
Joined: 06 Feb 2007, 21:43

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by harimau »

Vikramsampath wrote:
@Harimau: Valid advice! Have seen the IRENE and it's a neat system. But there havent been too many instances of its use in the past for us to have data points about whether its better than the conventional machines and/or can be portable. Other than Berkeley and RMRL, dont think its being used elsewhere.
Samples of music recovered by IRENE and by conventional means can be found here: http://irene.lbl.gov/. A Google search may reveal longer sound samples.

Then there is the ELP laser turntable that is commercially produced but is built to order. http://www.elpj.com/

There is also the fiber-optic pickup described here: http://www.christerhamp.se/phono/poliak.html
Vikramsampath wrote:
the Archive has imported machinery from US, England and Denmark and these meet the international guidelines set on fidelity in sound transfers, as put out by the British Library. So i am guessing it should be up to the mark
I would like to know what these are. Particularly since research work in Russia, Switzerland, Penn State University in the US, etc., are devoted to archival of old records. Even IRENE is such a research program.

I am interested in knowing brand names/models of turntables, cartidges, tone-arms since I myself am trying to "save" old "plates" in my own humble way.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by arasi »

Thanks, Rsachi. Yes, arasi, arasathi--hesarali mAthra, but a peasant otherwise. They call me Queenie too :(
As fo rthe meaning 'search', that's what I am still doing!

General Discussions section is where such matters are discussed. Others will chime in, no doubt.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

Here is some raddii .
Need some help in identifying names of Composers and ragas for tracks where I have not been to identify / label.
NC Vasanthakokilam .
http://www.mediafire.com/?fb8fa01kvw8eb

Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

Arvat tIyAl - Suddhananda Bharati
bhArati pATTennum - M.P. Periyasamy
kalaivAni aruL purivAL - Papanasam Sivan
nittiraiyil vandu nenjil iDam konDa - Suddhananda Bharati
shentamizh Osai - M.P. Periyasamy
tittikkum shentamizhAl - Suddhananda Bharati
udaya sundari - Suddhananda Bharati

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

Thank you very much

Lakshman
Posts: 14019
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Lakshman »

I have bhArati pATTEnum and shentamizh Osai listed in my database as Shuddhananda Bharati's songs. The item tittikkum shentamizh is by Guhan according to the link given by varsha.

eesha
Posts: 366
Joined: 30 Apr 2009, 23:15

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by eesha »

Rsachi wrote: 1. What about All India Radio, and more recently DD? They need help and encouragement to digitize, catalog and distribute much better their treasure-trove (orders of magnitude bigger than the body of shellac/vinyl records) ...
This is already happening in some form through sangeethapriya.org . Sri TVG is specialising in digitising AIR, DD concerts.

harimau
Posts: 1819
Joined: 06 Feb 2007, 21:43

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by harimau »

eesha wrote:
This is already happening in some form through sangeethapriya.org . Sri TVG is specialising in digitising AIR, DD concerts.
Doordarshan-Chennai (Podhigai, as it calls itself) used to have brief announcements when new CDs/DVDs are issued from the AIR archives. I normally rush to AIR to buy these treasures.

Upon inquiry, I found that nearly 1000 programs have been digitized from tapes and are awaiting approval from HQ in New Delhi before any of them can be stamped out as commercial CDs for sale to the public but that no approval is forthcoming.

Almost a dozen years ago, T-Series (of the re-mix cassettes fame whose owner Gulshan Kumar was shot to death quite a while ago) obtained reproduction rights to a part of AIR archives and produced nearly 120 CDs from the archived material. They were priced at Rs. 65 a CD (later increased to Rs. 85 and then maybe more) but were hard to find at local music stores. I had to send a nephew out to their warehouse in NOIDA to buy me a complete set. In that series, you have 10 CDs each of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Bismillah Khan.

AIR today records in digital media so the quality of recording ought to be good.The re-broadcasts of earlier concerts by yeteryear giants is also from digitized versions as opposed to reel-to-reel tapes. Walking into their store-room in Chennai, one is amazed at the amount of dust on the shelves where they store LPs and other records.

Sapthagiri
Posts: 20
Joined: 04 Aug 2012, 16:18

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sapthagiri »

Vikramsampath wrote:Dear all,

In today’s modern age with technology making its presence felt in every walk of life, especially in the field of music and audio recording, it is ironic that is almost impossible to listen to the earliest recordings of our music right from the wax cylinder, gramophone shellacs (78 RPMs) and vinyl LP eras unless one has the required player or already digitized format of the records. A lot of these rare recordings which capture the voices of our ancestors are depleting at an alarmingly rapid rate. Digitization of these records and preserving of this music for posterity and making them easily and electronically available to musicians, researchers, students of music and interested public is the need of the hour. It is to achieve this hallowed objective that the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) has been established as a private and not-for-profit Trust that can help conserve the gramophone recordings and bring them back into circulation.

The plan was to begin with South Indian recordings starting 1904 when the first Artists from the South were recorded. This would include classical, folk, Theatre and early cinema recordings of that era, as also non commercial recordings like voices of common Indians, speeches of leaders etc that some companies from Europe made. In the long run, of course the idea is to expand beyond South India and create a central repository for all kinds of recordings and genres including from other parts of India. Headquartered in Bangalore, AIM would begin operations by September this year which would also involve the launch of a Website that would post these digitized clips regularly.

Since the goal of the Archive is to ensure that these rare treasures of our past are not only preserved but also reach out to the maximum number of people, dissemination is an important component. The website is a major tool through the clips would be made available to people right from the comfort of their homes. In addition, brief biographical details of the artists, vintage photographs, gramophone sleeves etc would also be put up there.The Archive seeks to also set up kiosks at important venues like sabhas in major cities, in schools and Universities to increase the reach of these recordings and also make people familiar about this era of 1900-1940 which is what the bulk of the clips would belong to. It hopes to conduct guided listening sessions and curate theme based exhibitions in the long run after it has built up a suitable corpus to achieve this objective.

The Times of India did a curtain raiser on the Archive- the link of which is shared below.
http://www1.lite.epaper.timesofindia.co ... I&max=true

I have been lucky to gain the goodwill of several record collectors across India who have joined hands in this project. The Archive is also guided by an eminent Board of Advisors: Chinmaya Gharekhan, President of IGNCA, Delhi, eminent filmmaker Mr Shyam Benegal, Bharatanatyam exponent Smt Alarmel Valli, musicologist and scholar (formerly with ITC SRA Kolkata) Pt. Vijay Kichlu, renowned musicians Smt Shyamala G. Bhave, Smt Bombay Jayashri, Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh and Smt Lalith Rao, Bharatanatyam exponent and dance critic Smt Nandini Ramani, Ms. Arundhati Ghosh of India Foundation for Arts and Mr. Bhaskar Mitra of Sangeet Ashram, Kolkata.

Understandly, this is a mammoth task and I seek the support of many like-minded individuals on this Forum. Once the website is ready i will certainly post the details here and seek your feedback. In the meanwhile, if anyone has or knows people who have gramophone records or old LP's that need to be digitized, please do drop me an email either on vikram.sampath@gmail.com or through my website http://www.vikramsampath.com

Thanks and regards
Vikram.
Respected Sri Vikram Sampath,

I have recently registered as a member of this forum

I am a Gramophone-fan. Discs of 78 rpm as well as LPs and EALPs have fascinated me.I not only love the music but also the design and blurbs on the Jacket of records/the Record labels of HMV.COLUMBIA,ODEON,TWIN,BROADCAST,HUTCHINSON/NEW THEATRES/etc.
More over I am of the view, that these records, particularly the 78 RPM ones, bring out,to a great extent, the best in the Vidwans of yore, because of the time constraint ! Some of the Senior Vidwans who receive the Honours & Awards, had been and are still, past their prime and so their performances on the 78 rpms happen to be more representative of their original music than their performances at the time of being recognised by the institutions/Organisations etc.
Now, my question is --- Where do we stand when such songs are recorded in the Archives with reference to Copyrights Act.? I have a recollection that recently there has been a court judgement that the copyright benefit goes to the owner ie the producer of a film(not the singer or evn the music director) if it is a film song. In case of individual records, will the copyright belong to the performer(s) or the Recording Company? Finally, when a copyright is obtained ,when does it expire? Can it be renewed?
Personally, I have a collection of records, which I consider to be a choice and rare one. No doubt I have already converted the Analog to .mp3 and burnt data dvds ready to be uploaded on a blog, so that it could be made available to music lovers and posterity. After this job is over, I may present my entire collection to this Archive.The expectation would be that they would be carefully preserved and handled with loving care.
I have read in the Indian Express, in its weekly supplement two decades ago, an article by another private collector and connoisseur of music
Sri V A K Ranga Rao (resident of PYCROFTS GARDEN ROAD) who had expressed his desire to institute a Trust or Foundation for preserving this music. He should be around 75 years of age and lives in Chennai. You may check up with him. SRUTI magazine is another source which can furnish more particulars in this quest. In case our area is futher expanded to include Hindustani Classical and light music as well as Bhajans/Thumris/Dadras/Abhangs, we can get more volunteers from other parts of the country.
One member has suggested that some shops which were selling old records in the erstwhile Moore Market,have since been relocated in the new place. In Mumbai, there is a place called Chor Bazar; in Delhi, there is a Mina Bazar situated opposite to Red fort near the beginning of Chandni Chowk and in Calcutta there used to be some shops in the Free School Street area; These are some places where old records are still available. Of late there is a new interest among people to go for Record players and LPs and so the cost of these records have again shot up.

In Rhythm House Fort Mumbai, New LPs are again available on sale and the cost is around Rs 600/-per Record. (Just like Rim-less spectacles being replaced by spectcles with colourful frames!) Requesting our knowledgable members to share their ideas and wishing your initiative all success,ANSapthagireesan---Aug 08, 2012

Sapthagiri
Posts: 20
Joined: 04 Aug 2012, 16:18

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sapthagiri »

Vikramsampath wrote:Dear all,

In today’s modern age with technology making its presence felt in every walk of life, especially in the field of music and audio recording, it is ironic that is almost impossible to listen to the earliest recordings of our music right from the wax cylinder, gramophone shellacs (78 RPMs) and vinyl LP eras unless one has the required player or already digitized format of the records. A lot of these rare recordings which capture the voices of our ancestors are depleting at an alarmingly rapid rate. Digitization of these records and preserving of this music for posterity and making them easily and electronically available to musicians, researchers, students of music and interested public is the need of the hour. It is to achieve this hallowed objective that the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) has been established as a private and not-for-profit Trust that can help conserve the gramophone recordings and bring them back into circulation.

The plan was to begin with South Indian recordings starting 1904 when the first Artists from the South were recorded. This would include classical, folk, Theatre and early cinema recordings of that era, as also non commercial recordings like voices of common Indians, speeches of leaders etc that some companies from Europe made. In the long run, of course the idea is to expand beyond South India and create a central repository for all kinds of recordings and genres including from other parts of India. Headquartered in Bangalore, AIM would begin operations by September this year which would also involve the launch of a Website that would post these digitized clips regularly.

Since the goal of the Archive is to ensure that these rare treasures of our past are not only preserved but also reach out to the maximum number of people, dissemination is an important component. The website is a major tool through the clips would be made available to people right from the comfort of their homes. In addition, brief biographical details of the artists, vintage photographs, gramophone sleeves etc would also be put up there.The Archive seeks to also set up kiosks at important venues like sabhas in major cities, in schools and Universities to increase the reach of these recordings and also make people familiar about this era of 1900-1940 which is what the bulk of the clips would belong to. It hopes to conduct guided listening sessions and curate theme based exhibitions in the long run after it has built up a suitable corpus to achieve this objective.

The Times of India did a curtain raiser on the Archive- the link of which is shared below.
http://www1.lite.epaper.timesofindia.co ... I&max=true

I have been lucky to gain the goodwill of several record collectors across India who have joined hands in this project. The Archive is also guided by an eminent Board of Advisors: Chinmaya Gharekhan, President of IGNCA, Delhi, eminent filmmaker Mr Shyam Benegal, Bharatanatyam exponent Smt Alarmel Valli, musicologist and scholar (formerly with ITC SRA Kolkata) Pt. Vijay Kichlu, renowned musicians Smt Shyamala G. Bhave, Smt Bombay Jayashri, Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh and Smt Lalith Rao, Bharatanatyam exponent and dance critic Smt Nandini Ramani, Ms. Arundhati Ghosh of India Foundation for Arts and Mr. Bhaskar Mitra of Sangeet Ashram, Kolkata.

Understandly, this is a mammoth task and I seek the support of many like-minded individuals on this Forum. Once the website is ready i will certainly post the details here and seek your feedback. In the meanwhile, if anyone has or knows people who have gramophone records or old LP's that need to be digitized, please do drop me an email either on vikram.sampath@gmail.com or through my website http://www.vikramsampath.com

Thanks and regards
Vikram.
Respected Sri Vikram Sampath,

I have recently registered as a member of this forum

I am a Gramophone-fan. Discs of 78 rpm as well as LPs and EALPs have fascinated me.I not only love the music but also the design and blurbs on the Jacket of records/the Record labels of HMV.COLUMBIA,ODEON,TWIN,BROADCAST,HUTCHINSON/NEW THEATRES/etc.
More over I am of the view, that these records, particularly the 78 RPM ones, bring out,to a great extent, the best in the Vidwans of yore, because of the time constraint ! Some of the Senior Vidwans who receive the Honours & Awards, had been and are still, past their prime and so their performances on the 78 rpms happen to be more representative of their original music than their performances at the time of being recognised by the institutions/Organisations etc.
Now, my question is --- Where do we stand when such songs are recorded in the Archives with reference to Copyrights Act.? I have a recollection that recently there has been a court judgement that the copyright benefit goes to the owner ie the producer of a film(not the singer or evn the music director) if it is a film song. In case of individual records, will the copyright belong to the performer(s) or the Recording Company? Finally, when a copyright is obtained ,when does it expire? Can it be renewed?
Personally, I have a collection of records, which I consider to be a choice and rare one. No doubt I have already converted the Analog to .mp3 and burnt data dvds ready to be uploaded on a blog, so that it could be made available to music lovers and posterity. After this job is over, I may present my entire collection to this Archive.The expectation would be that they would be carefully preserved and handled with loving care.
I have read in the Indian Express, in its weekly supplement two decades ago, an article by another private collector and connoisseur of music
Sri V A K Ranga Rao (resident of PYCROFTS GARDEN ROAD) who had expressed his desire to institute a Trust or Foundation for preserving this music. He should be around 75 years of age and lives in Chennai. You may check up with him. SRUTI magazine is another source which can furnish more particulars in this quest. In case our area is futher expanded to include Hindustani Classical and light music as well as Bhajans/Thumris/Dadras/Abhangs, we can get more volunteers from other parts of the country.
One member has suggested that some shops which were selling old records in the erstwhile Moore Market,have since been relocated in the new place. In Mumbai, there is a place called Chor Bazar; in Delhi, there is a Mina Bazar situated opposite to Red fort near the beginning of Chandni Chowk and in Calcutta there used to be some shops in the Free School Street area; These are some places where old records are still available. Of late there is a new interest among people to go for Record players and LPs and so the cost of these records have again shot up.

In Rhythm House Fort Mumbai, New LPs are again available on sale and the cost is around Rs 600/-per Record. (Just like Rim-less spectacles being replaced by spectcles with colourful frames!) Requesting our knowledgable members to share their ideas and wishing your initiative all success,ANSapthagireesan---Aug 08, 2012

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Hello all,

Sorry for a very delayed reponse on this as i am not too regular on this forum unfortunately! A very sincere thanks to everyone-- varsha, rshankar, Arasi ji, PUNARVASU, RSachi, harimau, Mr Sapthagireesan and others- for their enthusiastic response and highly valuable suggestions! The website of the Archive is in the final stage of production and by this month end i might have the beta version ready with about 1000 odd clips contributed by several people, up and running. It would be a healthy mix of Carnatic, Hindustani, Theatre, early Cinema music. From the Carnatic front in the first round looking at putting in sample clips of artists like Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Bidaram Krishnappa, B Rachappa of Mysore, B Devendrappa of Mysore, Bangalore Nagaratnamma, Salem Godavari, Coimbatore Thayi, Dhanakoti Ammal of Kanchipuram, Bangalore D Subbaramayya, Radha-Jayalakshmi, Chembai, Chittoor Subramania Pillai, DKP, Bangalore Thayi, Dandapani Desikar, KB Sundarambal, Mysore Adi lakshmi, Nagaraja Rao (Flute), Veena Dhanam, Palani Vijayalakshmi, SG Kittappa, Sembannarkoil Ramaswamy Pillai (Nadaswaram), TN Manikkam, TM Kader Batcha of Woriyur to name JUST a few. As we start the digitization with the new equipment, i am sure this list would expand as also the quality of the output of the sound from the machinery which is rather impressive. Will post the website here for your valued feedback and comments. Would also invite any kind of contribution of articles, trivia, photos etc of these artists featured which could go up on the website as a value-add to the music clips. Early Sept is when the website is expected to officially go live.

Specifically to Shri Sapthagireesan, thanks a lot for your very kind offer, Please rest assured that your contribution will be most valued and will be treated and preserved with great care and love! That is exactly what AIM is seeking to do anyway. Reg the Copyrights--these are all in the public realm and out of copyright being pre-1947 recordings largely. 60 yrs after the date of publishing, the companies forefeit the copyright on the product. We can discuss more on this offline if you wish.my email id is vikram.sampath@gmail.com. I have a copyright lawyer on board for the Trust as being a mere author my own understanding of legalese is next to non-existent! :)
I am glad to know that respected Sri Ranga Rao is finally making plans for passing on his treasures to the future generations. A welcome move indeed, if it happens! It is a life-time of struggle collecting these for him and i fully empathize the feeling of protectiveness (which is common among all record collectors) especially since most ppl approach him and others like him as predators pouncing on what is so invaluable for them rather than engaging them as partners. Since i happen to know Rao Garu, if he decides to collaborate with AIM, i would be the happiest.
And yes, the idea is to expand to all genres--Hindustani, bhajans, dadras, folk et al that you mention as i strongly believe an Archivist should be as neutral as possible and not let his/her own bias and interests cloud the judgement of what is being preserved!

Once again many thanks to all of you for your warm wishes and suggestions.

Regards
Vikram.

Sreeni Rajarao
Posts: 1283
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:19

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

Vikram,

Looking forward to the Beta version that is going to be available soon!

It is exciting to even read the names you have mentioned! Soon, I will be able to listen to the music of Sri B Devendrappa and Sri D Subbaramayya - two artists I have seen in person (when I was a kid), but did not have a chance to listen to their music.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

empathize the feeling of protectiveness (which is common among all record collectors)
one has to only acknowledge their inputs at every stage of the process and ensure a permanent place for them in the hall of fame . Talk to any of these original crusaders and one will get their feelings summed up by :
Great men have ideas
Lesser men make them explode.
The least get the triggers.

True of Music Academy , kalakshetra , Swarajya , Olympic Associations , FIFA ... :)

My point is that VAKR does not have to decide about shedding his protective nature and participating . It is for the rest to prove themselves worthy of his attention .

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

@Varsha: I fully agree with you and have been maintaining that it HAS to be a joint initiative of several interested people who have a stake in preserving our musical heritage for the future. I am merely a facilitator for now and nothing more. While I intend to respectfully reach out to each of these veterans in the field to seek their help to share and participate, I am frankly not in the business of proving myself to anybody or grabbing anyone's attention. The individual is not important here, the cause is. If someone wishes not to play a role in bequeathing their treasures for posterity, it is a choice they make and there is precious little that i can do about that. If they have better avenues for perpetuating this after they are gone, so be it. This is not the only path one can take !

Lakshman
Posts: 14019
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Lakshman »

vikramsampath: I don't know if you have contacted sri V.A.K.Ranga Rao who lives near Pycrofts Gardens in Chennai. He has a treasure house of 78 rpm records, all of which I think are CM discs.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by varsha »

I am merely a facilitator for now and nothing more.
Well then , Point taken .

Sreeni Rajarao
Posts: 1283
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:19

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sreeni Rajarao »

Vikram,

Any update? Is the Beta version available to public access now?
I could not find anything on Google search.

Thanks!

Sapthagiri
Posts: 20
Joined: 04 Aug 2012, 16:18

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Sapthagiri »

Dear Shri Vikram Sampat,
In continuation of my earlier post, I am happy to share with all music lovers that I have made a beginning of uploading music from my personal archive, on my blog.
All are cordially requested to access http://apkoilns.blogspot.com . Quite a few renderings of carnatic music stalwarts of yester- years find a place there. Uploads are in progress and will go on as a continuous process for a few more months. I shall be thankful for your kind feed back. You may have to put up with record hiss which could not be avoided in view of the passage of time of over seventy years.Best regards--A.N.Sapthagireesan

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Dear Friends,

Sorry that this took so long to build --there was just too much work involved in cataloguing and creating the database, back-end searches etc. However delighted to invite you all to visit the website of the ARCHIVE OF INDIAN MUSIC (AIM) www.archiveofindianmusic.org.
In this first round we have featured close to 180 artists and about 600 clips of them all-- the complete listing is on http://archiveofindianmusic.org/listing/

I look forward to your valuable feedback and any suggestions for improvement. If there are articles or columns any one would want to submit to make this a more informative site, please do let me know. My email ID is vikram.sampath@gmail.com / info@archiveofindianmusic.org.

Warm regards
Vikram Sampath.

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by mohan »

Congratulations Vikram and team. A great start.

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Rsachi »

Vikram,
First look and feel- very neat. I enjoyed the famous Radha Jayalakshmi 'Sri Valli..'!
Congrats and keep it up.

girish_a
Posts: 427
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 13:33

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by girish_a »

Can I download the clips, or is it streaming only?

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Thank you v much mohan and RSachi ! If there is any feedback that you think will help us improve, pls do let me know.

girish--the clips cant be downloaded, only listened to on streaming audio...and souncloud streams fast !

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Excellent work Vikram. Congratulations on the launch.

mahavishnu
Posts: 3341
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by mahavishnu »

Some of the listings are absolutely priceless. Like the 10 year MSS. precious!
Great job, Vikram. I take it that there is a reason for the pieces chosen under each artiste?

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by rshankar »

Vikram - awesome job. Kudos!

Did not know that the dancer Smt. Kamala Lakshmanan also sang...

Any information on Nataraja Natya Niketan?

Lakshman
Posts: 14019
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Lakshman »

Vikramsampath: Please check your email.

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Thank you mahasvishnu, rshankar: Well, as of now with the limitations on our SoundCloud account (further upgradation costing 400 Euros or some such :) )we had to restrict it to less than 5-6 tracks per artist. Slowly hope to upload more clips which are all ready anyway and waiting to go live. Selected some of the best and unique tracks of each artist.
I am not sure of the Nataraja Natya Niketan... lot of the info/bios of artists would depend on public contributions too.
Lakshman ji-- i have replied to your email. thanks a lot.

harimau
Posts: 1819
Joined: 06 Feb 2007, 21:43

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by harimau »

girish_a wrote:Can I download the clips, or is it streaming only?
Technically, it is possible to download the audio clips.

It merely takes a small amount of fooling around with certain types of software.


sukumar
Posts: 67
Joined: 27 Dec 2012, 11:28

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by sukumar »

thank u... i heard Ninnu vina by Sri. T. R Mahalingam

fantafabulous!

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to invite those of you who are in Bangalore to the formal launch of the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) on 10th May 2013 at 6 PM by His Excellency Dr H R Bhardwaj, Governor of Karnataka at the Alliance de Francaise, Vasanthnagar. . Chief Patron of the Archive Mr. TV Mohandas Pai, Mr Chiranjiv Singh, former Chief Secretary of Karnataka and Mr Umesh Ganjam would be the guests of honour.

The launch is accompanied by a unique Audio Exhibition titled "Voices of India" and would be on for a week thereafter, from 10th evening to 17th May 2013, 10 AM- 7 PM. The event is presented by Ganjam which has always played a pivotal role in promoting classical music.

'Voices of India' presents a sample of the kind of treasure trove that the Archive has in its possession and truly represents the diverse voices of the country. All these were recorded during the Gramophone era, right from the first recording artist Gauhar Jaan in 1902 till the 1950s. From the pristine voices and divine instruments of classical music stalwarts like Abdul Karim Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Narayanrao Vyas, Gangubai Hangal, Bangalore Nagarathnamma, M S Subbulakshmi, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Veena Dhanammal, GNB, Mali and Chowdiah and others to the rustic lilting folk tunes of Tamil Kavadi Chindu, Bengali, Rajasthani, Chattisgarhi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi folk; from the theatre music of Bal Gandharva’s Marathi theatre to Kannada and Gujrati theatre; the cinematic geniuses K L Saigal, MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Sundarabai of Pune and P Leela to the first recording of the National Anthem by the Vishwa Bharati chorus, devotional songs and Qawwalis/Ghazals, speeches by Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and H H Aga Khan III and poetry recitations by Rabindranath Tagore & Kazi Nazrul Islam-----it provides a kaleidoscope of the rich aural inheritance of our country.

Image

After Bangalore the Exhibition moves to other cities like Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata & Mumbai over the next 5 months.

I would be grateful if friends from Bangalore could kindly send me a confirmation of their attendance to vikram.sampath@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you there,

Warm regards
Vikram.

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Sounds great Vikram. Your description of the breadth and depth of Indian music is quite awe inspiring.

Best wishes for the launch and the exhibition.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by arasi »

Vikram,
As always, you impress us all no end with your dedication to such projects, striving to achieve them mainly with your love for the arts. Of course, your inspired imagination is at work, as with your writings. Though young, you are strongly motivated by old precious music and its history.

Congratulations! May your work continue!

Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Rsachi »

Went to the Alliance Francaise exhibition of AIM. Nice open layout in a courtyard with graphics and panels talking of the musical greats and the history of recording in India. They had laid out smart phones with an album of 44 tracks playing through twaang we could hear. A nice handout about the exhibition.

They say music should be a part of one's childhood. Here is a snap;
Image

Vikramsampath
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 21:11

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by Vikramsampath »

Thank you v much for all the wishes- Vasanthakokilam, Arasi ji and Rsachi ! Was delighted to see the photo of the two young kids listening ---made all the efforts put in over several months to curate this exhibition worthwhile :-)
The Exhibition and the launch went on well and was well-attended over the last week. It was also suitably covered in the media here.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/332 ... -past.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 996954.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 873856.cms
http://dnasyndication.com/dna/dna_engli ... DNBAN68036

The Exhibition "Voices of India" now moves to other cities over the next 4-5 months and hope many of you can make it there !

Warm regards
Vikram

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Archive of Indian Music (AIM)

Post by rshankar »

Vikram,
Any ideas on how such offerings may be appreciated by those of us so far away? Are you planning on a tour of he US with this exhibit, for instance?

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