AIR can place all concert recordings of 1935-1965 decades in public website

[RSR]

'Carnatic Summer' * V.Sriram..East-West press) has rightly chosen 22 eminent musicians of the three decades 1935-1965 and given nice portrayals.( Ariyakkudi, Chembai,Maharajapuram,Musiri, Semmangudi, GNB, Madurai Mani, Alathoor, Brundha-Muktha, MS, DKP, MLV, ..) ( one glaring omission was N.C.Vasanthakokilam) Among Instrumentalists, Dhwaram, Chowdiah, Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, Papa Venkataramaiah, Rajarathnam Pillai, Flute Mali, Palgat Mani Iyer, Palani Subramanya Pillai) ....Ariyakkudi Iengar passed away in 1967. Chembai in 1974.. Maharajapuram in 1970,,Musiri was bed-ridden from 1970 and passed away in 1975,,,GNB in 1965, Madurai Mani Iyer in 1968, Alathoor Subbier passed away in 1965... An era was drawing to a close. In those three decades, these great vocalists gave hundreds of concerts and due to lack of modern technical facilities, many were not recorded at all. They are thus remembered through the gramaphone records but on grounds of copyright issues, those gems are slowly getting buried in the past and in the coming generation, young learners may not have heard either their name or their music. For instance, though Saregama has placed about 30 great songs of NCV in youtube, ( as also the songs from MS films), there are very few uploads of her concerts from 1940 to 1950 at Chennai, Tirunelveli and other places. These are being uploaded by scions of erstwhile rasikas gradually in youtube but without adequate infornmation about the occasions. This is a tragic situation and a huge loss to the world of Carnatic music. Here are two suggestions. 1) Saregama which holds the copy right can generously relax copyright rules and allow devotees to place them in websites and in popular social networking sites like youtube and facebook. They should never mute the audio. 2) Influential rasikas of CM, should approach the AIR and arrange for all the old recordings of AIR of these great musicians to be placed in public website. barring any one from commercially exploiting those concerts. either in India or abroad. This is a national-cultural issue and all senior rasikas should give political pressure at the highest level and preserve the legacy. . As tastes may differ, the same facility should be extended to all the artistes of those three decades. in all languages.. This is just an outline of request. Seniors can work out the details. . To the best of our knowledge, the royalty from these 78 rpm records was not donated for any public institutition, as was the case with many LP records of Smt.MS. So, there need be no hesitation on that score.

[MaheshS]

:: sigh :: This is what we call "Aracha maavu".

RSR - I know you are a new comer to this forum, these issues has been dealt with *multiple* times here and the answer [and primary question] always boils down to "Who bells the cat?".

So why don't *YOU* approach Saregama and AIR and lets us know how you get on?

[RSR]

MaheshS -> I have already written personally to saregama by mail . and also in their facebook page. But, there will be a difference between my request and famous members of this forum making the appeal to saregama and Govt. both at the Center and state level. I have really tried in my humble capacity .

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Mahesh

After coming t power in Madras AIR ( in 1960s) , one of leading carnatic musician destroyed recordings of GNB ( I do not know he destroyed anybody else's) stating that the record store had shortage of space! How can AIR come up with old non existing archives?

Sivaprasad

[Pratyaksham Bala]

List of Carnatic Classical Music (Vocal recordings) available with Prasar Bharati (AIR) Archives is given in :-
http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Oppurtuniti ... 0Final.pdf

As indicated therein, a total of 42 recordings of GNB are available in the AIR Archives.

[RSR]

just now happened to read the posts in the thread
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28091
very informative... and quite recent too!
It appears that this problem is causing concern to many.
AIR should desist from commercializing their tresaures.

[sivachinta1965]

dear Rasikas

The present government is taking drastic steps to come ut of "Nehruvian Blunders" . If proper submissions can be given to Modiji, it may be possible for all the Rasikas to listen to the Gems of all Doyens of Carnatic Music. Hope somebody in this forum will take a positive step in this direction.

Sivaprasad

[RSR]

dear Rasikas

The present government is taking drastic steps to come ut of "Nehruvian Blunders" . If proper submissions can be given to Modiji, it may be possible for all the Rasikas to listen to the Gems of all Doyens of Carnatic Music. Hope somebody in this forum will take a positive step in this direction.

Sivaprasad

It is not fair to blame 'Nehru and Indian National Congress' for the ills under discussion. Jawaharlal had a very keen sense of aesthetics. In the years of his govt, it was Keskar who was in charge of AIR for a decade. He gave lot of importance to using the AIR for propagating classical music and he banned film songs in AIR.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_V_Keskar
"Balakrishna Vishwanath Keskar (1903 – 28 August 1984)[1][2] was an Indian politician and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting between 1952 and 1962. Remembered for creating the Vrinda Vadya and promoting classical music through All India Radio, Keskar, who was India's longest serving Minister for Information and Broadcasting, was also responsible for banning Hindi film music, cricket commentaries and the harmonium on All India Radio.[3]"

Dr.Karan Singh, Dr.Shankar Dhayal Sharma, TTK, CD Deshmuk, SriPrakasa , all came under the INC umbrella..... 1967 first and then 1990 were turning points., especially 1990. .
Dr.Kalaam , would have taken steps, if 'rasikas' had made a clear representation. . Our present prime minister may indeed respond rapidly provided, as you say, prominent personalities make a representation. I feel that it is better not to bring in political views as it may be detrimental to the purpose and derail .

[sivachinta1965]

Dear RSRji

Let us discuss practical ways to unearth the hidden treasure, I was trying to simply extend some of the blunders like Kashmir to Carnatic. May be a mistake here. But the Indian archiving Policy had serious lapses . The Pune Film Archives fire disaster was a good example. We did not copy best things of the British, but copied their pomp and show. see how BBC has archived their past. Pity on us.

Here , who will write to Modiji?

[Nick H]

... see how BBC has archived their past.

Not as well as you might think. Recording tape was expensive and programmes, especially entertainment, were considered ephemeral. What was just half an hour of jokes back then is considered classic comedy now --- and a lot of it did not survive days, let alone years. These days, the BBC is delighted when someone discovers a stash of private recordings.

[RSR]

[quote="sivachinta1965"]Dear RSRji
Dear Sir, I will surely explore the methods for bringing this requirement to the PMO .as the issue is apolitical. All leaders in all the parties will help. I am hopeful. We can contact the state level leaders of BJP like Pon.Radhakrushnan, H.Raja, Dr.Thamizhisai, Vanathi Srinivasan , Ganesan and Nirmala Seetharaman all of whom can be contacted through their Facebook page and I am sure , there will be a positive outcome. We can also write to the editors of leading English dailies like TheHindu, IndianExpress, Statesman, Deccan Herald . and Times of India. We have to keep on hammering. Some individuals also are doing digitizing work on their own. ........Let us try.
The surprising fact is that even Saregama will be willing to acquire the rights from AIR and place them in public domain. I have noticed the trend since last year. Many of the pages in youtube blocked / muted by them have been allowed again. without muting.
As for Kashmir, the valley has voted repeatedly for INC and pro-Indian parties only. Only a tiny minority is creating trouble . Terrorism especially when abetted by hostile powers ( not necessarily the common people in Pakisthan, or even political parties there, nor even by the rank and file soldiers in PAK army but by army generals...a very nice article by Mrs.Prabaha Sridevan, granddaughter of Krushnaswami Iyer of Sanskrit college fame..speaks highly about the love of Pakisthan common people for India) and supplied with modern weapons , is a difficult problem to tackle for any country in the world. If we google for GMSadiq, we get lot of good things. Kashmir Saivism is famous and it is not as if the majority except the Pandits converted to Islam due to study and conviction. At a historical phase, the king changed his religion and in those days, the people also would follow the king. ...Jawaharlal ruminates that when many 'thought leaders ' approached the Hindu Mutt pontiffs, asking for permission to rejoin their parent religion, the pontiffs ruled against it ! Tragic!

[sivachinta1965]

Dear NicHji

I am mentioning only about laxity in protection of the recorded events, not the scope of recording that was there and which we missed!
Right from the wax recording of Great Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan to what was mentioned by GBR, recording of GNB Katcheri by K Subramnaim are lost in fire.

RSRji.... Nation building through retrieving our history and knowing the essence. Like offer unearthing income tax evasion right from 1947, Modiji should offer AIR records from 1935... Let us try....

Speaking of "Hindu Blunder" needs huge space and time. Ofcourse, Swamij Vivekananda has exposed the so called Hindu Pundits... Unfortunately after independence the rulers too failed....

[Nick H]

I am mentioning only about laxity in protection of the recorded events

Even tape bleeds, stretches, generally degrades with time.

[RSR]

"The station has over 25,000 recordings running into 13,000 hours. So far though, it has digitised only 700 hours of them.

Some of the tracks at the library gathering dust are a series of 78 rpm recordings of western music — instrumental, film songs and classical concerts. While the 78 rpm recordings are now available in the form of CDs, the task before AIR Chennai is to digitise the rest of the thousands of hours of recordings — a mammoth task that officials admitted was not progressing well mostly because of a shortage of funds, manpower and technology."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/che ... 818006.ece

[sivachinta1965]

Dear RSRji

If AIR says they have technical difficulties to convert the tapes,that is folly.

The other reasons are true. Here Modi Sarkar should help AIR. The central govt should allow;

1.Just like the book releases pre-publication offers for music records should come.
2. Private establishments should be a part of the overall release plan.

In this context all rasikas should accept the pre-publication offer. The rasikas should not wait for the release and later resort to get pirated copies. Let the dusted tapes come to light.

Sivaprasad

[RSR]

sivachinta1965 ji, mahesh ji,
I have done my part, sincerely. Will send to as many as possible through facebook.
It is for very senior and illustrious members of the forum to follow it up.
Even CEO' of Google , Facebook and Saregama will surely respond positively as they are within the inner circle of senior leaders of this forum with a decade of presence and contribution.
I do admit that I am a new comer to this forum ( with a very limited purpose) as pointed out by Mahesh.
No need for me to be aplologetic about it
There are literally million such forums with varied interstes and very erudite too.
One can only wish that life gave us time and energy to participate meaningfully in all such cultural forums!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 4120416379

Thank you

[RSR]

We can write to PMO
http://pgportal.gov.in/pmocitizen/Grievancepmo.aspx
I am writing. ( though it is meant for 'personal' grievances).

[Nick H]

We can write to PMO

Nobody will be there. They are all queueing up outside ATMs

[RSR]

We can write to PMO

Nobody will be there. They are all queueing up outside ATMs

not so! (they are all tech-savvy and never touch paper currency). Now, seriously a) let us not bring in politics in classical music forum b) there are other methods to reach Sri.Modi. twitter, facebook, email, . It depends on the officer in PMO who takes it. We may have some luck.

[Nick H]

let us not bring in politics in

Point taken!

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Rasikas

Broadcasting Ministry ( no politics or Venk Iyer) has had a programme called The Indian News Review. I do not know the History. Probably visionary minister Mr. Kelkar introduced this. Just like the verdict on national anthem ,video bits of The Indian News Review were played before films in he movie houses. These film shots included flood, cricket, war,. etc..
I recently watched many if these News Review on Cricket matches of 1960s ( matches held in India). in YouTube. Similar film shots are they available in CM? Can the ministry release audio video like the cricket films?
Somebody should explore.!

Sivaprasad

[RSR]

Dear Rasikas

Broadcasting Ministry ( no politics or Venk Iyer) has had a programme called The Indian News Review. I do not know the History. Probably visionary minister Mr. Kelkar introduced this. Just like the verdict on national anthem ,video bits of The Indian News Review were played before films in he movie houses. These film shots included flood, cricket, war,. etc..
Sivaprasad

-------------------------------------------
Respected Sir, Very valuable suggestion. Thank you. I too remember a few such documentary-like very short filmstrips , long long back.i will try my best to explore through party office bearers. Nothing gets done nowadays without political support, unfortunately! Thank you

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Rsrji
" Respected Sir"

I am a simple Rasika . No " Res.si..."

Thanks . Kindly try. Will be there.

Siva : :

[kvjayan]

Dear Rasikas

Broadcasting Ministry ( no politics or Venk Iyer) has had a programme called The Indian News Review. I do not know the History. Probably visionary minister Mr. Kelkar introduced this. Just like the verdict on national anthem ,video bits of The Indian News Review were played before films in he movie houses. These film shots included flood, cricket, war,. etc..
I recently watched many if these News Review on Cricket matches of 1960s ( matches held in India). in YouTube. Similar film shots are they available in CM? Can the ministry release audio video like the cricket films?
Somebody should explore.!

Sivaprasad

I think these short news bits were called "Newsreels" produced by the Films Division (of the Central Govt.), generally in black and white.

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Vijayakumar

Where lies the prints? I have seen in YouTube a documentary in which Ramnad Krishnan sings...
Which department has thus repository? Information and Broad casting?

SIVAPRASAD

[Pratyaksham Bala]

FILMS DIVISION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

News Release No.1
Vallabh Bhai Patel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooP26g-sll8&t=7s

News Release No.2
British Forces Leaving India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXD6dFXLJg

[Pratyaksham Bala]

FILMS DIVISION
27 Music Videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... RXBj1iUDgH

[RSR]

FILMS DIVISION
27 Music Videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... RXBj1iUDgH

-----------------------------
Thank you. I have seen many of these on MS . a) But, I think, we should video-cut make them sequence of short clips each not exceeding 6 minutes so that they will load fast...Doing it now gradually. b) These are mostly post 1960 but the precious and rare clips all belong to 1940 -1960. and in monochrome. May not be available in the links given. Nevertheless..something better than nothing. Sri.Siva is referring to legacy clips.1950-1960

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Admn

The main page under AIR... ( this tpopic) gives last post by RSRji as 09 November 2016. Today is 7th Nov.16.
Something wrong with the site?

Sivaprasad

[sivachinta1965]

Dear Admn

Extremely sorry,

Mistake and please delete.

Inconvenience is highly regretted!!

Sivaprasad

[RSR]

sivachinta1965 -> I am happy that this thread is being 'seen' by quite a few. Likely that they are taking action too. Kindly address me simply as RSR.

[sivachinta1965]

Ji,
Especially after Modiji, my weakness goes like....

sivaprasad