DELHI: The first ever `native’ recording in India, done professionally by the engineers of the Gramophone Company, England – one of the two major companies in this field during the acoustic era – was in 1902. Pubcaster Doordarshan plans to celebrate the centenary year of the historical event by launching a series of DVDs/VCDs and ACDs of their best programmes preserved in their archives.
The first set of VCDs and ACDs will be released in the second week of January. The VCDs feature some of the rare pieces, perhaps the only ones of their kind that exist anywhere in the country and perhaps the world.
The digitally mastered VCDs, to be released by DD, feature the only visual record available of Begum Akhtar singing in a mehfil;sufiana qawwalis by Habib Painter; Shankar Shambhu and Sabri Brothers giving their characteristic healing touch to the confused psyche of the common Indian; and a compilation of some of the great performers of Bharatnatyam and Kathak.
The VCDs have been introduced by Pt. Jasraj, Naushad, Shobhana and Pt. Birju Maharaj. The music VCDs will also come out in the format of audio CDs and audio cassettes.
The ubiquitous gramophone was first introduced in India in the early 1900s but the gramophone record seems to have lost its battle against time and innovations like the audiocassette and compact discs. But the romance of the gramophone and its music still lingers, something a purist cannot associate with the new gadgets.
The later half of the 20th century and the 21st century brought a bouquet of technical fetes/miracles to India, which changed the world. The technology of recording voices has had a everlasting impact on the way one hears voices and sees moving pictures.
DD seems to be paying a timely tribute to the journey from 1902 to 2002 that has witnessed tremendous improvements in deploying the technology to celebrate the spirit of this great singing and dancing nation.
Tag: Pt. Jasraj
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DD launches rare series to mark music centenary
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Music composer Sudhir Phadke passes away
MUMBAI:Renowned composer-playback singer Sudhir Phadke passed away in Mumbai this morning.
Phadke, who was admitted to hospital last week after he suffered brain haemorrhage, died at 10:30 am.
Among the last major works that he was associated with though was not on the music front but the movie Veer Savarkar, on the life of
freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, which he produced. Of course, he composed the music as well.Phadke, who was born in 1919, was 85 when he died and is survived by his wife and son Shridhar, a composer himself.
Phadke’s body will be kept at Veer Savarkar Memorial at Dadar in central Mumbai from 9 am till noon on Tuesday for his admirers to pay their last tributes.
He composed music for over 110 films in a career spanning over 50 years.
Phadke was among those felicitated during the Sahyadri Navratna
Phadke receiving the Sahyadri Navratna Puraskar 2002 for lifetime achievement in music from Pt Jasraj in April this year Puraskar 2002 awards presented by indiantelevision.com in association with DD Sahyadri. The awards were instituted to celebrate excellence achieved by Maharashtrians in various fields. The awards ceremony was held on 27 April at the Juhu Centaur Hotel in western Mumbai’s Juhu suburb and was telecast on DD Sahyadri on Maharashtra Day, 1 May.
Phadke was presented the Swar Ratna Puraskar for outstanding achievement in the field of music.