Kolkata, In August 1959, iconic Bengali actor Suchitra Sen recorded a music in her like converse at the Gramophone Firm workplace in Kolkata, leaving within the inspire of a uncommon 78 rpm ‘take a look at file’.
After recording the music, ‘Bone Noy Aaj Mone Hoy…’, the composer and lyricist declared, “Take ok”, clearing the take a look at disc for cutting more copies for public delivery.
Decades earlier, in 1935, Rabindranath Tagore recorded a take a look at disc of his poem ‘Jhulan’ at the identical premises.
That recording, that contains the poet’s like converse, was launched publicly five years later.
The 78 rpm details are brittle shellac discs made from 1898 to the unhurried Fifties, rotating at a nominal tempo of 78 revolutions per minute. In overall 10 or 12 inches in size, they retain 3–5 minutes of audio per facet.
The era of details from gramophone discs to cassettes and CDs has long given manner to the digital age.
Yet collectors proceed to retain these fragile items of ancient past.
City-based collector Paramananda Chowdhury is amongst people who dangle devoted years to gathering such uncommon details.
His archive, numbering plenty of hundred discs, contains Sen’s take a look at recording and what he describes because the ultimate take a look at disc of Tagore reciting in his like converse.
Recording ancient past in India dates inspire to 1902, when just a number of the earliest discs were decrease. Soon after, recordings of legendary singer Gauhar Jaan began circulating broadly.
Chowdhury told PTI that earlier than the remaining version of a music was approved, a take a look at file was in overall produced.
“After listening to the test disc, changes were sometimes made in the rendition. If the recording was considered satisfactory, the test itself would be approved and the discs released for commercial use,” he talked about.
His sequence positive components a 1950 take a look at recording of ‘Ki Ashay Bandhi Khelaghar’, composed and sung by Shyamal Mitra, which was later famously rendered by Kishore Kumar for actor Uttam Kumar on cowl.
There’s additionally a 1948 take a look at file of ‘Mor Gaan Gun Gun’ from the movie ‘Anjangarh’, sung by Sandhya Mukhopadhyay.
Among assorted priceless treasures is the 1954 bhajan ‘Barse Bundiya Saawan’ by Lata Mangeshkar, set of abode to tune by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The sequence additionally contains ‘Durgamgiri Kantar Maru’, recorded just true-trying earlier than India’s Independence.
Chowdhury conducted 10 such uncommon take a look at details at a meet to commemorate Kolkata’s ancient past at the ‘rajbari’ of zamindar Sabarna Roy Choudhury at Barisha, and intends to play in future events commemorating the country’s prosperous ancient past.
Chowdhury acknowledged the give a rob to of fellow collectors and researchers in constructing his unprecedented archive.
In an era of instantaneous streaming and algorithm-pushed playlists, these crackling take a look at details stand as reminders of a time when each and every show cowl was etched onto shellac and ancient past spun at 78 rpms.
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