Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced here that the rare sound and visual archival recordings of All India Radio and Doordarshan would soon be made available to public through mobile phone apps.
Releasing the book The Wonder That Was Cylinder written jointly by Amar Nath Sharma and Anukriti Sharma here on Saturday, Javadekar said: “Sometimes I wonder about what to do with four lakh hours recording archives of Akashwani and three lakh hours of Doordarshan. This is a treasure and it should be open for the public. We are trying to bring it in the form of mobile app so that the treasure will reach maximum number of people”.
Endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on Teachers Day, Javadekar emphasised the role of extracurricular activities in education and the need for holistic learning, of which music, art and culture were essential parts. “There is music in every aspect of life. Without music, tune and rhythm, life will be bland.”
Complimenting the authors of the book, that traces the journey of Indian sound recording from the era of phonographs and wax cylinder recordings of early 1900s, Javadekar said: “you have done a huge documentation work, worthy of a highest praise.”
AN Sharma, who is a Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise by profession and a chronicler of Indian musical archive by passion, said: “India has no archive that documents the history of sound recording, be it classical or film music, but it is commonly understood that recording began in 1902 after the advent of the disc that is played on the gramophone. However, we have found wax cylinders dating back to 1899, and these are played on a phonograph”.
The book brings to light India's remarkable legacy in music, theatre and film through cylindrical recordings, discovered through Sharma's personal efforts over the past 25 years. “My tryst with the history of sound recording in India began when I stumbled upon some recordings at a kabadiwala shop in Calcutta (Kolkata) in late 80s. Documenatry evidence of India’s sound recording was lying on the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata),” Sharma reminisced.
Sharma’s collection includes Vande Mataram in the voice of Rabindranath Tagore, which was recorded by Tagore’s friend Hemendra Bose in the wake of the Partition of Bengal in 1905. Vignettes of the fabled Gauhar Jaan, a Parsi theatre artiste from Jaipur named Miss Allah Bandi, as well as doyens like Peara Sahab figure prominently on the list. Recordings of music maestros from Maharashtra like Pt Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Pt Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle and Bal Gandharva are also found. The father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke has spoken about the making of Raja Harishchandra as well.