Monthly Archives: September 2014

Neel Mukherjee shortlisted for 2014 Man Booker prize

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, NRI's / PIO's, Records, All, World Opinion
Mukherjee was the only Indian-origin author to be longlisted earlier this year.
Mukherjee was the only Indian-origin author to be longlisted earlier this year.

London:

Kolkata-born British author Neel Mukherjee’s latest novel The Lives of Others, set in troubled Bengal of the 1960s and centres around a dysfunctional family, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize 2014, in its debut as a global literary award.

Mukherjee, who studied at Oxford and Cambridge, was also the only Indian-origin author to be longlisted earlier this year, the first time the prestigious literary award opened up for anyone writing in English regardless of nationality.

“We are delighted to announce our international shortlist. As the Man Booker Prize expands its borders, these six exceptional books take the reader on journeys around the world, between the UK, New York, Thailand, Italy, Calcutta and times past, present and future,” said A C Grayling, chair of the 2014 judging panel.

“We had a lengthy and intensive debate to whittle the list down to these six. It is a strong, thought-provoking shortlist which we believe demonstrates the wonderful depth and range of contemporary fiction in English,” he added.

Mukherjee, now a British citizen, has been selected for his second novel published in May this year. The book is based in Kolkata and centres around a dysfunctional Ghosh family in the 1960s.

Mukherjee reviews fiction for the Times and the Sunday Telegraph and his first novel, A Life Apart was a joint winner of the Vodafone-Crossword Award in India.

The others on the shortlist include American authors Joshua Ferris for To Rise Again at a Decent Hour and Karen Joy Fowler for We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; Australian Richard Flanagan for The Narrow Road to the Deep North; and British authors Howard Jacobson for J and Ali Smith for How to be Both.

Previously, the prize was open only to authors from the UK and Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe. For the first time in its 46-year history, the 50,000-pound prize has been opened up to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home Lifestyle> Books-Art / PTI / September 09th, 2014

A lesson in history for teachers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

caleidoscope

A place steeped in history recently hosted a spirited discussion on the teaching of history. Teachers, academicians and people of letters gathered to take a fresh look at the teaching of India’s Freedom Movement.

The discussion, titled Teaching the history of the Freedom Movement to young children, was organised at Victoria Memorial on August 19, part of a series of critical conversations to be held at the heritage venue in future.

Moderated by Devi Kar, the director of Modern High School for Girls, the participants included history teachers Anirban Mondal of Netaji Nagar Colony High School, Durgapur, Tina Servaia of Calcutta International School, and Amita Prasad of Modern High School and Megha Malhotra of The Seagull Foundation for the Arts.

“At least somebody is thinking of schoolteachers. The onus of making students understand the essence of history lies on us teachers and textbooks. India’s struggle for freedom is usually an emotionally charged topic. Can it be taught?” wondered Kar as she threw open the discussion.

Mondal felt history as a subject is very abstract and often incorrectly interpreted. “History as a discipline may not match with history of everyday life and what is interpreted on screen. We need to blend the two to teach the subject effectively,” he said.

Prasad stressed on making history lessons more approachable and not reducing it to a litany of dates and places. “Teaching history can be difficult, especially when children have little idea about the events. It is the task of a teacher to concretise the knowledge and make it a real-life experience,” she said.

The only non-teacher in the group, Malhotra, spoke about her foundation’s project on teaching conflict to students and how they have a pool of teachers to work with various schools.

The general consensus at the end of the discussion was that teachers need to excite students and teach them in a language they understand. “I like to mix activities. A Class XII student can be involved in an activity meant for junior classes, if it is meaningful. It all depends on the approach,” said Servaia.

The teachers went on to discuss classroom experiences and the advantages of using visuals and staging plays as teaching aids.

Angels on canvas

She returned to India from Israel in 2002, terribly disturbed by what she saw there and that is what inspired her to work on Angels, a collection of paintings in oil and water colour.

Rumi at her exhibition. (Rashbehari Das)
Rumi at her exhibition. (Rashbehari Das)

The Angels series by Rumi was part of an exhibition of her works at Chitrakoot Art Gallery.

At the opening of the exhibition on August 23, her birthday, the artist recalled how she read the Bible very seriously after she was left shaken by the Israel experience. “I wished for angels to be sent to earth and protect mankind.”

The exhibition was also a fund-raiser event for Rumi’s dialysis and kidney transplant.

“When I met Rumi at a friend’s place I had a feeling that I had come across a natural artist. Being a musician, I know what it is to be natural. The care and love in her paintings is evident. I wish her speedy recovery,” said Monojit Datta, Rumi’s friend and musician.

Ancient art

It was a world of kings, queens and love. Self-taught artist Devirani Dasgupta’s third solo exhibition, held recently at the Academy of Fine Arts, transported one to ancient India. Heavily influenced by Madhubani art and resplendent in earth colours, Dasgupta’s acrylic-on-canvas compositions tell stories of their own. “I am a surrealistic painter trying to connect the known to the unknown through the association of forms,” said Devirani.

Contributed by Chandreyee Ghose & Samabrita Sen

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / Sunday – September 07th, 2014

Biz guru’s mantra for students

Business & Economy, Education, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion
Kunal Banerji at the interactive session. (Anup Bhattacharya)
Kunal Banerji at the interactive session. (Anup Bhattacharya)

Kunal Banerji, an associate professor of management at Eastern Michigan University and a St. Xavier’s alumni, addressed students of JD Birla Institute’s management department on quality management.

The management guru dwelled upon the three cornerstones of business excellence — quality, profitability and productivity — at an interactive session organised by the Calcutta Management Association, in association with The Telegraph, on August 29.

He peppered his lecture with topics ranging from compensation and appraisal to use of suggestion systems and continuous improvement efforts to illustrate why it’s important to improve product quality, or how to do it more effectively, in the service sector.

Banerji drew from his Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, a research paper he co-authored with David E. Gundersen and Ravi S. Behara, to answer most of the questions.

He explained how quality is more perceptual than real. “Till a point of time all foreign goods were considered to be of the best quality… that is how our psyche was built. After 1992 (post-liberalisation of the economy), this perception of quality changed.”

On behalf of the CMA, its executive committee member Asok K. Banerjee thanked Banerji for discussing his research extensively with the students. “We had a great audience and a wonderful ambience.”

Banerji said: “It was a mixed crowd and that is always very interesting. Honestly, I didn’t expect such a big crowd. I don’t get such a big crowd in the US, probably because of the population rate.”

J.N. Mukhopadhyaya, the director of the JD Birla Institute’s management department, said he was happy that the seminar turned out well.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by A Staff Reporter / Friday – September 05th, 2014

Darjeeling’s Makaibari Becomes Most Expensive Tea in India

Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

After being sold at a record price of USD 1,850 (around Rs 1.12 lakh) per kg, Darjeeling’s Makaibari tea estate has become one of the most expensive tea producers in India.

“It is a matter of great pleasure and pride that Indian Tea, Makaibari, has booked orders at a record price of USD 1,850 per kg. That the orders have come from Japan, the UK and the US is also noteworthy,” Tea Board Chairman Siddharth said.

He said at a time when the Tea Board and the tea industry are grappling with the issues of value addition and brand building, this news has come as a shot in the arm.

“Makaibari has been an iconic tea garden and we are very pleased to note that even after its ownership has recently changed hands, the high standard of its quality and recognition has grown further,” Siddharth said.

Darjeeling Tea Association secretary Kaushik Basu said this is the highest ever price he has ever heard of for Indian tea.

“But this is a one off case. We have heard that it was a small sale of around 5 kg. I don’t think it was a commercial sale or auction. It may have been sold on charity,” he said.

Located in Kurseong, Makaibari is the ancestral property of Raja Banerjee who had recently sold off 90 per cent of his stake to Luxmi group.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Business> News / by PTI / September 06th, 2014

300 Rare Gramophone Recordings Digitised

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

A rich collection of over 300 rare recordings, including speeches by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and old classical music have been given a new lease of life through digitisation.

They can now be heard at a new digital sound archive centre at Weavers Studio here, which was thrown open to the public today.

Weavers Studio founder Darshan Shah said “Our primary objective is to preserve these voices of our ancestors and make them easily and electronically available for researchers, musicians, students of music and the public at large. It is unfortunate that many of our rare records are on the verge of destruction and without timely action, these would be lost forever.”

The oeuvre include Nehru’s speech after the Mahatma’s assassination and the original version of the national anthem sung by Gurudev and his students at Shantiniketan.

Other gems which have been digitised include the songs by Gauhar Jan, the country’s first classical singer to record in 1902, besides Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, music by Bengal artists and folk music.

There are also many versions of ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Ram Dhun’ by Bismillah Khan and voices of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Tagore, Rajendra Prasad, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aga Khan and Sarojini Naidu, among others.

Anyone visiting the studio can listen to the gems of the bygone era through kiosks and guided listening sessions and acquaint themselves through thematic exhibitions.

Shah said the collection would be taken to the youth in schools and colleges, museums and libraries to provide them a new perspective of looking at Indian history through sound and visuals.

Interested visitors to Weavers Studio are given android phones to listen to the records at the click of a button.

Also on display are the original gramophone records and gramophone players.

Some of the old and rare records collected and restored by the studio, which was set up in 1993, include Nicole and Pathe records dating back to 1900-1910 and the arare Beka grand records.

“We sourced the records from collectors and flea markets. This is an ongoing project and so we are still looking for old records,” Shah said.

In the second phase of the project, Weavers Studio would create an online archive where all these recordings would be uploaded on the web.

During 1902 to 1985, over 300,000 records were issued in India and were released under more than 75 different labels and in various formats, said Suresh Chandvankar of the Society of Indian Record Collectors in Mumbai.

They too are working for the preservation, documentation and dissemination of India’s rich cultural heritage in the field of audio and video recordings.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / September 05th, 2014

Stories on real life – KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOUR: Caesar Bagchi Writer

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Caesar Bagchi thinks of a plot for his next story. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya
Caesar Bagchi thinks of a plot for his next story. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya

He leaves nothing to imagination. Caesar Bagchi writes real life stories with characters and incidents that exist and have happened. And that makes his novels and stories relevant to his readers. This year, his novel, Thake Sudhu Andhakar, in Saradiya Patrika, is based on a middle class woman’s struggles where he cites real life cases that he has seen or heard. His locations are specific, descriptions vivid, since he actually visits the places where his stories are based.

“I do not like to mention things that do not exist, specially about locations. This helps in giving my story a complete and real feel. Much of the characters in my stories and novels are based on real people. I do not like to take names, but the incidents have taken place around me or have occurred somewhere else and I choose to use them in my writing,” said Caesar.

Since Caesar lives in Bally, most of his stories are in Bally though he has also written about other places. He had once written a story, Shei Dupur, that was published in Desh, based in Dhenkanal in Cuttack, Odisha. “I had gone to watch the shooting of Sandip Ray’s Royal Bengal Rahashya,” said Caesar.

Like most writers, Caesar has had to struggle his way through. He began freelancing as a reporter in a number of media houses at the beginning of his career. “My early life was a struggle because I lost my father when I was only 16. I had to give tuitions and study at the same time. In 1996, I joined a small newspaper called Sonar Bangla as a freelancer and was also studying BA Honours in Bengali,” said Caesar. Studying Bengali after passing out of ISC board was a tough proposition for Caesar. “I wanted to study Bengali because I was used to reading Bengali books at home. I was inspired to study Bengali, mainly by Jibanananda Das whose poetry, Rupasi Bangla, mesmerized me. However, at that time, I was not aware of the syllabus at the honours level for Bengali and it was very difficult,” said Caesar.

The compulsion of earning a livelihood forced Caesar to freelance for eight different media houses at the same time after graduation. After completing a post graduation diploma course in mass communication, he got a job with a Bengali newspaper. Apart from Jibanananda Das’s poetry, Caesar’s favourite writers are Satinath Bhaduri and Ernest Hemmingway. “I have always been surrounded by books and have been reading since I was small because I grew up watching my parents read good literature,” said Caesar.

The turning point in his life came in 2005 when he joined Anandalok. “I improved as a writer and also found inspiration in writing stories. My first story to be published was Reunion, in Desh in 2010 in one of the monthly issues,” said Caesar. This was followed by more short stories in later years like Mukher Araley, Sutopa Boudir Mrityu O Isha, Shei Dupur and Maya. After Desh, Caesar’s short stories were published in other magazines as well. His Bisarjan was published in Sananda in 2012 and Swadhinata Dibas in Sananda Puja Bodhan issue in 2013. The idea of writing a novel had not occurred to Caesar. “I was asked to write a novel for Saradiya issue in 2012 and I wrote Ghare Phera that year. “The plot was based around Section 498A penal code and for that I spoke to people who were victimised by its misuse,” said Caesar. The novel was published in Saradiya Unish Kuri. In 2013, another novel Putul Khela based on domestic violence that was published in Saradiya Unish Kuri again.

Apart from his novels, Caesar had also compiled his short stories into a book, Alo Andhari, that was published in 2012. Although his stories and novels are based on the fast life of modern cities and towns, Caesar hopes to publish stories based on Bengali folk culture. “I travel a lot, specially in remote villages of Bengal to collect information on folk culture in different parts of Bengal,” said Caesar.
_________________________________________________________
MORE ABOUT CAESAR

DOB: December 15,1977

BORN IN: Calcutta

EDUCATION: BA, PG Diploma in Mass Communication

FAMILY: Wife

LOVES: Travelling, reading

HATES: Opportunistic nature

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Howrah> Story / Friday – August 29th, 2014

Ganesh thrives, not tradition. Final bastion of old flavour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

MaharashtraMandalKOLKATA02sept2014

Ravindra Rekhade played proxy for his 86-year-old father on the first evening of the Ganesh Chaturthi rituals at Maharashtra Nivas on Hazra Road last Friday.

The orthodontist can’t be sure he will have his son play the same role someday. The young man, who is in his early 20s, has already shifted to Bangalore.

The Ganesh Chaturthi celebration organised by the Maharashtra Mandal is among the oldest in Calcutta, a tradition it has upheld since the 1930s. For Maharashtrians based in the city, the Hazra Road address is still the place to be at this time of the year.

The list of VIP visitors over the past couple of years has included Mamata Banerjee, though it might not be gratifying for her to hear that the footfall is fast decreasing. There are hardly any young faces around at the venue because many have chosen to leave Mamata’s Bengal.

“Forget the Sixties or Seventies, as a child I remember playing cricket here in a large group. There were so many people of my age around then. They have all left,” said Ninad Sagade, 22.

Rekhade’s son is an engineer who studied in Calcutta but went to Bangalore to work. Ninad, whose brother has already shifted base to Pune, is planning to move out after completing his BCom. “All my friends have left. There are few job opportunities in the city,” he rued.

Ninad’s brother Yati works for a software company in Pune and has fond memories of the celebration at Maharashtra Mandal and of Durga Puja in the company of family and friends.

Yati, who left town in 2012, said: “I moved out because there was no opportunity for the kind of work I wanted to do. But I will be back during Durga Puja because I was born and raised in Calcutta. I love the festivity of the four days.”

Subhas Mantri, the 68-year-old president of the Maharashtra Mandal, remembers his college days when there would be at least 30 young men and women at the venue on each evening of the 11-day celebration. “The Ganesh Puja at Maharashtra Nivas had more visitors then. We had about 450 families as members,” Mantri said.

The Maharashtra Mandal may be struggling to retain members but Ganesh Chaturthi has become a major event in the city’s festival calendar. An officer at Lalbazar, the city police headquarters, said the increase in the number of Ganesh pujas had prompted the police brass to consider “deployment of forces” from next year like they do for Durga Puja and Kali Puja.

According to one estimate, there are around 1,000 Ganesh pujas across the city. Many are small roadside affairs controlled by local political leaders who do not yet have the deep pockets to finance a Durga Puja with budgets running into crores of rupees.

Most of these pujas bypass the niceties of tradition, unlike at Maharashtra Mandal where care is taken to retain the flavour of a Maharashtrian celebration. Khichudi and alur dam may be the staple of the new Ganesh pujas in town but the organisers of the Maharashtra Nivas event won’t compromise on their modak, the traditional sweet that is offered as prasad to visitors.

The modak looks like a samosa from outside. Bite through the crisp outer layer — there is a steamed variety too — and you find the sweetness of ground coconut rolled into a ball like the old Bengali favourite called narkel nadu (coconut dumplings).

The second Sunday of the 11-day festival is reserved for mahaprasad, where a traditional Maharashtrian meal of matki, masala rice and jalebi, among other dishes, is served.

Marathi theatre and recitals are a part of the celebration on each day. This year’s highlight is an hour-and-a-half-long oration called Athavave Shivaraiyanche Pratap, commemorating the deeds of Shivaji.

The programmes organised by the Maharashtra Mandal round the year include Gopal Kala, celebrated the day after Janmashtami when people climb on each other to break a handi. “We do not climb on one another here because we are all old people! But we do break the handi,” said Mantri, who was a commentator on Doordarshan during the 1982 Asian Games.

What makes the celebration extra special is the repository of stories that does the rounds, recalling the moods and manners of a different era.

An old-timer said Ganesh Chaturthi used to be a private celebration in homes before the late 19th century, when Lokmanya Tilak’s initiative turned it into a community event. “The British had imposed stringent restrictions on the assembly of people. But such restrictions were waived for religious aggregations. Tilak used the opportunity and turned Ganesh Puja into a sarbojanin puja,” Mantri said.

The Maharashtra Mandal was established in 1924 while Maharashtra Nivas came into being in 1932 as a guesthouse for Maharashtrians visiting Calcutta. “It was to give them the feel of home away from home,” Rekhade said.

The large auditorium on the ground floor where all cultural programmes are held has large portraits of Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore alongside those of Lokmanya Tilak and Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Chief minister Mamata, who visited Maharashtra Nivas on Friday, has held several meetings at the address over the years. Immediately after her victory in the 2011 Assembly elections, Mamata had assembled her MLAs and MPs at the venue. She had also presided over party meetings there during her stints as the railway minister.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Subhajoy Roy / Tuesday – September 02nd, 2014

Bengal girl joins Malala in Dutch book

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

RekhaKOLKATA02sept2014

What is common among Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Hellen Keller and 16-year-old Rekha Kalindi from Purulia in West Bengal?

The braveheart from the State will feature along with Malala and Anne Frank in the book Children who changed the world to be released in November in Amsterdam marking the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Rekha, now a student of Class X, resisted marriage when she was about 10 years old. Her resistance led to other girls in the area following in her footsteps. She, along with two other girls from the district, was conferred the National Bravery Award by then President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in 2010.

The book is written by Dutch Newspaper NRC Handelsblad’scorrespondents who live and work in the countries of the children featured in the book.

It profiles 20 children and the chapter on Rekha is written by journalist Aletta Andre.

Girls inspired
“Rekha’s story fits very well in this theme (the book’s theme), as she resisted a very common but not so great practice in her area, when she was about 10 years old and has with her act inspired other girls to do the same. It shows that very young children, even very young girls in a patriarchal society, have the power to make a difference,” she said in an email response.

Speaking to The Hindu, Rekha said she was very happy that the story about her is being published in other countries. Since the time she and other girls from Purulia had resisted child marriage, many girls came forward to oppose the practice, she said, adding that poverty and lack of education are still resulting in such marriages.

She also pointed out that a Class V textbook of the State Board has a chapter on child marriage where her and another girl’s names feature.

“Such stories (like Rekha’s) encourage adolescents to protest and raise their voice against child marriage,” Asadur Rahaman, chief of field office UNICEF in West Bengal, said. Pointing out that child marriage and trafficking of girls continue to be a concern in States like West Bengal, Mr. Rahaman said that a scheme like Kanyasree providing scholarship to school-going girls is a significant
initiative.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – August 28th, 2014

Bengal ranked top in cut flowers’ production across India: Study

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

West Bengal is ranked on top with production of over 250 crore cut flowers across India thereby clocking highest compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 597 per cent during five-year period of 2007-08 and 2011-12, noted a recently concluded study by apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

“West Bengal has also emerged numero uno with highest share of about 34 per cent in production of over 740 crore cut flowers throughout the country as of financial year 2011-12, production of cut flowers in India is growing at a CAGR of over 14 per cent,” according to a study titled ‘Value addition to rural economy: The promise of floriculture,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

“Festivals, weddings, large scale political functions and other special occasions are driving demand for cut flowers as they are mostly used for decorative purposes, as gifts/bouquets for formal events,” said D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s study.

“Though the initial investment is very high, flower production gives much higher returns compared to traditional crops, however, one has to wait for four to five years for breakeven,” said Mr Rawat.

West Bengal is ranked eighth in terms of production of loose flowers. The state produces about 64,000 tonne loose flowers clocking a CAGR of over seven per cent during the aforesaid period. While loose flower production in India is growing at a CAGR of over 17 per cent as India produces over 16.5 lakh tonne loose flowers annually.

However, area under flower production in West Bengal has shrinked from about 27,000 hectares in 2007-08 to about 24,000 hectares in 2011-12 thereby registering fall at a CAGR of over three per cent, pointed out the study prepared by the ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

Apart from this, share of West Bengal in area under flower production across India also plummeted by seven per cent during the aforesaid period i.e. from about 16.5 per cent share in 2007-08 it came down to 9.4 per cent in 2011-12, highlighted the study.

It is estimated that about two lakh people are involved cut flower production in West Bengal which is blessed with diverse agro-climatic conditions suitable for flower production.

Dedicated cold storage facilities for flowers near to the main production centres would give a boost to exports of flowers from West Bengal, besides promotion of bio-technology especially tissue culture and genetic engineering would only further help the in realising its potential in floriculture industry in the state, noted the ASSOCHAM study.

Ensuring availability of quality seeds and improved varieties of planting materials, domestic development of capabilities for establishing poly-houses/shade-houses, providing loans at attractive interest rates to farmers willing to produce flowers, luring private sector participation for investments by offering tax rebates and incentives, conducting buyer-seller meets across India and even abroad are certain key policy recommendations listed in the ASSOCHAM study to further promote floriculture industry in West Bengal and other parts of India.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Udit Prasanna Mukherji, TNN / September 01st, 2014

INDIA ON WAX – Record discs that helped defeat the British empire: Tagore sings ‘Bande Mataram’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

During the freedom struggle, recordings of patriotic speeches and songs helped rally support.
PhonographKOLKATA01sept2014
Between 1877 and 1878, Thomas Alva Edison submitted patent applications for the phonograph in many countries, including British India. It is not known when these patents were granted, but it is known that in December 1878, the first phonograph recording was demonstrated in Kolkata.

For the next 30 years, recordings on the phonograph cylinder became quite popular, remaining so even in the early years of disc records.

Many members of royal families and wealthy people bought cylinder phonograph machines and recorded musicians and religious personalities. The Maharajah of Khetri recorded Swami Vivekananad’s speeches and discourses much before he went to America and gave his famous talks on religion. The internet is full of versions of his celebrated speeches.

Hemendra Mohan Bose (1864-1916) opened the Talking Machine Hall in Kolkata, a shop where one could get one’s voice recorded. Bose was a sound recording expert and also had an agency to sell Edison and Pathe brand phonograph machines. Many great writers, poets and political leaders would visit him and he would record their recitations and speeches.

A 1906 catalogue lists several cylinder recordings of Rabindranath Tagore. Unlike disc records, cylinders could not be reproduced for sale. Most of these cylinders have been lost. Some museums have broken or damaged copies of cylinders as artefacts but no audible sound can be extracted from them.

TagoreAdsKOLKATA01sept2014
During agitations against the partition of Bengal in 1905, H Bose recorded many political speeches and songs, such as Bande Mataram, both on phonographs and disc records, and they became very popular. But his factory and shops were sealed, machines and discs destroyed ruthlessly by police. As a result, nothing has survived today except a very short piece from Bande Mataram, sung by Tagore.

Recording experts from Beka, a German company, were in Kolkata in November 1907. The British government went about destroying all nationalistic material, whereas the German company was the first to record a political speech right under the nose of the British.

The National Grand Record label had a saffron disc with a rising sun as the logo. On it was recorded a speech by Babu Surendranath Banerjee, on the partition of Bengal. The flipside of this unusual 78-rpm disc has a speech on Bande Mataram.
DiskKOLKATA01sept2014

The man responsible for producing this disc was Sir Abdul Halim Guznavi, a political leader and agent for the Beka record company in Kolkata. Only few copies have survived. We have the image of the label only but no access to the audio file of this historically important recording.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> All News / by Suresh Chandvankar / August 15th, 2014