The Phonograph in India

G. N. Joshi

The Beginnings

The history of the phonograph in India dates back to the beginning

of the century . Though gramophones began to be exported to India since
1 898, the idea of commercially exploiting the phonograph on a large scale
in the east was mooted in 1 900 and Messrs . The Mutoscope Biograph Co.
of India was given the agency of selling horn-gramophones and records of
European music imported from America. In 1 898, Mr. W. B. Owen had
established in England the parent company of the Gramophone Co . Ltd . He
was sent to England by the American inventor of disc recording, Mr . Em ile
Berliner, to sell, if possible, his European rights for the disc records which
he had patented in the U.S.A . Since Mr. Owen did not succeed in sell ing
Mr. Berliner's rights outright , the two formed The Gramophone Co . Ltd . in
England . Mr. Berliner erected a record pressing factory at Hanover in the
U.S .A . for supplying records and machines to the newly-formed company in
England .

At this point a· mechanic named Johnson invented a spring-wound

motor for the phonograph machine. Until the time his invention was perfected,
users (during the period when the record was being played) had to rotate,
with the help of a handle, the turntable with the disc on it . The spring-motor

Edison 'Home' Model A

enabled the phonograph to be \Nound for a certain number of playings and
hence the listener could sit at a distance \Nithout having to bother to crank
the machine all the time .

The Mutoscope Biograph Co . in India started selling machines and

records pressed in America. The most popular record imported into India
at that time \Nas the Bert Sheppard record "The Laughing Song". It had proved
popular \Nherever it has been released. Over a period of a fe\N years nearly
half a million copies of this record \Nere sold.

The Mutoscope Biograph Co. did not do \Nell; and its agency was
terminated . In 1901, Mr . ..J . Watson Harod \Nas sent out to open a branch
of the company, \Nhich he did on .July 7, 1901, in Calcutta .

In the initial stages, a gramophone record used to be manufactured

by the process kno\Nn as 'zinc etching'. A zinc disc \Nith a smooth, sh inY
surface \Nas coated \Nith a layer of fat, on \Nhich a spiral groove \NaS cut by
a stylus . The stylus \Nas fixed to a diaphragm that vibrated in sympathy vyith
the sound \Naves of the song and music, sung or played into the large mouth
of a horn . The recorded zinc disc \Nas then immersed in acid for about ten
minutes and the spiral groove of the music \Nas etched into it . Th is record
could then be played back straighta\Nay .

In 1 9 0 1 · recording on \Nax \Nas invented and it also became possible

to duplicate the matrices • so th at h uge quant1t1es
· · could be pressed from t h ese.
The process opened up an eno·r mous f .1e ld f or expans1on.
·

Pathe
Po!yphon No. 1492
 lo I ;[I

f.1fdH.11jlJ II t

( ' Ill • •

"
J

By the beginning of October 1 902, Mr. T. W . Gaisberg, who had

worked with Mr. Ber liner for several years, came out to India with the inten-
tion of developing the record trade in the east . His recordings in India became
a landmark of great value .

Gaisberg and his successors in the following years recorded Miss

Dulari, Gourajan, Zohran, Malkajan, Angurbala, lndubala, Kamala, Goharjan
and popular quiNa/i-singers Pearu Quwal, Kaloo Ouwal, Fakre Alam Ouwal

Angurbala Kamala Jharia

and several others. The accompaniment for these artistes comprised just
a few instruments: a harmonium, tabla, sarod, clarionet, and with female
singers, the sarangi and bells. These recordings were sent to the factory at
Hanover for processing and pressing. The finished records were then import-
ed back into India and were sold in large numbers. In order to interest prospec-
tive purchasers to listen to discs, a novel idea was tried out. At the close of
the singing, the artist would announce his or her name "My name is .Jankibai
of llahabad" or "My name is Mushtaribai of Agra" . These statements in English
by performers Who did not know the language amused listeners and helped
somewhat to boost sales of discs. The earliest record was only 7" in size but
later it was increased to 1 0" and 1 2". The early horn machines were black
in colour, but later these were changed to brass for a more attractive and
dazzling effect. The coloured horn was known as "Morning Glory" and it
became a rage in 1 907.

The year 1 908 was unique in the history of the gramophone for in
that -year factories were established, one at Belliaghat in Calcutta and the
other at Hayes, Middlesex, in England. This assured a steady supply of
gramophone motors, machines and records to the rapidly growing market
in India .

After the initial success of the record "The Laughing Song" by Bert
Sheppard, the company brought out another one by Charles Primrose .

Goharjan

8
 Kaloo Quwal Fakre A/am Quwal

Records containing route-march songs , bugle-calls , camp-fire songs, ' pipes

and drums ' played by 0 . 0 . Cameron Highlanders of the 2nd Battalion and
comic songs like "The Peanut Vendor" also proved to be money-spinners .
The company ' s factory at Bell iaghat could not meet the rapidly growing
demand for discs . In 1 928 , therefore, the company shifted its operations
to a bigger factory at Dum Dum .

Technological Developments

The period of the last nearly fifty years h a s been one of cont inuous
progress and e x pansion . The introduction of electrical recording in 1 925,
when microphones, amplifers and cutting styli were used for recording the
'master ' on wax, brought about a miraculous change in the technique of
recording . The voice of the singers and the accompanying instruments could
be controlled and what is called a 'balance ' between the two could be achieved .
The round piece of wax shaved to a mirror-finish was placed on a turntable
which was driven at a fixed speed of 78 R.P.M. through a governor-driven
device . A heavy weight attached to a pulley, descending slowly through a
cable wound around a drum , would drive the turntable at a steady speed .
There were no studios with good acoustics and engineers had to
arrange heavy curtains on the walls and thick carpets on the floors to ensure
that the sound on the disc was ne ither too dull nor too reverberant . Later on,
studios were set up in Dum Dum (Calcutta). Bombay, Madras and Delh i.
Wax recording held sway till about 1 948 , despite the risk of breakage in
transit from the recording centres to the factory at Dum Dum . To minimize
such hazards, acetate-coated aluminium discs began to be used . But the
weight-drive could not provide the requisite power to cut the new mate r ial

9
Kazi Nazrul Islam

which was stiffer than wax; an electric motor had to be used for this purpose.
Then, in 1 950, came the revolutionary magnetic tape- recorder with a freq-
uency response of 50 to 10,000 cycles per second. This recorder also
provided facilities for playing back the recorded material. The merits and
flaws of the recorded piece could be observed, and mistakes rectified throug.h
re-recording (after an erasure of the previously recorded attempts) . ThiS
resulted in improved sound-quality in the performances, without any loss
except of labour and time. By 1 964, even better tape-recorders, with ~
frequency response between 40 to 1 5,000 cycles per second, appeare
and alongside facilities for stereophonic recording .

Besides manufacturing and marketing machines and records, the

company today offers a wide variety of record-players, radiograms, tuners.
and stereo-systems through a nationwide network . The phonograph ~hat
first landed in India at the beginning of this century has found its way mto
millions of homes and the invention of the great Thomas Edison and Charles
eros is rightly known today as one that radiates human happiness .

10
Expansion of Activities

India, with a population of over six hundred and twenty million people
and more than thirty languages and dialects, has a varied treasure of musical
traditions and colourful folklore. The present catalogue of the company
includes over 7,500 records featuring every kind of fare : classical, folk,
patriotic, devotional, light classical, light as well as pop and film music. In
addition to items of sheer entertainment value, there are quite a large number
of recordings of educational and cultural interest.

The stirring words of our national leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and

'Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, were recorded and thus preserved for future gene-
rations. Vande Mataram was recorded by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore
somewhere around 1 900 . The record was a 1 2" disc which played from
inside to outside and it was published under the auspices of H . Bose's Record .
A copy of the record was traced in 1 96.1, the centenary of Gurudev's· birth.
Gurudev Tagore's voice was also recorded by H.M.V. during the early '20s
in the Belliaghat factory and subsequently in the studios at Dum Dum . The
voices of Kazi Nazrullslam, Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, D. R. Bendre
and poet Vallathol have also been preserved through records of their recitations
of their poems .

During the early years, the company marketed imported records

under various different labels such as Pathe, R .C.C ., Decca, Pye, but soon
afterwards it obtained the exclusive rights to use in India the trade-mark
"His Master's Voice". Undoubtedly the dog and the phonograph .is today
the most famous trade-mark in the world and although millions of listeners
are fascinated by the picture of "The Nipper and the Machine", very few people
know the real story behind the picture .

An artist named Francis Barraud observed that a dog belonging to

his deceased brother Mark Barraud would cock one ear to the sound emitted
by an old Edison phonograph . It used to listen with rapt attention and the
expression on its face suggested that it seemed to be waiting to hear its
late master's voice. Francis Barraud was quick to grasp the value of the
scene and he painted it as he saw i t - " The Nipper and the Edison-Machine" ·
He took the picture to the Edison Company but they did not evince any interest
in it. A friend suggested to him that he change the ugly black machine and
substitute it with a more modern horn. In 1 899, while he was tramping the
streets of London in the hope of finding such a horn from one of the various
companies engaged in the rapidly growing record business, he happened

I I I 11
to call at the small office of the Gramophone Co . Ltd. He showed his oil-
painting to the manager, B . Owen, who immediately grasped the potential
it held as a trade-mark for his company . He gave a hundred pounds to the
artist and obtained it for the company . The company had till then another
trade-mark, "An angel writing, while sitting, on a disc" . But when records
with the dog and the sound-horn appeared, with the caption, "His Master's
Voice", the trade-mark won fame and popularity of a kind unparalleled in
the history of the industry . It was found printed on millions of records and
machines in several countries of the world. In India, it first appeared on a
portable machine in 1 920 . Later it was printed on the first electric records
produced by the company . The abbreviated letters "H . M .V." for His Master's
Voice became synonymous with the organisation "The Gramophone Co . Ltd ." .

The Gramophone Co. and the records with the dog trade-mark
were meeting with increasing popularity and market support. The period
1
( 920-21 l coincided with the political awakening in the country and the
nation-wide movement of Swadeshi. As a result businessmen inspired by
patriotic sentiments d ·d d ' · the
• ec1 e to market records of songs supportmg
Swadeshi Movement Th . . · ds
· e songs mvoked listeners to boycott fore1gn goo
and purc~ase exclusively things made in the country . T. S . Ramchander
& Co ., a f1rm in Bomba .
Y. recorded a number of such songs by local artistes
and had them process d . G ,
graph ' label. e m ermany . These were issued under the Rama-

Bal Gandharva
Hirabai Barodekar
Bai Sunderabai

About the same time ( 1 920-25) musical dramas began to stage a

comeback on the Marathi stage . Actor-singers like Bal Gandharva, Keshavrao
Bhosle, Master Krishnarao, Master Dinanath, Bapoo Pendharkar, Vinayakrao
Patwardhan, Sawai Gandharva, Chhota Gandharva, Hirabai Barodekar,
performed practically every evening on the stage in the larger cities. The
actor-singers were all gifted with enchanting voices ; they had also had
training under exacting masters in classical music . Each one of these actor-
singers succeeded in developing a distinctive individual style of pres~ntation .
Vocalists like Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale, Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, Abdul Karim
Khan had been groomed by great Muslim Ustads and they, in turn, passed on
the great tradition to these young and gifted actor-singers. These dramas
drew packed houses since the audiences were charmed by the music they
presented.

The Gramophone Co . seized the opportunity to record the more

popular songs and thus began an era of stage-music on gramophone discs .
Scores of songs recorded by these actor-singers were the rage of the day
and even today, after nearly three decades, listeners are overwhelmed by
nostalgia when they listen to these songs of yesteryear . The Bengali and
the Gujarati stage could also boast of a rich musical talent, and songs from
plays thus gave a strong impetus to the record business .

The phonograph gained rapidly in popularity . The Gramophone Co.

was faced with the challenge of satisfying the musical needs of a diversity of
people, speaking different la nguages and spread over a vast sub-continent .
But to r e cord the musical lore that was part of their tradition was well-nigh
impossible . The recording c a pacity of the Dum Dum factory and facilities for
absorbing the discs in the market were limited . The Gramophone Co . could
not by itself accept all the talent and material available .

Two companies, 'Columbia' and ' Odeon', with established labels in

the world market, were trying to gain access to the Indian market. Columbia

13
started its operations in India in 1 930 through S . Rose and Co . in_ Bombay
and P . Orr and Sons in Madras and Odeon was ·1ntro d uc ed by Carl. Lindstrom, d
a German . These companies started recordings in their own studiOS an~ ha
the discs processed and pressed 1n · the U · K · ar;l d Germany respectively
. d.
Popular artistes like Goharbai, Amirbai Karnataki, Omkarnath Thakur an
Saraswati Fatarphekar appeared on the Columbia label w h 1 .l e Od eo n . present-
ed such names as Bai Sunderabai, Hirabai Barodekar, Abdul Kanm Khan,
Sureshbabu Mane, Azambai and Shankarrao Sarnaik. Omkarnath Thak~r,
Abdul Karim Khan and Hirabai Barodekar were exponents of classical musiC.
Sunderabai and Azambai presented the /avani-a typical regional music-form
with a strong romantic content. Columbia later took over Odeon but by 1 g 3 53-
39 itself got amalgamated with The Ruby Record Co . The Ruby Record _co .,
which was started in Bombay in 1 933, introduced listeners to the musiC of
Bal Gandharva, Master Krishnarao Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze and other vocal-
ists . The Gramophone Co., however, , took over The Ruby Record Co . .m 1 943
and thus also obtained the repertoires of Columbia and Odeon . The vast
repertoire of the three companies was subsequently divided between H.M.V.
and Columbia, when the latter was revived again as a separate entity in 1 9 45 ·
It had a separate office alongside H.M .V . but the recordings done in _the
H.M .V . studios were common and intended to feed both the companieS .

Yet another attempt at forming an independent recording com.-

pany was made as early as 1 934 under the name ' Broadcast Record Co ·
Backed and financed by a city firm of jewellers, it won over for its label top_-
ranking artistes like Kesarbai Kerkar Master Krishnarao . SiddheshwarideVI,
Mallikarjun Mansur, Rasoolanbai, .J~ddanbai (mother ~f Nargis Dutt) by
paying them fabulous fees . But the company soon foundered on the rocks
of economic losses .

The Gramophone Co . Ltd. thus succeeded in allowing a few small

companies to :unction under its own wing. In Calcutta alone there appeared
three such un1ts. The Hindustan Record Co . ( 1 931 ). the Megaphone Record
l and t~e Senoia Record Co . (1932) . Senoia concentrated on
1 32
Co . ( _9
talent In the Bengali language . The Hindustan label became immensely popular
with the_ re~ords ?f songs by K . L . Saigal. Megaphone was associated with
~he bew1tch1n!? vo1c~ of Akhtari Faizabadi. These companies did their record-
1
mg and press _n g With H .M.V . but distributed the records through their own
channels . The1r success led to the creation of other units and soon other
labels like Bharat, Pioneer, Victoriaphone Manmohan, Shahenshahi,
Filmophone flooded the market. '

. The G_ramophone Co . Ltd. had its head office and factory at Dum Dum .
But 1t had by now opened branch offices and depots in Bombay, Delhi, Madras,
Kanpur and Gauhati . Many smaller companies were soon ushered in by
these branches . In Madras, there was Hutchinsons ; in Bombay, .Jaya-bharat
and King Record Co .; in U .P., Maxitone, Aerophone, Star Record Co .; in
Punjab, Jemophone, Gulshan, Frontier Trading Co .; and in Rajasthan (at
Jodhpur), the Marwadi Record Co . All these small companies were reared
and fostered by the Gramophone Co . Ltd .

14
HARIPURA
CONGRESS
1938 SESSION

ANEW
Honour for Sm. Sati Devi and Kanak Das
PRABHAT
RECORD!
These <trt is l<'!s were 11n·itL',d l11 sing :"'t-..J cast the two sc mgs whicli app<·ar
\' . \0il)l.~ ;\I;\TAI~ :\:\1 al til<' (",,ngi·c·ss un this r('l'orcl ha\'1: not hl'l'll a\·aila!Jl c
~c·ssion at ll a ri pur;u 'Fh('SC arc I he 011 OIIC ITC 'OHJ la·fc~IT .
;trtish's wlto lll;tck tlw Vand e !\lat;u\1111
J'('('lll·d in Hc•ngali (~17011). Those of you who s:tw till' lillll
" l >univ:~ \a ~lan e" will rc·mcmlll'r
TIH· ·11 indi \' Crsion app('; trs on N li!J.I4
how \<· ry good tl'lt' song of till' littl~
wl1it·h has alrc:1<l _\· . lw<"Cllllc poptdar.
IHI\' was. 11 indns , ~LtiH l lllllll'tbns,
1\c·c p th e rr-c:ord before tlw pnl>lic J';L;.St'<'s--alllikl'd it. This son.~ w:~s put
a,; th e ckman<l \\'ill innease as time 01.1 rcl'ord \ o. \I ;,(j I !1 on t hi' otlll'r side
g oes on. of whi r h ;tppcars the n· r~· popubr llindn
i\rti . Fo1' Hindus this rl'cord w;1s ideal
Sm . ~''! i Dc\'i is oftcn referred to as a as it had till' .- \rti an(l t-he Ycr:-· poptllar
ni g ht in ga lc· in It e r p~trl of the rouutry song of tlw IHl\'. Hut for nnn-1lincl11S,
and l11~ n~ <tn• sonH'\ ch the records she has the' .- \rti had lHl attrartinn and man y
mack for yo11r- hdll'lit : ·- · of tiH' Ill did IHlt bu y the rl'cord f,;r
JILNJ>I this rl'aso n .
I'll C:l!\llll \1 \
\1'1 .- 1\ . \

~l
c:c)l' .\1. ·-· To nwd the dl'm;tnd of IHm - llindu
l
'l 11 . 1.,
I•· -
\lll\\1\\1 Bll.\j .\:\
\l\1:\1- <11.\1\ :\1< 1\ .\1\ll()JI --- l>u\-crs, \\·c IT-a rran ged the son~ · llf the
'\fllc\l l.\1 Bll .\j .\:\ slreet-boy-si!1gcr :--
:.f.\:\ S.\F TElL\ 11:\l Y .\ :\ .\111:\
{
1\111 ~ 1.. \T ]1 .\1 (;[J<!IIf.\1{1
- - -- II I> I\ I
I ' IISit Tltt : \f .\h: Cll .\1 .. \T IL\:\f- The rl'rmd is :-
l <" 11 .\:\lll\ . \ .
:\1.\\ S .\1 .- Tl·: 1\.\ II.\ I \ .\ :\ .\Ill "'

I
'II ~-;o-f 1 ~ . \ 1<:-.; J.
'
1
'\_1 '\' \1\1 ·.
I: .\ Ill< I\'\
1> .\1 \S \ :\
~; \ \'· \ :'\ 1.; I
111_1<1
f lh· 1':1r;'"'"r;1n1
}; 1.-,c;:>l ~ S.\ ~IJI. L\ 1\ \ ' .\ 11 .\1
\f \ :'\ I\ I I' \ I< \ o.., II \ 1\ I ~.; L ..... 11\· Sh;tnl;t .-\1>1 "
I II\ I<\ :" l \ 1I \j \ :'\ · o..,, ot, lk\1
.:\ !J!J!IX .t lld \f1 I lull All ' th e records from this lillll as tlwv
{ \II Zl'l.\ Z \ '1 . \:\t ·: ZI JI .. \ - han· l)ce n ':.t\·ailable so far will rcmaii1
~.d 1 I h-\'1 aud :\Ir . IJutt u 1Khan gcd . \ ::--r Jflli ~l-1 is an .additional
flENGALI record for those who like the two songs
1'1170:1.1.' 11';'\lli . l'IISII:! , :-;:ls~O. :\IiilO.) puroi1 it.
 In the span of over seventy years of .Its existence,
· there. have
d b been
the
hardly five or six serious attempts at breaking th~ mo_nopo~y enjoy~ n:med
Gramophone Co . Ltd . As early as 1 920, a Gujaratl buslnes~~i:lo hone'.
Va llabhdas floated (with German collaboration) a company called P k"
This Bombay-based venture proved to be very s h o rt-1"IVe d · Later, ta t d1n 9a
advantage of the nationalist movement, another businessman p~o~o: the
company called 'The National Gramophone Record Co' . ' Young India an
emblem of the National Flag, accepted by the Indian National Congress, "":asl
its trade-mark . The entire manufacturing plant, mach1nery. an d the technlca
h
personnel were imported from Japan. Th1s was about the year 1938 ' w The
· en
film-music had just begun to exercise influence on the record trade .
earliest records of film-music were brought here .1n 1 934 f ro m Germany ..
by V . Shantaram along with the coloured copy of h1s · f I"l m " Sairandhree ·
The release .1n the market of records from th1s
. film
. un Ieas h e d a w a ve of mass
popula rity for film-music . From 1 933 to 1 938 the Prabhat Film . c 0 · 1·n Poena.
and the New Theatres Ltd . in Calcutta produced a galaxy of f 1 .l ms WI"th mUSIC
which had a strong popular appeal. The melodies were mainly based . on
.
class1cal modes but were presented to audiences . ·
through the v1su al med1um ,
in an attractive setting. 'Amrit Manthan' 'Aadmi', 'Padosi ' , 'Sant Tukaram '
'Gopal Krishna' , 'Maya-Machhindra' , 'Dharmatma', ' Duniya-Na- Mane ' etcd
were released under the Prabhat banner while New Theatres Ltd . earns .
fame with 'Devdas', ' Pres ident', 'Chandidas', 'V idyapati ' , ' Dhoop-Chhav'
'.Jawab' , 'Zindagi ' , ' Dushman ' and 'Street- singer '. Singers like Sh a nta Apte,
Govindrao Tembe, Shanta Hublikar Ratnaprabha Vasanti Shahu Modak
·
were projected '
through the Prabhat Productions '
. New '
Theatres Ltd. rega led.
viewers with songs rendered by K . L . Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Kananbala, Pahan
Sanyal, K . C . Dey and others .

The newly-form e d National Gramophone Record Co . did give a jolt

to the Gramophone Co . by causing the defection of V . Shantaram from the
H .M .V . family . He was one of the directors of the new company a nd ' Young_
India ' could thus count on the record bu s ines s of the Prabhat F ilm Co . In
that climate of patriot ic r e surgence, the call to boycott the British company
and its records received a ready response . Th e National Record Co . thus
made an excellent start a nd in the political cond it ions which were then
prevalent in th e country it stood a very good chance of capturing the record
bus iness . But th e Gramophone Co . Ltd . had a s its main assets the quality
of the recording and of the processed record . The finished product of th e
'Young India' !~bel could hardly compete with the sophisticated quality of
the records w1th the H .M .V . label. A disillus ione d v . Shantaram returned
to the fold of the Gramophone Co . Ltd . With their ma instay gone, the National
Gramophone Record Co . could not survive for long and had to close down .

The appearance of records unde r the ' Polydor' label is a recent

occurrence. ' Polydor' enjoys a big reputat ion in Europe for high-quality pro-
duct ion and in the la s t ten years it has also m a de a headway h e re . 'The
Gramophone Co . Ltd .' is now known as 'The Gramophone Co . of India, Ltd .'
Thi s is because, in accordance with government policy, equity share- holding
by Indian investors has been effected. Yet another company under the trade-

16
Pankaj Mullick K. C. Dey

name 'Indian Record Co.' has, it is learnt, recently made a debut in the
gramophone world at Calcutta .

Till about 1 920, all phonograph machines used to be imported

and a phonograph in the drawing room was in those days a status symbol,
very much like the telephone, refrigerator, motor car or television set of
today . Around 1 928-29, cheap machines manufactured in Japan invaded
the market . They were so low-priced (each costing about Rs . 1 0 to Rs. 1 5)
that even a person of average means could afford to purchase .a machine .
A little later, dealers in phonomachines started importing component parts
from Japan and Switzerland and, using locally made wooden cabinets,
assembled all these in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi. The boom for gramo-
phone records began with these cheap machines . These phonographs had a
single standard speed of 78 R .P .M. Hence the playing time for one side of
a disc of 1 0" size was a maximum of 3 minutes and 30 seconds . Later
slightly larger-sized records of 1 2" (with an additional playing time of one
minute) were considered suitable for the recordings of top-ranking artistes .
These were naturally priced higher than the 1 0" discs .

Artistes
When the Gramophone Co. tried to draw upon the repertoire of the
exponents of classical music, it invariably faced · serious difficulties . The
musicians were reluctant to share their knowledge with others and make
their treasures accessible to the public . They refused to record and, if they
were at all persuaded to do so, would stipulate such high fees that recording
them ceased to be commercially viable. The company, therefore, focussed
attention on the more popular singers . It was easier to persuade them to

17
record and their discs earned large profits. In the initial period, along with
the imported records, the company recorded and issued for sale discs made
by these popular singers . Amongst these are many vvho are still remembered,
even after a lapse of more than three decades, for their svveet voices and
attractive style of presentation . The names of ..Jankibai, Malkajan, Goharjan,
Mushtaribai, Kamla Zaria, Angurbala, lndubala, Oulari, ..Joharajan and Meh-
boobjan linger in our memories even today .

The other types of musician artistes, vvho vvere accessible and

whose discs had a good sales potential, vvere the quwali and ghazal
singers and the performers of kirtana-s and devotional songs . The naat-s
(Muslim religious songs) and quwali-s of outstandingly popular s ingers like
Pearu Ouvval, Kaloo Ouwal, Bhai Chhela Master Rohit, K. C. Dey, Ashraf Khan,
Fakiruddin Ouwal, Aga Faiz, Ali Huss~fn Pyarasahib still evoke affectionate
response from listeners .

For centuries the poet saints of India propagated their teachings

~hrough their devotional songs . Tulsidasa and Surdasa in the north, Kabirdasa
In the P~n!ab, Chaitanya Maha Prabhu in Bengal, Narsi Bhagat in Gujarat,
Meeraba1 1n Ra · th k ·n
Jas an, Dnyaneshvvara, Eknatha, Namdeva, Tu arama 1
Maharashtra w t h d
ro e undreds of devotional songs vvhich have been preserve

M . S . Subbulakshmi in her teens, when she began recording

18
M . L. Vasanthakumari D. K. Pattama/

with reverence for centuries by devotees . These compositions provided

artistes with rich and varied poetic material which found an immediate echo
in the hearts of audiences . The Gramophone Co. took the decision to record
a large number of such devotional compositions and amongst the artistes
projected in this section were Juthika Ray, K. C. Dey, Dilip Kumar Roy, Master
Vasant Amrut, Vishnupant Pagnis, Abharam Bhagat, Dula Bhagat, Fulajibuwa,
Bai Sunderabai. Excerpts from the Guru-Granth-Sahib (the holy book of prayer
of the Sikhs) and Shabad written by Guru Nanak and Guru Govind were
immensely popular with the Sikh community .

I have confined my remarks so far to the North Indian scene partly

because I have worked in the North for many years and my concern has been
mostly with the Hindustani tradition, and partly also because the Hindustani
system covers a much wider area and population. But the impact of the
gramophone in the South has been considerable from the very early days .

Lovers of Karnatic music speak nostalgically of the records of Coim-

batore Thayi, of Bangalore Nagaratnam, of the recordings of the incomparable
Veena Dhanam and a 7 8 R .P .M. disc of Shanmukhavadivu (the mother of
M . S . Subbulakshmi). Some of the great classical musicians of the early
decades of this century-Veena Sheshanna, Bidaram Krishnappa, Ponnu-
swami Pillai and Ramaswami Pillai (Nagaswaram vidwans)-have all left
behind them samples of their musicianship. The South, too, had its quota
of stage stars-S. V. Subbia Bhagavatar, S . G. Kittappa, K. B . Sundarambal,
all of whom recorded extensively .

Of the classical renderings of the '30s a very popular pressing was

the rendering of Nagamomu by the late Musiri Subramania lyer. Many of his

19
Palghat Mani lyer
s. Balachander
contemporaries-Chemba i, Ariyakudi, Maharajapuram, G.N . B ., Venka~a­
swami Naidu (violin). Rajamanickam Pilla i (violin). Chowdiah (violin) , RaJa-
ratnam (nagaswaram) have all left the imprint of their art on d iscs, though few
of them recorded extensively .

In more recent days we have had LPs from such distinguished

s ingers as D . K . Pattamal, M . L . Vasanthakumari; also from very distinguished
instrumentalists like the great Palghat Mani lyer (mridanga) , K. S . Narayana-
swami (veena), T . R. Mahalingam (flute), Ramani (flute), S . Balachander
(veena). T . Vishwanathan (flute). M . s . Gopalakrishnan (violin) . This is by no
means a complete list but will give an idea of the wide representation of

N. Ramani
Yesudas
M . S. Subbulakshmi with Lata Mangeshkar

K!'lrnatic music on discs. Finally there is M . S. Subbulakshmi who has cut

more titles than any other exponent of the Karnatic tradition . There are the
unique "Suprabhatams", a wide range of varnam-s and kriti-s, and a variety of
bhajan-s.
Of the many "playback" singers of the screen Yesudas is undoubtedly
the biggest vogue today .

Narratives from the epics, mythological and historical episodes were

recorded by Goswami Narayan , Pandit Ramanand, Kathavachak and others
and were in great demand . In Maharashtra Shahirs P . D . Khadilkar,

Faiyaz Khan Rahimat Khan

Khansaheb Abdul Karim Khan Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze

Nanivadekar, Piraji Sarnaik and others recorded powada-s (ballads) capturing

significant moments in the history of the Marathas. They adhered to t~e
traditional style adopted three hundred years ago to awaken the her~IC
sentiment of the Maratha warriors and rouse them to fight the repreSSIVe
rule of the Moghuls.

Kesarbai Kerkar felicitating Mogubai Kurdikar

22
Bade Gulam Ali Khan with Munnawar, Ahmadjan Thirakhwa and friend_s

The phonograph . often proved to be a trend-setter in the field of

music and determined public taste in a large measure . In Maharashtra, the
immense popularity of stage music paved the way for interest in classical
music . The great artistes of the period recorded by the Gramophone com-
pany include masters like Rahimat Khan, Faiyaz Khan, Abdul Karim Khan,
lnayat Khan, Nissar Hussain Khan, Allauddin Khan, Amir Khan, Bade Gulam
Ali Khan , Ahmadjan Thirakhwa , Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, Narayanrao Vyas,
Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Kesarbai Kerkar, the Dagar brothers, Mogubai
Kurdikar, Omkarnath Thakur, Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur and

Ram Narain · Vi/ayat Khan

Hirabai Barodekar . In recent years this large repertoire has been further
enriched by the Long Play recordings of outstanding artistes like Ravi Shankar,
Ali Akbar Khan, Vilayat Khan, Bismillah Khan, Pannalal Ghosh. Bhimsen Joshi,
Kishori Amonkar, Alia Rakha, D. V . Paluskar, Ram Narain, Kumar Gandharva,
Pandit Jasraj and Jitendra Abhisheki .

Various companies have also recorded w1th great advantage many

light-classical, minor modes and folk-songs from the different regions of
India . Akhtari Faizabadi, better known in later times as Begum Akhtar, won
unprecedented acclaim with her renderings of ghazal-s and dadara-s on
Megaphone and later on the H .M.V. labels. Rasoolanbai, Siddheshwaridevi,
Girjadevi and others became popular with their recordings of thumri-s,
tappa-s and dadar:a-s . Jankibai, Goharjan, Malkajan and others (who have
been mentioned earlier) had also recorded hori-s, chaiti-s, sawani-s , dadara-s
and ghazal-s. The small companies in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan even
recorded songs containing the mutual abuses showered with gusto during
weddings by the mothers of the bride and bridegroom. These Gali songs
delighted listeners in villages .

. After 1 930 the bhavageet-s in Maharashtra opened an era of 'lyrical'

':'~SIC . T? the writer of this article is given the credit for pioneering and popular-
ISing lync-singing in Maharashtra. Compositions of eminent poets like B . R.
Tambe, Madhav Julien, N . G . Deshpande, Anil Yeshwant Girish. Borkar.
Kusumag raJ,· an d others were recorded by him and' others carried
' on the work .
These
. records prov e d t b
o e so popular that even stage-music had to change
1ts pattern
. on the r1n es 0 f bh avageet-s . In recent times poems of well-known
poets like G · D · M a d gu lk ar, Mangesh Padgaonkar Shanta• Shelke have been
recorded by Lata M ' ·
angeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Manik Verma. Sudh1r Phadke,
Arun Date and other ne wcomers and these have all found favour w1th · ·
listeners .

Bhimsen Joshi
Mallikarjun Mansur
Ali Akbar Khan Panna/a/ Ghosh

Film Music

Between the years 1 930 and 1 940, there was much advance in
the technique of film production . Once again, Bengal and Maharashtra led
the way, producing pictures of high quality . New Theatres Ltd . in Calcutta
and Prabhat Film Co. in Poona, each of these established a distinctive style
in music through its films. The names of music-composers R . C. Boral, Timir
Baran, Anupam Ghatak of Bengal and Master Krishnarao, Keshavrao Bhole,
Dada Chandekar, Sudhir Phadke of Maharashtra are associated with the
chaste , classical - based music which they scored for many a successful film.
The songs of actor-singers K . L . Saigal, Pahari Sanyal, K . C . Dey, Kananbala,
Shanta Apte, Shanta Hublikar, Shahu Modak, Govindrao Tembe, Vishnupant
Pagnis left a lingering flavour, which still has its own appeal. It was V. Shanta-
ram who in 1 9 34 first introduced songs on discs from his film 'Sairandhree' .
These records fascinated listeners and the Gramophone Co . was besieged by
demands for songs from other films . It had to go all out to secure contracts
from film-producers for exclusive rights to record the songs from their films.
In those days transfer from a film-track was unheard of . The actor-singers on
the screen had to re-record the songs in H.M.V . Studios and the procedure
continued for nearly twenty years . In the first few years of the talkies,
producers paid more attention to the production of pictures in regional
languages like Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Malayalam, and Hindi films were
made on an experimental basis . As the inter-provincial market for film expand-
ed, film-producers found it more profitable to make pictures in Hindi and
ensure an all-India appeal. Bombay soon became known as the Hollywood of
India and a crop of film companies appeared , the bette r known among them
being Prabhat, Bombay Talkies, Filmistan, Prakash, Ranjit, Sagar, Minerva
etc . This led to a sudden demand for new voices, for music-makers and
musicians. This was the time when Devika Rani, Ashok Kumar, Arun Kumar,
Pandit Pradeep, Motilal lshwarlal, Kantilal, the comedian Charlie, Leela Chitnis,

25
 bouquet to Mr. S rJbhl~h
M r. ~o hr:1b Mod i. 0 \rect.or of the M~nerv~ Film Co .. pre sent~~~ a Fhn . .. Mcch t:t Zlh3 r . ·•
Ch.lndn Soul when the l au~r w ent to wttnt:u M1ne r Vll' s Proh•. 1 ~ . 0 ~cc~rds.
Song-. from this film ~re av-ailable on ·• Tw• n ·
~~~~~~~-=

Snehaprabha, Sitaradevi, Naseembanu, Sheela, S avtta . d evt,

· Maya Banerji
.
.
became popular on discs . At the same time, the pertod cotnct· ·d e d wtth .the
discovery of the very fine musical talent of Noorjehan, Khursheed, Suratya,
Ameerbai Karnataki, Wahidan and other artistes . Ghulam Haider, Shyam
Sunder, Rafiq Gaznavi, Naushad, Khemchand Prakash, C. Ramchandra, ~nd
Anil Blswas composed and directed music for films which soon won tm-
mense acclaim for their fine musical score . New styles appeared, leading
to fast-changing trends in music-composition and soon their market ap~eal
brought about a fusion of varied modes which might perhaps be descnbed
as a kind of national integration .

The introduction of play-back singing around the year 1 950 opened a

new chapter in film music . The technique of lending voice to non-musical
heroes and heroines offered opportunities to a large number of male and
female artistes possessing voices suitable for the mike . Lata Mangeshkar,
Ash a Bhonsle, Suman Kalyanpur, Arati Mukerjee, p. Sushi Ia, Mohammed
Rafi, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Talat Mahmud
and newcomers Yesudas and Vani Jairam are now legendary figures and
the number of their individual recordings has surpassed all expectations .
Lata Mangeshkar 's achievement is indeed phenomenal. She holds a world
record for the number of songs rendered for films. They are estimated to be
more than twenty thousand . She has sung in almost all the Indian languages
and in addition to film songs, she has recorded devotional music and lyrics.
Her voice . is familiar in every corner of the country and popular in distant parts
of the world.

26
 The enthusiasm for Rock-Beat-Pop music in the west also influenced
the "composition" and presentation of film music in India. Large orchestral
ensembles of Indian and western musical instruments have become essential
ingredients for the recording of a film song, resulting quite often in a crude
fusion of the east and the west.

The demand for Indian discs in the international market has increased
steadily . The India-made gramophone record finds its way to every corner
of the world, the main markets being the U.K ., U .S.A ., the East European
Countries, the Middle-East, the West Indies, East Africa, Malaysia, Singapore
and Fiji. The orders from outside India for these records are so great that the
Gramophone Co. Ltd . could register a phenomenal r ise in its export trade.

For the broad mass of the Indian people, who are still burdened by
poverty, the phonograph is still an item of luxury. Its educational potential
has yet to be utilized . But its value as a mode of entertainment is generally
recognized . After all, a phonograph brings to the owner music of his own
choice and of the kind which is always at his command. It is undoubtedly
true that the invention of Thomas Edison and Charles Cros has brought
undescribable happiness to countless homes in this country .

27
A Concise History of the Phonograph Industry in India
Author(s): G. N. Joshi
Source: Popular Music, Vol. 7, No. 2, The South Asia/West Crossover (May, 1988), pp. 147-156
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853533 .
Accessed: 25/04/2013 19:34

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Popular
Music.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
A concisehistoryof the
phonographindustryin India
G. N. JOSHI

Though gramophones were importedin India beforethe beginningof the century,

this was done privatelyby a few persons who were veryrichand affluent.During
theirvisits to Europe and otherWesterncountriestheywould buy a gramophone
machineforuse at home because itwas an attractivenoveltyand a handy medium of
entertainment.In 1900 and for quite some time thereaftera gramophone was
considered to be a show piece and a status symbol,as only the wealthyelite of the
societycould affordto possess it. Phonographswere commerciallyexploitedin India
only afterthe establishmentof the officeof the Mutoscope Biograph Company in
Calcutta, on 7 July1901,by one Mr J.Watson Harrod.
An American,EmilBerliner,erectedthefirstrecordpressingfactoryat Hanover
in USA and began to provide a steady supply of records and machines to the
Gramophone Co Ltd,whichwas establishedin London around 1898.Untilthistime,
while a recordwas being played, a listenerwas requiredto rotatethe disc manually.
But the new invention of a springwound motor enabled the phonograph to be
played fora certainnumberofrotationsand hence thelistenercould sitat a distance
without having to crank the machine by hand, all the time. In the initial stages
gramophone recordingwas done by a process of 'zinc etching'. A zinc disc with a
smoothand shinysurfacewas coated witha layeroffaton whichspiralgrooveswere
cut by a stylus.The styluswas fixedto a diaphragmthatvibratedin sympathywith
sound waves of the song and music, sung or played intothe large mouthof a horn.
The recorded zinc disc was then immersedin acid forabout ten minutes and the
spiral grooves of music were etched on the surface.This disc recordcould then be
played back straightaway.
In 1901 recordingon wax was inventedand itbecame possible to duplicate the
matricesso thatlarge quantitiescould be copied fromthese. The process opened an
enormous fieldforexpansion. Around the year 1902,one Mr T. W. Gainsbergwent
to India to develop itsgramophonerecordtrade. On arrivalhe made varied typesof
recordingsby the available Indian talentand these records are considered to be a
landmark of great importance. Among the very firstartistsrecorded by him the
names of Misses Dulari, Gaurajan, Zohrajan, Malkajan, Angurbala, Indubala,
Kamalazaria, Goharjan, Jankeebai,Mustaribai,are stillremembered.Among the
males were Pyaru Quawal, Kalu Quawal and FakreAlam Quawal. The accompani-
ments forthese artistscomprisedjust a few instruments- a harmonium,a tabla,a
sarod,a clarinetand, withfemalesingers,a sarangiand bells. These recordingswere
then sent by Mr Gainsbergforprocessingand pressingto the factoryat Hanover in
America. The finishedrecordswere importedback intoIndia and, on account ofthe
fascinatingnovelty of theirfaithfulreproductionof a human voice, sold in large
numbers. In orderto persuade likelypurchasersto listento the recordsto the end,

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
148 G. N. Joshi

anothernovel idea was triedout. At the end of the recordand close of the singing,
each artistwas required to announce his or her name in English, as 'My name is
JankibaiofIlahabad' or 'My name is MushtaribaiofAgra'. These announcementsin
English by performerswho did not know the English language at all, amused the
listenersand helped to boost the sales ofrecords.The earlymachineswere black in
colour witha fantastichorn;a littlelaterthe hornswere made ofbrass and supplied
in various brightcolours. Gramophone machineswithsuch impressivehornswere
known as 'MorningGlories' and became a rage around 1907.
In 1908, the firstfactorieswere established at Belliaghat in Calcutta and at
Hayes, Middlesex in the United Kingdom. For the fast growing marketin India,
among the firstimportedforeigndiscs were comicrecordssuch as 'Laughing Song'
recorded by BertShepard. This record,and othersby Charles Primrosefeaturing
route-marchsongs, bugle calls,campfiresongs, Peanut Buttersongs etc., stimulated
huge sales and proved to be great money spinners. They were marketedunder
differentlabels, such as Pathe and RCC, but soon afterwardsthe Gramophone
Company obtained exclusiverightsto use, in India, the trademarkof 'His Master's
Voice.'
When recordswiththe dog and sound hornmotifappeared thetrademarkwon
fame and popularityunparalleled in the historyof the industry.It was printedon
millionsof recordsand machines in several countriesin the world. In India it first
appeared on a portablemachine in 1920; laterit was printedon the firstelectrical
recordproduced by the company. The abbreviation'HMV' for'His Master's Voice'
became synonymouswiththe GramophoneCompany. The name 'Gramophone Co
Ltd' was given to the factoryat Belliaghat(as well as to the present Company at
Hayes in England), but therapidincreasein thesale ofdiscs necessitatedmovingthe
Belliaghatfactoryto much biggerpremises. Thus was established,in 1928, a large,
record-producingfactorycomplex at Dum Dum. It assured continuousprogressas
well as fastexpansion forthe futuregramophoneindustry.

Technologicaldevelopments
The firstelectricalrecordingwas introducedin India in 1925 when microphones,
amplifiersand cuttingstyluswere used forrecording'masters'on wax. A round disc
of wax, shaved to a mirrorfinish,was placed on a turntablewhich was drivenat a
fixedspeed of78 rpm.A heavy weightattachedto a pulley,descending slowlyfrom
a cable wound around a drum, would rotatethe turntableat a steady speed. This
process ofrecording'masters'broughtabout a miraculouschange in the technology
of recording. The voice of the singers and accompanying instrumentscould be
controlledand a balance between the two achieved. In those days therewere no
studioswithgood acousticsand recordingengineerswere requiredto arrangeheavy
curtainson thewalls and thickcarpetson thefloors,to ensure thatthe sound on the
disc was neithertoo dull nor too reverberant.Lateron, studios were set up at Dum
Dum, Calcutta,Bombay,Madras and Delhi. The recordeddiscs fromthe studios at
these various centreswere dispatched by railway wagons, for processing at the
factoryin Dum Dum. This resulted,on manyoccasions, in breakagesin transit.But
despite this risk, wax recordingheld sway until about 1948. To minimise such
breakages acetate-coatedaluminiumdiscs were triedforsome time,but the weight
drive could not provide the requisitepower to cut the coated material,which was
much stifferthanwax. Thereafter, an electricmotorwas introducedforthispurpose.

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A concisehistoryof thephonographindustry
in India 149

Around 1950 came the revolutionarymagnetictape-recorder,witha frequency

response of50 to 10,000cps, which provided facilitiesforplayingback the recorded
material.The meritsand flaws of the recorded piece could be noted and mistakes
rectifiedby erasingthe previouslyrecordedattemptsand re-recordingafreshon the
same tape. This resultedin improvedsound qualityin the performancewithoutany
loss except that of labour and time. By 1964, even bettertape-recorderswith a
frequencyresponse between 40 to 15,000cps were introducedin India and facilities
were provided forstereophonicrecording.
With a population of over eightymillionand with more than thirtylanguages
and dialects the continentof India has a vast treasure of musical traditionand
colourfulfolklore.The company, therefore,had to scout for,and record as many
artistsas it could. The rapidlygrowingpopularityofthe gramophoneand the discs
demanded a steady supply of machines and records; this entertainmentmedium,
which was once considered to be a luxuryand a status symbol,now attractedthe
attentionofeven the commonman. Untiltheyear1925gramophonemachinesused
to be importedbut around 1928-29 cheap Japanese machines invaded the Indian
market.A couple of years later,dealers forthe Gramophone Company, imported
componentpartsofthemachinefromSwitzerlandand Japan.These were thenused
forassemblingin locally-made,cheap wooden cabinets.

Monopolyand threatsofcompetition
For over fivedecades the Gramophone Company enjoyed an absolute monopoly.
The British, shrewd businessmen as they are, prevented competition in the
gramophone trade by resortingto an ingenious strategy.In Calcutta, as well as in
othercentreswhere theyopened branches,theyappointed some of the prominent
and influentialdealers to float small recordingconcerns bearing theirindividual
names and labels. These dealers operated in the territories under theirjurisdiction,
selecting artistswho they thought were worthwhile from a commercialangle, for
selling their discs and arrange fortheir in
recordings the studios oftheGramophone
Company. The processing of such recordingswere done in the Dum Dum factory
and the pressed records, with the individual labels of the differentunits, were
supplied to the dealers. In short,these units became sistercompanies of the main
Gramophone Company Ltd. In Calcutta,Megaphone, Hindustan and Senola record
companies were floated;in Madras, Hutchinson; in Bombay, Jai-Bharatand King
record companies; in Uttar Pradesh Maxitone, Aerophone and Star record com-
panies; in Punjab, Jeinophone,Gulshan, and FrontierTradingCompany; in Rajas-
than, Marwadi Record Company, and otherswere established.
All these sister companies were floated at the instance of the Gramophone
Company and were founded on the capital of theirrespectivedealers. In fact,all
these different concernswere nourishedand fosteredat no cost to the Gramophone
Company, whose clevermove to cornerand keep under its wings all the available
musical talent and business throughoutthe length and breadth of the country,
succeeded verywell. These arrangementskeptthefactorybusy all the timeenabling
the Gramophone Company to enter into the gramophone world. A jeweller in
Bombay around the year 1934 started his own concern under the label name
'Broadcast'. He paid considerable fees to top highbrow artistsand released the
recordsin themarket.Being of a classical naturethese recordsdid not have enough
'pull' to be profitablebut discerninglovers of music welcomed theiravailability.

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
150 G. N. Joshi

However, thepromotersofBroadcastrecordssoon realisedthatthehighfeespaid to

the artistsdid not make the continuanceof the venturecommerciallyviable and
thereforeclosed it down.
Around the year 1938 another competitiveconcern under the name of the
National RecordCompany came intoexistence.The promoterswere Indian business
tycoons and they invited Japanese collaboration by obtaining machinery and
techniciansfromJapan.The nationalistmovementwas spreadingyearby year and
therecordcompanyenlistedthesupportofthenation'sleaders to back themin their
venture.Theyeven succeeded in securingthetricolournationalflagas theiremblem
and chose as theirtrademark'Young India'. Normally,the Gramophone Company
would not have been botheredby the appearance of thiscompetitiveconcern. But
Mr V. Shantaram,the directorof the PrabhatFilm Company, Pune, who was an
associate of the Gramophone Company, was coaxed away and defected to be a
directorofthisnationalconcern.In 1934Mr V. Shantaramproduced his firstcolour
pictureSairandhree.It contained several hit songs. Enterprisingas he had always
been, Mr Shantaramwent to Germanyto obtaincolour printsof his pictureand on
his returnhe also broughtwith him pressings of the hit songs fromthis picture.
When they were released on the Indian market these imported records from
Germanycreateda greatsensation,and it can be safelysaid thatthe appearance of
these filmrecordsopened up a vast potentialmarketforfilmmusic.
When V. Shantaramleftto join Young India fortheNational RecordCompany,
it shook the Gramophone Company. However, luckily for them the Japanese
technicians and machineryfailed miserablyto deliver goods of a standard and
qualitycomparablewith the high standardset by the Gramophone Company. The
poor material quality of the finishedrecords and the very disappointing sound
quality of the recordingswere very soon realised by customers at large, and,
althoughfor3-4 yearsthisrecordcompanydid good business, ultimatelythey,too,
had to pull down theirshutters.Then V. Shantaramrejoined the HMV Group and
the prestigeof the Gramophone Company rose.
Around the year 1932, Columbia and Odeon triedto enterand establishtheir
labels in India. Columbia was a Britishventureand Odeon was of German origin.
They had their own recordingstudios and engineers and they recorded Indian
artists.The processing and pressing of these records were done in the UK and
Germany respectively.Soon after,Columbia took over Odeon but later it was
amalgamated with the Ruby Record Company, which was established in 1938.
Later, in 1943, HMV managed to take over the Ruby Record Company and, along
Withit,also secured theentireColumbiaand Odeon repertoire.Afterthat,Columbia
again raised its head and being of Britishorigin, formed an alliance with the
Gramophone Company. Although it functioned administratively as an
'independent', the ultimatecontrollingdirectorateforboth the companies was the
same; therecordingsand pressingswere all looked afterin the studios and factories
ofthe GramophoneCompany thatfedboththe HMV and Columbia labels and thus
maintainedits monopoly.
In monthlyjoint meetingsof the Gramophone Company and Columbia, the
recordingstaffof both concernsdecided on freshreleases forthe ensuing months,
drawn fromthe reservesand recordingsmade duringthe precedingperiod. While
doing so, care was takento finalisethe issue of freshrecordsin such a mannerthat
bothHMV and Columbia labels would be evenlybalanced as to theirpotentialsales.
On the standard HMV and Columbia labels, recordingswere issued which would

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A concisehistoryof thephonographindustry
in India 151

attracta clientele fromthe upper and middle classes of the social strata. For the
consumption of the lower-middleand lower classes, the company issued records
suited to theirtastesand requirements,on cheaper labels: Twin forHMV, and Regal
forColumbia. At times, established best-sellerson the higher-pricedlabels were,
afteryearsoffairsale, transferred to thesecheaperlabels to retainthemin catalogues
and to obtain additional sales in the market.
The GramophoneCompany is now a publiclimitedcompanywithfortyper cent
ofits shares held abroad. Some timeback itwas investigatedby the Monopolies and
RestrictivePractices Commission and this, for the firsttime, put curbs on its
monopolistic activities.With the appearance in the late 1960s of another foreign
concern which had its origin in Germany and which also secured the help and
collaborationoftheDutch PhilipsPhonographicIndustryunder thename 'Polydor',
came a real and genuine competitivethreatto the Gramophone Company. Polydor
succeeded in securingactive and vested co-operationfroma group ofbusinessmen
in Bombayknown as the 'Patel Group'. The Patel Group was well establishedin the
tradingof cinema machineryand photographicgoods, and it also ran a cine-film
processing laboratory.The Group was in close contact with the film-producing
industry,and in the years 1940-60 therewas a tremendousincrease in the record
business fromIndian films.On accountoftheirclose contactswiththe filmindustry
the Patels managed to make recordingagreementsforPolydorwithquite a fewfilm
producers; in addition, cash advances were made to the filmproducers against
royaltiesforthe gramophone discs. All this resultedin a regularwar between the
Gramophone Company and Polydor forexclusiverecordingrights.
I rememberhow we set out to obtainlong-termcontractualcommitmentsfrom
prominent and outstanding cinema producers and singers like Shanta Apte,
Mohammed Rafi,Mukesh, Manna De, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsale, Suman
Kalyanpur and several others. Polydor,with Mr Patel's co-operation,managed to
make considerableheadway in the film-record business. Even so, the Gramophone
Company, on account of its verylong existencein the field,stillheld a dominant
position. Gradually, however, with restrictionsand curbs on recordingand the
exclusivityof contractualobligationswith the artists,the Gramophone Company
suffereda great deal in both prestigeand business. At present,I understand,the
prominent play-back artists are covered only by temporarycontracts and the
exclusivityclause has almost disappeared.

Expansionofrecordtradeand businesstactics
Afterthe noveltyofa recordingwore off,theGramophoneCompany, foroverhalfa
century,poured into the marketrecords cateringto various tastes of the hetero-
geneous population of this vast country.They tried to satisfypracticallyall the
differentand varied requirementsof music lovers. Whatever artistictalent came
theirway was grabbed by the Gramophone Company and the recordingsflooded
the market. On account of their monopoly, artistsby and large felthappy and
honoured at being recordedand did not press forcommensurateremunerationfor
theirperformance.When I was firstrecorded in the year 1932, I was lured to the
studios to record only two of my most popular songs. At the recordingsession, I
became so involved and excitedat theprospectofbeing recordedthatinstead ofjust
two songs, when the recordingsession was wound up afterabout six hours, I
discovered thatI had actuallyrecordedfourteensongs! These songs, when released

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
152 G. N. Joshi

in themarket,receivedsuch unprecedentedsupportthatliterallythousands ofdiscs

were sold. Artistsare by natureverysimple,sentimentaland temperamental.When
I received such a tremendousfollowingand public favour,I did not care thatI had
not been paid a single penny forthe firstfourteensongs!
Performingartistsin India were thenmostlyilliterateand ignorantofbusiness
tactics.They were carriedaway by the popularityof theirrecordingsand the easy
fametheygotfromthediscs. Afterthefirstrecordingin 1932,I continuedto recordat
intervals,ten to twelve titleseach time,untilthe year 1938,fora cash paymentof a
fewhundred rupees. In 1935,as a tokenofappreciationforthephenomenal sales of
myrecords,a gold-platedmedal was awarded to me forbeing a bestseller.The total
cash thatI received duringall the years of my careeras a recordingartistwas only
around threethousand rupees, althoughI had overseventydiscs to mycredit.Itwas
only afterI joined the Gramophone Company as a RecordingOfficerthat,forthe
firsttime,I became aware thatthecompanyhad, besides thecash paymentofpaltry
sums, another mode of remunerationin termsof royalty.The practiceof royalty
payments was a well-guarded secret and was offeredonly to big film clients.
Everythingis fairin love, war and business. Actingon thiswell-knowndictum,the
company managed to get recordingsfromartistson verynominal cash payments
and thus made huge profitsforthe principalsin England.

and changesin consumerinterest

The gramophoneas a trendsetter,
The gramophonehas served fromtimeto timeas a trendsetter.It is the psychology
of masses all over theworld to followa popular craze blindly.In India we, too, had
such waves of popularityin music: towards 1920,in Maharashtratherewas a craze
forstage music. The stage music ofMaharashtrawas based on Hindustani classical
music and great actors, and singerslike Balgandharva, Keshav Bhonsale, Master
Dinanath and Pendharkar,won a tremendousfollowingfortheirpresentationsin
the musical dramas. The Gramophone Company made huge earningsfromthese
recordsof stage songs. Around 1932,when I appeared in the recordmarketforthe
firsttime,I starteda new trendin lyricsinging.This vogue had such a tremendous
impacton bothurbanand rurallisteners,that'Bhavageet' singingruledtheheartsof
listenersin Maharashtrafora numberofyears,and I have been held to be a pioneer
of lyricsinging.
Stage music, as mentioned earlier, was based on classical music. Hence,
classical performancesof artistswith big names were also sought. Most of the
classical artistswere uneducated and theyheld veryconservativeviews. They did
notlike theidea ofputtingtheirarton gramophonediscs because theyfeltthattheir
treasureof artisticknowledge would be cheapened by such recording.It was not
easy to persuade such artiststo come to therecordingstudios. However, quite a few
ofthemwere recordedin those days when only78 rpmdiscs were produced though
theyfounditverydifficult to presenttheirgreatartistryin theshortspan ofthreeand
a half minutes (which was the limit of one side of a 78 rpm disc). Often they
complained about this. Around the year 1968, long-playmicrogrooverecordings
were introducedintoIndia. These were manufacturedwithplasticmaterialand they
were lightin weightand unbreakable.The performancetimefora single side of an
LP in those days was up to about eighteenminuteswhichwas nearlyfivetimesthat
ofa singleside ofa 78 rpmrecord.Itbecame easy, therefore, to induce thebig names

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 A concisehistoryof thephonographindustry
in India 153

in the classical fieldto record.In the interveningperiod of nearlythreedecades, the

general outlook had also changed considerably.
I may be permittedto mention here that I was in the employment of the
Gramophone Company from1 June1938forover thirtyyearsand hence by the year
that long-playingdiscs appeared on the scene, I was a senior Recording Officer.
Being a studentand lover of classical Hindustani music fromchildhood, I was very
keen on recordingas much classical music and as many classical musicians as I
could, forpreservationand posterity.Therefore,I decided to go all out to recordall
the top artistswho had already made the grade. However, the purelycommercial
attitudeof the Company many a timecame in the way. Whenever I would make a
proposal to recordsome distinguishedvocalistor instrumentalist, the firstquestion
the bosses would ask me was 'how many recordsdo you think,Mr Joshi,would be
sold in threemonths?'. My argumentswere along the followinglines:
In the firstplace, the clienteleforclassical music was bound to be farless than
thatforthemostpopular filmmusic. I had, therefore, to argue and make out a strong
case forrecordingparticularartistsand, on occasions, I had to verballyfightwiththe
bosses to obtain this sanction. My argumentwould be thatthe recordsmay not sell
even thirtycopies initiallybut that the records fromthe filmshave a very short
lifetime.On the otherhand classical recordingswould continueto be on the selling
listmaybeformorethanfifty or sixtyyears- and thiswould give muchbiggeroverall
sales than those obtained by the other records. And besides, where would the
Company get again artistsof such calibre and stature?Also, I pleaded that the
companyhad been commerciallyexploitingIndian talentsinceitsinception,as there
had been no competitor;ifI was not allowed to do these recordings,who woulddo
them?The bosses usually made wryfacesand toldme 'notto botherabout it.Leave it
to government agencies, All India Radio and other cultural organisations'.
However, afterheated arguments,on most occasions I had myway and I went full
steam ahead gettingalmost all the available classical 'top notchers'beforethe mike.
Between the years 1968 and 1973 I succeeded in puttingon record almost every
worthwhileclassical musician.

WhattheGramophoneCompanyfailedto do
So farI have describedwhat the GramophoneCompany did duringa period ofover
six decades. I would now like to mentiona few thingswhich I feela gramophone
company should have undertakento do. Perhaps, iftherehad been keen competi-
tion fromother concerns, this company mighthave looked beyond purely com-
mercial considerations. Lack of any competition, ability to sell anything and
everythingthat was put on the market,even regardless of some technicalflaws,
made the directoratecomplacent, satisfied,and without any enthusiasm to do
anythingextraordinary.It may be pointed out here, thatforthe same commercial
reasons the recordingstaffwas made to work under conditionswhich needed vast
improvementsand betterequipment.
Even the studios where recordingswere done almostround the clock,were not
acoustically up to the mark. The studio of the Gramophone Company, Bombay,
located in the heartofthebusiness sector,was noteven completelysoundproof.On
several occasions recordingsessions were suspended because of extraneousnoises
filteringthrough. Even the dragging of chairs on the floordirectlyabove would
cause an irritatingnoise resultingin the necessity to stop recording. It became

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
154 G. N. Joshi

necessaryto arrangeimportantrecordingsforthemorningor night,or on holidays,

when we were sure thattherewould not be such interference.As it was with the
studios so, more or less, it was withthe equipment. Periodicallybetween the years
1950 and 1970 we did receive new machinery.The local staffwere under the
impressionthattheywere absolutelythelastword in recordingtechnology.Actually
itwas laterlearned thatas newlyinventedmachinerywas introducedintothemost
up-to-dateand sophisticatedofficesin the parentcountry,the old machines were
discarded and shipped to the officesin India. Not knowingthatthese were the old
discarded machines we always feltelated. Polydor made headway in the market
because theirproductsused the latestinnovationsin recordingtechniques, attrac-
tive packaging, artisticand original and skilfuladvertising.This progress by a
competitivecompany probablyopened the eyes of the Gramophone Company and
whateverimprovementsthatare noticeablenow, are the resultsof the last twenty
years or so.
During the last eighty years the Gramophone Company did not pay any
attentionto buildingup a comprehensivelibraryof discs and tapes. The authorities
neverlooked beyond just a fewyearsand, therefore, a colossal numberofrecordings
of greathistoricaland culturalimportanceare not traceableeven now. One would
have thoughtthata vast organisationliketheGramophoneCompany, doing roaring
business would have had the vision to look ahead to the preservationand propaga-
tionof the cultureof thiscountry.Indian civilisationis regardedtoday as one ofthe
world's oldest, withan extremelyrichheritage.It is a verysorrystateof affairsthat
theCompany failedto preserveforposterityall thatwas thebest in theculturalpast.
The teemingmillionsof the Indian ruralpopulation are stillilliterate,without
the facilitiesto read or writeor even to have adequate means ofsubsistence.For the
broad mass of the Indian people, who are economicallyso poor and uneducated, a
gramophoneis stillan itemofluxury;itseducationaland culturalpotentialhave yet
tobe fullyrealisedand recognised.Realisingtherolea gramophonecould play in the
education of the youngergenerations,back in 1946-48,I planned the productionof
recordsof interestto children.A beginningwas made withthe release of nine-inch
discs, pricedlow to enable parentsto purchase themeasilyfortheirchildrenand on
subjects which would be of greatinterestand entertainmentto kids. The label of
these records had as its caption BAL (child) - BODH (instruction)- RANJAN
(entertainment).Bed-timestories,lullaby songs in mothertongues, and nursery
rhymeswere amongstthe firstissues. Witha view to puttingbeforeyoungstersthe
ideals and achievementsofgiantsin theliterary,political,artisticand otherfields,a
scheme was chalked out forthe issue of recordingson the 'Lives and lifeworks' of
such distinguishedpersons. However, the masses and the education authorities
were not alive to the introductionof such recordsand my experimentfailed.
A similarfateawaited otherexperiments.Mentionis made ofthemhere onlyto
bringto thenoticeoftheauthoritiesdealingwitheducationthedireneed, even now,
to consider making such recordings.Indian classical music was never taught in
schools or colleges or throughbooks. Duringthepast fewcenturies,ithas thrivedon
thebasis ofthe Guru-Shishya Parampara(master-pupiltradition);thegreatvocal and
instrumentalmaestrosthatthis countryhas produced were all tutoredorally,and
personally,by theirmasters. It was a process of continuous and arduous training
lastingfora numberofyears. When theytook over India, the Britishdid not care to
offeradequate patronageto the greatmusic mastersand thisoral teachingtradition
was neglectedforyears.

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 ofthephonograph
A concisehistory inIndia
industry 155

Withthespreadofgeneraleducation,moreandmoreyoungsters wereattracted
towardstheartofclassicalmusicbut,due tothelackofadequatefacilities forproper
and able coaching,theywerefrustrated. I had listenedto therecordings madeby
LinguaFrancawhichwereproducedfortheteachingofdifferent languagesin an
easyway.Ifmusic-lesson recordson thesamelinewereprepared,accompaniedby
informatory booklets,theywould be welcomedby customers.I enlistedthe co-
operation oflearnedmusiciansknownfortheirprofound scholarshipand,withtheir
help,prepareda schemeand actuallylaunchedit.Thefirst tworecordsweremade
and issued underthe caption'SangeetShiksha'(MusicalTraining)on Columbia
labels.Thisschemealso failedforwantofproperpush,publicity and supportfrom
both societyand government; I was advised to desistfrommakingsuch non-
productiveexperiments and to leave themto be tackledby socially-conscious
organisations, and at a morepropitioustime.It maybe mentioned thatin theyear
1964I1paida visittoLondon,and duringmystaythereI was pleasantly surprisedto
findthattheHead OfficeoftheGramophone CompanyinLondonwas maintaining
a separateeducationalrecorddepartmentforchildren.The vast repertoire of
children'srecordsthatwas exhibited was an eye-opener and I honestlyfeltthatthe
Gramophone Companyought,outofsheergratitude and dutytothepeopleofthis
country, to have done something forthecominggenerations. As it was withthe
culturalpast,so ithas beenalso withthefuture.

G. N. Joshi
Contributor (second
from ata recording
right) session
witha cineplayback
artist.
Photo G.N.Joshi
courtesty:

iv,
Away. :: MAII,-.
Mon
j-~
RVI"~;;-; :::i:l~i;~
'~i:_:i?

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
156 G. N. Joshi

Introduction
ofpre-recorded
cassettesand theirimpact
With the appearance of transistors,hi-fistereophonicequipment, tape decks and
cassetteplayers,and withtheall-roundimprovementin thestandardoflivingin the
developing countries,more and more Indians are now temptedto use these easily
available electronicgadgets of entertainment.The impact of alien music fromthe
West, or the East, has been so greatthatconsumershave discarded theirold likes
and are takingeasilyto thenew innovationsin musiccompositionand presentation.
Sophisticatedhi-fiequipment, although stillverycostlycompared to a few years
ago, has found favourwith a large numberof people who are now economically
betterplaced. Pre-recordedcassetteshave invaded the marketwithan astonishing
speed and have almostreplaced the gramophonerecordtradein theIndian market.
The easy availability,at fairlyreasonableprices,ofcassettesand cassetteplayersand
their very simple and easy operation have been the main cause of their terrific
impact. A cassettecan easily be carriedin pocket,and a playeris so handy to carry
thatone is temptedto use thesein preferenceto theintricateand heavy gramophone
and microgrooveLP records. This innovation of a cheap recordingmedium has
found tremendous favour and it is likely that it will spread very quickly. The
populationin generalpreferto enjoymusicofreasonablygood quality,recordedand
reproduced throughthe cassettes. They neitherunderstandnor much care forthe
finerqualities in recordingand reproduction.Therefore,the gramophonemachine
and the record,both of which cost verymuch more than the cassetteand the tape,
have a slim chance of survival.
Yet, although it appears that gramophones and discs are on the wane in the
Indian market,I stillfeeloptimisticthatthisis onlya temporaryphase. The demand
forIndian discs in the internationalmarkethas increased manifold.Indian-made
gramophonerecordsare marketed,and are available, in everycornerof the world.
Cassettes of the same recordingsare also available in all countriesbut since the
purchasingpower of listenersin those countrieshas improved,theypreferto buy
gramophone records as well as cassettes which are so very cheap. Orders from
outside India forIndian records are so large that the gramophone companies at
presentdoingbusiness in India could registera phenomenalrisein theirexporttrade
in comingyears. For the Indian people a gramophoneand recordsare stillitemsof
luxury,but it is hoped and expected that theireducational and culturalpotential
could be fullyrealised and utilised,witheconomicimprovementsand prosperityin
comingyears. The phonographbringsto the owner the music ofhis choice and the
music which is always at his command. It is indisputable that the inventionof
Thomas Edison and Charles Cros has broughtindescribablehappiness to millionsin
thiscountry.

This content downloaded from 130.132.173.237 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions