With vintage gramophones, thumri records and Rafi remixes, of the record is not just another exhibition held in ritzy art galleries. Kareena N Gianani finds out the mood and mystery on display
If Awara’s record cover (the one with Nargis’s photograph tucked into the hem of Raj Kapoor’s trousers) takes you back to the 1950s and your lips sync to Begam Akhtar’s ghazals, you are probably having the most nostalgic experience of your life at the Birla Academy of Art & Culture. The exhibition of the record spans through hundred years of music and recorded sound in India.
Curated by music lover Kushal Gopalka, the exhibition showcases famous albums from each decade including film music, ghazals, thumris and devotional songs.
As you enter, on display are photographs and literature on the invention of the phonograph — the precursor of the gramophone. The sepia-tinted photograph of a recording with an orchestra and a single microphone are sure to make you gape at the contrast from today’s swanky recording studios.
Glance to your right and you’ll see early 1900 records by Mirza Ghalib, thumri by Gauhar Jaan and the celebrated Marathi singer-actor Bal Gandharva.
“Collecting old records is simple. The challenge lies in maintaining and showcasing it with due respect. This exhibition is not only for music lovers — everyone should know where our music came from,” says Gopalka.The exhibition bears testimony to this.
Apart from film records, the exhibition displays crisp, yellowing record covers, the evolution of the gramophone disc and varieties of vinyl records — opera, folk, Haryanvi, Jain, tributes ,poetry and famous speeches. An assortment of plastic records, ad jingles records, private recordings, coloured LPs and cassettes jostle for attention and space.
In a corner, the listening booths play Barkatullah Khan and Gauhar Khan’s melodies. Don’t do a double take if you spot remix versions of Mohe panghat pe by Indu Bala and Chal udja re panchhi by Talat Mehmood. Popularly known as ‘version music’, these recordings were a popular phenomenon.
Look closer at a few records and you’ll see two different logos — a dog represented records for Hindus andan angel for Muslim listeners — a market strategy used by many record companies back then. There’s more. Lovers of retro can get a glimpse of vintage audio equipment — an HMVmodel 102D gramophone from 1930, a Philips radiogram and a model 808 Drum machine.
Gopalka also showcases instruments used in songs you’ve loved. The dholak that beat through Inhi logon ne and the kadtal that rang through Jai jai shiv shankar are on display intheir full glory.
Throughout the duration of the show, every evening, musicians, writers and sound engineers will conduct talks on sound recording, lyrics, rhythm, percussion instruments et al. As for Gopalka, he wants visitors to take home memories of legacy and nostalgia.
The exhibition is on till Sunday, September 9 at the Birla Academy of Art & Culture from 10.30am to 6.30pm
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