An Autobiographical Survey of Musical Influences
Recorded Music That Fed My Musical Imagination
Looking back at my four decades in Hindustani classical music, I never imagined music would become my vocation. By the 1980s, several successful artists were not from hereditary families, and many first-generation musicians, like me, first encountered this art through recordings. I heard my earliest recordings long before attending a concert, and by four I had made tentative attempts to imitate the three-minute khayal recordings of the great D. V. Paluskar. My parents preserved these efforts on tape, and I would later cringe listening to them. Yet these early encounters were the seeds of a lifelong fascination. My childhood musical world was shaped by 33-RPM LP records, broadcasts of All India Radio and their bootlegs, and cassette copies of the now-obsolete 78-RPM discs. Over time, my journey passed through many seemingly divergent avenues before taking direction under luminaries such as Buddhadev Dasgupta, Kalyan Mukherjea, and Irfan Muhammad Khan. Yet my tastes remain rooted in the music of my youth, filtered through the sensibilities instilled by my teachers. This anthology is an invitation to step into that world, tracing the recordings and influences that shaped my imagination and, eventually, my voice as a musician.
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  • An Essay on My Early Musical Influences

    • My Favourite Records from Age 5 to 11

  • D V Paluskar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Gaud Sarang | 78 RPM

  • D. V. Paluskar | Khayāl Vocals | Rāga Hamīr | EALP 1295

  • D V Paluskar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Lalit (1953) | EALP 1295

  • D V Paluskar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Miyan Ki Malhar | 78 RPM

  • D V Paluskar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Kedar (1949)

  • D V Paluskar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Bilaskhani Todi | 78 RPM

  • Hirabai Barodekar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Yaman | ECLP 2275

  • Hirabai Barodekar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Multani | ECLP 2275

  • Vilayat Khan (Sitar), Imrat Khan (Sitar) & Samta Prasad (Tabla) | Raga Miyan Ki Malhar | EALP 1946 (1962)

  • Bade Ghulam Ali Khan | Khayal Vocals | Raga Malkauns | EMSE‑104‑A (Box Set LP)

  • Abdul Karim Khan | Khayal Vocals | Raga Patdeep | EMSE 104-C (original recording - 1936)

  • Salamat & Nazakat Ali Khan | Khayal Vocals | Raag Abhogi Kanada (1964)

  • Abdul Karim Khan | Thumri Vocals | Raga Bhairavin | EMSE 104-C (original recording - 1934)

  • Abdul Karim Khan | Khayal Vocals | Raga Basant | EMSE 104-C (original recording - 1934)

  • Kishori Amonkar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Jaunpuri | ECLP 2326 (1967)

  • Kishori Amonkar | Khayal Vocals | Raga Pat Bihag | ECLP 2326 (1967)

  • Kishori Amonkar | Khayal Vocals | Raag Bageshri | ECLP 2355 (1971)

  • Kishori Amonkar | Khayal Vocals | Raag Bhoop | ECLP 2355 (1971)

  • Amjad Ali Khan | Sarod | Raga Darbari (1979) | ECSD 2824

  • Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan | Duet: Sitar & Sarod | Raga Shree | EASD 1296 (1965)

  • D V Pāluskar | Khayāl Vocals | Rāga Tilak Kāmōd

  • Brij Narayan | Sarod | Rāga Mārwā | Pyramid CD 13495

  • Veena Sahasrabuddhe | Khayāl Vocals | Rāga Miyān Kī Malhār | Rhythm House Classics 1987

  • Ashwini Bhide | Khayāl vocals | Rāga Bhopalī | Rhythm House Classics (1987)

  • Amjad Ali Khan | Sarod | Raag Miyan Ki Malhar | HMV EALP 1330 (1968)