The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This Indian cover advocated scrapping old gramophones, but what goes around comes around.
Who would have predicted that decades later, India would flood the market with fake horn gramophones?

Wonderful cover, many thanks Roger!

Take that old fogy to a charity shop straight away!

James.

Long before radio and television, gramophone created the first cohort of celebrities, in the present day sense of the word, with a nation wide fame in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. So strong was the following of the gramophone singers- distinct class of music persons in the presence of singers who very arrogantly refused to restrict their songs to 3 minute duration- that one film director in 1938 choose to make a film on the imagined romantic life of a male gramophone singer. Incidentally his beloved, the heroine of the film, was a gramophone singer too. I found an interesting poster of the film that I am sharing here.

The romance of gramophone in the sub-continent does not seem to have receded since the advent of gramophone age as informed by ghost of Gramophone Singer inspiring films in recent years.

Haha! How interesting and beautiful! Thanks.
In the other hand, thanks to the flooding of Indian crapophones since the eighties across Europe, I've been able to acquire some Hindi records to my collection. The machines seem to be sold always with an Hindi record on the platter, and unavoidably these records end in the record piles for sale. They are curious, and some of them really beautiful.
I have one whose label I cannot read, except by some words in English and the name LATA. I like this one... If colleague Sherazhyder would be kind to translate it for me, would make me glad to add a paper with the info to the record sleeve. I have but an album of ethnic records full of curious things... Turkish, Greek, Croatian, Nigerian, Hindi, and other oriental records.
This is the Lata one, the two sides: the first one is which I like most, a strange haunting melody in sustained "minor" tone... And if it's not abusing from my side, this other too:

The second record is kind of a radio theatre sketch with some singing. Bengali drama can be read in the label. It's pretty faded, I fear...

Inigo wrote: Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:46 pm Haha! How interesting and beautiful! Thanks.
In the other hand, thanks to the flooding of Indian crapophones since the eighties across Europe, I've been able to acquire some Hindi records to my collection. The machines seem to be sold always with an Hindi record on the platter, and unavoidably these records end in the record piles for sale. They are curious, and some of them really beautiful.
I have one whose label I cannot read, except by some words in English and the name LATA. I like this one... If colleague Sherazhyder would be kind to translate it for me,

My friend Inigo ! Very nice to know about the regional and linguistic diversity of your records. I can help you with the first two records in the voice of eminent playback songstress Lata Mangeshkar for the iconic musical film
Barsat ( rainy season caused by Monsoon) released in 1949 starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis. These songs belong to the early period of Lata and actually gave her career a great boast.

The lyrics are mentioned in Urdu language on the record and I can read it.

In the order appearing with your note, the lyrics on the first record reads ‘ Ab mayra Kon Sahara’ ( Now whom would I look for strength or support). The lyrics on the second records are ‘ jiya bay qarar hy ( my heart is turbulent).

I have added a poster of the film for your interest.

The script on the other two records is Devnagri used for Hindi , which is not used in Pakistan and I can’t read it.

Many thanks... That Ab Myra Kun Sahara song is which I like most.
Since then I've happened to look into Google, and I found lots of information on the famous film Barsaat, about Lata Mangeshkar and also about the duo Shankir-Haykishan... All very interesting.
I have another record by Mohd. Rafi, but now it's stored or of my hands.
I never knew this Barsaat film was so famous... Some say that its sound track is regarded as amongst the best ones ever.
And Lata singing is very good... There's something in sentimental singing that jumps even the language barriers, and although I don't understand what she's saying, I like very much the song.

The first song is what we call here a sad song, the second one is a happy song. The first composition has rich melodic content, the second one involves a fast tempo with a simple metre. Obviously anyone with a cultivated appreciation of music will prefer the first over the second.

It’s true that the role of music in creating an emotive appeal is primal. The abc or grammar of music is just about the basics. I do not understand French, Spanish and Arabic but I love listening to songs in these languages.

I am sure you are familiar with My Fair Lady’s song I could have danced all night, it will be interesting for you to listen to Lata’s desi version of this song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2mksy5eWxEY