India on Record: The Gramophone Years
- Swanandi Deshmukh
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
An exploration of early Indian gramophone records, uncovering forgotten voices, vintage melodies, and the sonic imprint of a nation in transition.
The Gramophone- Arrival of Sound on Shellac
The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison. Furthermore, Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory made several improvements in the 1880s, introducing the graphophone. This device utilized wax-coated cardboard cylinders and a cutting stylus that moved from side to side in a zigzag groove around the record. Parallel to the development of the phonograph and graphophone, a third type of sound recording and talking machine was also taking shape in the meantime. Emil Berliner, an American of German origin, developed a method of moulding the sound-carrying groove on the surface of a disc. Berliner was granted patent number 372,786 for a ‘Gramophone’. As a result, the Gramophone was invented in 1887. A method for mass-producing copies of an original recorded disc involved creating hard rubber vulcanite duplicates from a zinc master. This was the first large-scale duplication technique. Later, Berliner found that shellac was a superior material to hard rubber, and that is how shellac gramophone records were born
HMV- ‘His Master's Voice’
The Gramophone Company Ltd. was formed in London in 1898 and set up a disc reproducing and manufacturing unit in Hanover, Germany. The company adopted the ‘Recording Angel’ Trademark, which was later substituted by the iconic picture of a dog called Nipper listening to a gramophone. From 1903 up to 1908, The Gramophone Co. Ltd., in India (opened its factory in Sealdah, Calcutta on 18th January 1908) had been marketing Indian repertoire under GRAMOPHONE RECORD (7”), GRAMOPHONE CONCERT RECORDS (10”) and GRAMOPHONE MONARCH RECORDS (12”) record discs. Manufactured in Germany, they were issued as single-sided recorded discs only. It was only after January 1916, disc records labelled as ‘HMV’ with a picture of ‘dog and gramophone’ began issuing in India.
Did you know the story behind the iconic HMV logo?
Francis Barraud, an English painter, found himself the keeper of a few deeply personal relics after the death of his brother Mark: a phonograph, a handful of recordings of Mark’s voice, and Mark’s loyal dog, Nipper.
One day, Francis played one of those recordings. To his surprise, Nipper trotted over and sat intently in front of the phonograph, ears perked, head cocked and puzzled, as if trying to understand how his master's voice could emerge from this strange machine. The image was haunting, tender, and unforgettable.
Years later, long after Nipper had passed, that memory still clung to Francis. So he painted it, the faithful dog listening to the voice of a departed master through a phonograph. He titled it “His Master’s Voice.”
But when he tried to sell the painting, record companies turned him down. A confused dog and a machine? Not exactly good branding, they said.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Gramophone Company eventually saw something in it and bought the painting for £100. What they had unknowingly acquired was not just a piece of art, but the seed of an icon. Within a few years, the image had captured the hearts of music lovers across the world, so much so that the company itself was renamed HMV, after the painting that had once been cast aside.
From a moment of quiet grief to a global symbol of sound, His Master’s Voice became the face of an era.
Miya ki Sarang- A HMV record by Smt. Sardarbai Karadgekar
In an exquisite HMV recording, Sardarbai Karadgekar breathes life into the majestic raag Miyan ki Sarang with the evocative bandish “Tum Data Ho” in drut Teentaal. A distinguished exponent of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, Sardarbai’s music carries years of rigorous taleem and a deep allegiance to the gharana's austere yet richly layered aesthetic. Trained under Ustad Nanhe Khan, the nephew of the legendary Ustad Alladiya Khan, and further refined under the guidance of Pt. Nivruttibua Sarnaik, she belonged to a rare lineage that combined scholarly precision with emotive depth. A contemporary of the famed Mogubai Kurdikar, Sardarbai carved her niche with her richly textured voice and striking command over complex raags.
Click below to listen to the recording.
Miyan ki Sarang, a monsoon raga filled with a mystical blend of brightness and gravitas, unfolds in her voice with quiet drama. Despite the three-minute limitation of early gramophone discs, Sardarbai manages to convey the full mood of the raag, its sparkling meends, its intricate taans, and the dignified pace of the Jaipur style, all within the brief span of a single side. Her concise yet profound rendition is a testament to her mastery and the ability of early artists to condense emotion, artistry, and form into tight timeframes without losing impact.
His Master’s Voice, the label that immortalised this gem, played a crucial role in documenting and disseminating such treasures. With its iconic dog-and-gramophone emblem, HMV became the bridge between India’s rich classical traditions and the modern technology of sound recording. It preserved voices like Sardarbai’s for future generations, capturing the live artistry in permanent grooves. This recording is not just a piece of music; it is a time capsule that echoes the rain-drenched beauty of Miyan ki Sarang and the quiet brilliance of a Jaipur-Atrauli musician at her finest.
Odeon
Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. Between 1932 and 1938, the Odeon record label earned a distinguished reputation for artistic excellence, consistently delivering recordings of exceptional quality. It could well have been regarded as the leading and most enduring label in the Indian market at the time, and especially dominating western India through the Ruby Record Company and southern India via Saraswati Stores. Despite the growing presence of competitors like Broadcast Label and the Megaphone Company, during those years, Odeon remained unmatched in its superiority
A Tarana in Gaud Sarang by Bai Azambai Pisal- An Odeon Recording
On the rare and prized Odeon shellac disc (SB. 2127, 10", 78 rpm), Bai Azambai Pisal of Kolhapur presents a vibrant tarana in the luminous raag Gaud Sarang, set to drut ektaal. The lively bols-“dim tanom tanom tanatadena”- cascade from her voice with astonishing fluency, creating a rhythmic and melodic play that is both exhilarating and precise. A stalwart of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, Azambai cut numerous 78 rpm records. She was mentored by the doyen Ustad Alladiya Khan, Ustad Manji Khan, and Ustad Burji Khan, and also drew inspiration from the lyrical beauty of the Kirana Gharana under Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.
Azambai's Gaud Sarang is both calm and soothing, and offers a profound and divine experience.
Odeon Records, with its pioneering presence in India’s recording history, brought such performances to life at a time when live concerts were fleeting moments. Their catalogue stood apart for its richness and diversity, and this particular recording exemplifies that legacy.
‘A Thumri in the shade of Gara’- Odeon melodies
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
In this Odeon recording of "Jadu Bhareli Kaun", a thumri in Raag Gara, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan's voice flows like a soft breeze through the stillness of twilight- tender, intimate, and soaked in yearning. Rendered in Dadra taal, this thumri becomes more than a composition, where every phrase seems to hover delicately between emotion and elegance. Raag Gara, with its shaded hues borrowed from folk and classical traditions alike, finds a rare and perfect vessel in Khan Saheb’s voice, which is serene yet soul-stirring, understated yet profound. He lends the thumri a purity and emotional weight that lingers long after the last note fades. Gara opens a space where emotion and melody melt into one, leaving the listener wrapped in warmth and wistfulness. This recording stands as a glowing testament to both the magic of Raag Gara and the immortal artistry of the Kirana gharana’s towering founder.
Megaphone Records
In 1932, The Gramophone Co., Ltd. in India launched a scheme called the 'Private Recorders' initiative. Through this, local talking machine dealers and record traders were allowed to have discs manufactured by the company, but released under their independent labels. This allowed private firms to access recordings made under The Gramophone Company's contracts and issue them as if competing with established labels like HMV and Odeon. Among these, the most prominent was The Megaphone Company, which released its records under the label 'MEGAPHONE RECORD'.
Zilla Kafi by Ustad Allauddin Khan
In the early decades of the 20th century, the legendary Ustad Allauddin Khan, fondly known as Alam, founder of the Maihar Gharana and guru to a galaxy of maestros, recorded a rare instrumental performance for the Megaphone Record Company. A master of multiple instruments, Ustad Allauddin Khan most often played the sarod, but his genius transcended any one medium. Trained in the Senia tradition under Wazir Khan of Rampur, he brought with him not just formidable skill, but a sense of sacred discipline and musical wholeness. This recording of Zilla Kafi carries with it the unmistakable scent of earth after rain, warm, grounded, and deeply human.
This recording is tranquil and soothing, a piece to return to when the world feels too sharp. Ustad Allauddin Khan doesn’t just perform the raag; he embodies its essence. In this Megaphone disc, the listener is not merely hearing music but being gently led into a landscape of stillness and deep emotional peace. It is music that invites you to pause, to breathe, to feel the earth beneath your feet.
Final words- India's Gramophone Music, Records Labels and Artists
India’s gramophone era was more than just a chapter in musical history; it was the very echo of a nation finding its modern voice through a needle’s vibration on wax. It captured the twilight of courtly traditions and the dawn of mass culture. The shrill crackle of the shellac disc became the portal through which the rustic bhajan, the royal khayal, the romantic thumri, the vibrant natya sangeet, and the lilting folk song reached homes, hearts, and horizons once unimaginable.
The artists who gave life to this medium were nothing short of legends. Bai Sundrabai Jadhav, Gauhar Jan, Abdul Karim Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Azambai, Allauddin Khan, and countless others poured centuries of musical traditions into brief, four-minute windows of eternity. Through their voices, we hear not only ragas and rhythms but the pulse of an era navigating colonial modernity and cultural pride.
The record labels, The Gramophone Company of India (HMV), Odeon, Columbia, Broadcast, Megaphone, and a host of regional players like Ruby, Saraswati Stores, and Hindustan Musical Products-acted as both archivists and alchemists. They did not just press discs; they pressed identity, memory, and aspiration into the grooves of India’s soundscape. These labels battled, borrowed, and blossomed through the subcontinent’s diversity, shaping taste and preserving vanishing traditions.
In a country as plural as India, the gramophone gave sound to silence and permanence to the ephemeral. What remains today are these brittle records, fading labels, and magnetic voices, not relics, but living testaments. They remind us that the story of India’s music is not merely heard, it is felt, collected, and cherished -one record at a time.
References
Bajakhana by Michael Kinnear
The Journal of the Society of Indian Record Collectors- Internet Archive
Discogs website
Dr Ashok Da Ranade Archive, Pune
‘Gayika ani Gayaki’ by Dr Shubhada Kulkarni
Bajanaama by A N Sharma
Image 1-https://bajakhana.com.au/
Image 2-https://images.app.goo.gl/RCiYH
Image 3-https://images.app.goo.gl/shzVs
Image 4-https://images.app.goo.gl/WF8Me
Image 5-https://images.app.goo.gl/VdL28
Image 8-https://images.app.goo.gl/H7eSy
Image 9-https://www.discogs.com/release/28818157-Bai-Azambai-%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A3-%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B8-%E0%A4%95-%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%B0-%E0%A4%98%E0%A4%B0-
Image 10-https://images.app.goo.gl/PGXbL
Image 11-https://www.discogs.com/artist/2650787-Abdul-Karim-Khan
Image 12-https://images.app.goo.gl/sx5qx
Image 14-https://images.app.goo.gl/anifJ
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