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AIR?s rare at book fair
THE MELLIFLUOUS Begum Akhtar and MS Subbulakshmi are charming visitors at the ongoing National Book Fair. Stalls put up by the All India Radio selling music cassettes and CDs at the book fair is quite a crowd-puller with some of the rarest studio recordings and tracks. Some albums selling like hot cakes are tracks of Begum Akhtar and those in the Bhajanavali series. AIR official at the stall, Shankar, said, ?We have a rare and original collection of some of the finest music of the country.
THE MELLIFLUOUS Begum Akhtar and MS Subbulakshmi are charming visitors at the ongoing National Book Fair. Stalls put up by the All India Radio selling music cassettes and CDs at the book fair is quite a crowd-puller with some of the rarest studio recordings and tracks.
Some albums selling like hot cakes are tracks of Begum Akhtar and those in the Bhajanavali series. AIR official at the stall, Shankar, said, “We have a rare and original collection of some of the finest music of the country. One should take note of the fact that these are original tracks as in they were recorded when these artistes used to perform at the AIR studios.
They are not recorded using the latest digital technology so they give a rustic feel.”
He adds, “It is always a pleasure to sell these tracks here. Music lovers are appreciative of the collection and are spending lavishly on this fine collection.”
Bhajanavali, one of the highest selling tracks, consists of bhajans sung by the likes of Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Pt Rajan Mishra PT Sajan Mishra and Pt Jasraj. Pt Kumar Gandharva’s vocal collection is also making its presence felt at the fair.
Bharat Ratna awardee MS Subbulakshmi’s and musical Begum Akhtar’s recordings, in two volumes are making waves too. Instrumental tracks like Pt VG Jog’s violin, Pt Nikhil Banerjee’s Sitar, Ustad Allauddin Khan’s Sarod and Dagar Brothers Dhrupad are also available.
The CDs are priced at Rs 195 each while cassettes are priced at Rs 95 each. Moreover, at the fair, they are available at a discount of 20%. Besides the fair, these CDs and cassettes are available at the library of AIR.
