Voices of over 60 artists who left an inedible imprint will now be heard again in a digitised format, courtesy an audio-visual exhibition that begins here Aug 23.
Digitised versions of recordings by maestros like M.S. Subbulakshmi (1916-2004), Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (1872-1937) and other singers of the early 20th century will be available for enthusiasts at the 'Voices of India' festival.
The exhibition will be held at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations till September 5, and it will then shift to the Birla Academy of Fine Arts from September 7 to 15.
"Voices and recordings of a panel of 56 to 62 artists, including speeches by cultural icons, will be part of the exhibit. There will be listening kiosks and listeners can also hear them on android phones," Darshan Shah of Weaver's Studio, one of the organisers, told IANS.
Spanning a variety of genres like Hindustani classical, folk, theatre music and Carnatic music, the event will see an entire wall dedicated to 11 luminaries from Bengal. Prominent among them are pieces by Girish Chandra Ghosh (1844-1912), often referred to as the father of Bengali theatre.
"The exhibition will have memorabilia and rare photographs associated with the artists. Gramophone records, record players, postage stamps and coins will be a part of it," said Shah, adding that digitised recordings have been sourced from the Archive of Indian Music.
Kirtans by the likes of Krishna Chandra Dey (1893-1962), compositions of "baijis" (courtesans of Rajasthan, Varanasi and Lucknow), speeches of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945), Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) to the first recording of the national anthem by Vishva Bharati chorus will feature in the show.
