Maihar, MADHYA PRADESH / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL / San Alselmo – California, USA :
Kolkata :
A day after Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s family in Kolkata urged the government to digitise his 100-odd audio cassettes, offers to restore his works started pouring in. On Khan’s ninth death anniversary, TOI had reported about how the rare recordings of the Swar Samrat faced the risk of being lost forever.
On Monday, Raki Sree Eleperuma showed TOI the collection of her grandfather’s recordings of bandishes as well as orchestra pieces. The audio cassettes are currently with Raki’s mother. “They urgently need digitisation. It’s not possible for an individual to professionally treat these tapes with the latest technology to ensure long-time preservation. I hope, the state government offers professional expertise to preserve them properly,” she told TOI.
Immediately after the article was shared on social media by Khan’s disciple Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, the legend’s California-based son responded. “I was so happy to see my guru’s son — Alam Khan – react immediately. He offered to get the recordings digitised at the Ali Akbar Khan library and send over copies if Kolkata chooses to open a museum. He also wanted to discuss this with Raki. Kishore Merchant — an art connoisseur in Mumbai — has also offered to help,” said Majumdar.
National Award-winning producer Sani Ghosh Ray was equally keen to chip in and help in the digitisation process. “These are part of our heritage. I don’t have any idea about the amount of money that is required to digitise them. But I’m ready to do my bit to get the funding for preserving this priceless collection. We just can’t let the recording get destroyed. If required, one can try to get crowdfunding,” he said from Mumbai.
Raki is happy that music connoisseurs are showing this interest in preserving a legacy. “I’m glad. I hope the government comes forward to digitise this collection,” she said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News / by Priyanka Dasgupta / TNN / June 20th, 2018