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Sawf Treasure Trove of Classical Music By Rajan P. Parrikar Rajan P. Parrikar is a recognized expert on Indian Classical music and shares his knowledge freely with those interested in the subject. He has written a series of articles on Classical Indian Music some of which have been archived on Sawf. Click here to read Rajan's earlier articles.

Rajan P. Parrikar

Namashkar.

Incredulous though it sounds, only a small fraction of the recorded music of India's great masters of yesteryear has been published commercially. A large body of mehfil recordings lies outside of public view, in the hands of private collectors, unavailable to the common rasika. These national treasures ought not to be any collector's fief. Even in the happy instance where a collector is willing to part with his holdings there obtains the familiar logjam: copyright and related legalese are a fact of contemporary life. It is, therefore, unlikely that these treasures will see the light of day anytime soon.

On this page Sawf will bring to you, intermittently, snapshots (alas!) of old recordings, most of them unpublished and hard-to-find. Several of these recordings are documents of live performances and therefore may not have the kind of audio clarity obtained in a studio setting. It is hoped that you will look beyond the uneven, fractured sound and the hiss. If you don't, it is your loss.

Warm regards,
Rajan P. Parrikar

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