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Indian Classical

Ragas that bend time, talas that structure eternity — the ancient living tradition pressed into wax.

Ravi Shankar recorded over 60 albums and performed at Woodstock, Monterey, and the Concert for BangladeshM.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to address the United Nations General Assembly (1966)HMV India pressed Indian classical vinyl from 1907 — some of the earliest studio recordings in the worldA raga has time associations — some should only be played at dawn, others at midnightThe Carnatic system uses 72 parent scales (melakartas) compared to Western music's 12Calcutta Records has one of India's largest collections of original Indian classical LPsRavi Shankar recorded over 60 albums and performed at Woodstock, Monterey, and the Concert for BangladeshM.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to address the United Nations General Assembly (1966)HMV India pressed Indian classical vinyl from 1907 — some of the earliest studio recordings in the worldA raga has time associations — some should only be played at dawn, others at midnightThe Carnatic system uses 72 parent scales (melakartas) compared to Western music's 12Calcutta Records has one of India's largest collections of original Indian classical LPs

Indian classical music represents one of humanity's oldest continuously evolving musical traditions. Divided into two major streams — Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) — it is a living oral tradition passed from guru to shishya across generations. A raga is not a scale but a personality — a set of melodic rules, ornaments, and emotional associations that govern improvisation within vast temporal and tonal space.

The golden age of Indian classical music recordings spans the late 1950s through the 1980s, when HMV, Gramophone Company of India, and CBS pressed the performances of living legends onto vinyl. Ravi Shankar's sitar meditations, Ali Akbar Khan's sarod conversations, M.S. Subbulakshmi's Carnatic devotional recordings — these LPs are now irreplaceable cultural and sonic artifacts. Calcutta Records maintains one of India's largest collections of original Indian classical vinyl.

Timeline

AncientVedic chants — sam, gandhar, and the seven swaras codified

MedievalHindustani and Carnatic streams diverge — Mughal court patronage

1900s–30sFirst 78rpm recordings — HMV captures legendary court musicians

1950s–70sGolden LP era — Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan record masterpieces

1960sRavi Shankar meets George Harrison — Indian classical reaches the West

1980s+Fusion and contemporary masters — Zakir Hussain bridges traditions

Notable Artists

Ravi Shankar Ali Akbar Khan Bismillah Khan Vilayat Khan M.S. Subbulakshmi Bhimsen Joshi Hariprasad Chaurasia Zakir Hussain Amjad Ali Khan Ananda Shankar

Our Indian Classical Collection

167 titles

Golden Milestones - Omkarnath Thakur Used Audio CD

₹399

VG-

Vishmadev Chatterjee - Vishmadev Chatterjee Used Vinyl LP Record

₹799

Hindustani Classical - Abdul Karim Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹499

Budhaditya Mukherjee (Sitar) - Budhaditya Mukherjee Used Audio Cassette

₹499

Bageshree • Rageshree • Gavati - Imrat Hussain Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹499

VG-

Ragamala: Glories of Dawn, Morning to Midnight Ragas, Vol. 1 - Various Used Audio Cassette

₹499

Santoor - Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Used Audio Cassette

₹499

VG-

Classical For Pleasure - Rashid Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹499

Morning Ragas: Volume Three - Various Used Audio Cassette

₹799

VG-

Sitar - Pandit Ravi Shankar Used Audio Cassette

₹799

VG-

A Panorama of Indian Music Volume 2 - Various Used Audio Cassette

₹799

VG-

Classical Vocal - Khansaheb Abdul Karim Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

The Elements - Water - Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

Reflections from Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana, Vol. 1 - Rashid Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

Milestones - Bhimsen Joshi Used Audio Cassette

₹299

The Elements - Water - Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Used Audio Cassette

₹299

Thumri - The Music Of Love - Barkat Ali Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹299

Evening Serenity (Vocal) Malkauns • Saraswati - Rashid Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

Shehnai Recital - Ragas Lalit and Madhmat-Sarang - Bismillah Khan Used Vinyl LP Record

₹2,499

Fond Memories - Sitar Volume 3 - Nikhil Banerjee Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

সুর-রঞ্জনী (রাগাশ্রয়ী বাংলা গান) - Ajoy Chakrabarty Used Audio Cassette

₹299

Shehnai Samrat - Bismillah Khan Used Audio Cassette

₹299

VG-

Raga Bageshri / Raga Sohoni - Bismillah Khan Used Vinyl LP Record

₹2,499

VG-

In Concert.. - Ravi Shankar Used Audio Cassette

₹499

View All 167 Titles →

Why Indian Classical on Vinyl?

Indian classical music on vinyl is the closest thing to a time machine that exists in recorded sound. A raga performance can stretch across an entire LP side — the raga unfolds, the tala cycles, the alap breathes — and vinyl preserves the spatial and dynamic reality of the tanpura drone, the resonance of the tabla, the attack and sustain of the sitar. Streaming compression destroys micro-tonal information that is essential to the grammar of the music. Original HMV pressings of Ravi Shankar played loud are revelatory.

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