Discover · Genre

Indian Classical

Ragas, talas, and the breath of living traditions — Hindustani and Carnatic mastery pressed into vinyl.

Ravi Shankar performed at Woodstock in 1969 before 400,000 peopleM.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to address the UN General Assembly (1966)A first pressing of Ravi Shankar's Three Ragas on World Pacific can fetch ₹40,000+Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort on Independence Day for over 50 yearsThe HMV India recording of Bhimsen Joshi's Raag Miyan Ki Malhar is considered a national treasureWe source original HMV, CBS and Odeon Indian classical pressings directly from Calcutta collectionsRavi Shankar performed at Woodstock in 1969 before 400,000 peopleM.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to address the UN General Assembly (1966)A first pressing of Ravi Shankar's Three Ragas on World Pacific can fetch ₹40,000+Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort on Independence Day for over 50 yearsThe HMV India recording of Bhimsen Joshi's Raag Miyan Ki Malhar is considered a national treasureWe source original HMV, CBS and Odeon Indian classical pressings directly from Calcutta collections

Indian classical music is one of the oldest living musical traditions in the world, comprising two primary lineages — Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian). Both are built on the raga (melodic framework) and tala (rhythmic cycle), and both place improvisation at the heart of the performance. A raga performance is not merely music — it is a meditation, a conversation with the listener that unfolds in real time.

Calcutta Records holds one of India's largest collections of Indian classical vinyl. Recorded primarily in the 1950s–80s on HMV India, CBS, Odeon, and Saregama labels, these pressings capture the great masters in their prime — Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ustad Vilayat Khan. Many of these recordings are impossible to find on any streaming service. On vinyl, the microtonal detail and resonance of the sitar, sarod, bansuri and shehnai are preserved with an intimacy that digital cannot replicate.

Timeline

AncientVedic chants and the Natya Shastra — the roots of raga tradition

13th–18th c.Hindustani–Carnatic split; gharana system crystallises in the North

1890s–1940sFirst recordings — Gauhar Jan, Abdul Karim Khan on 78 rpm shellac

1950s–1960sHMV India golden era — great masters recorded on analogue tape

1960s–1970sWorld stage — Ravi Shankar at Woodstock, Ali Akbar on CBS

1980s–nowSaregama archives and late-career recordings; vinyl revival interest grows

Notable Artists

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

Our Indian Classical Collection

166 titles

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

VG-

Mallikarjun Mansur - Mallikarjun Mansur Used Audio Cassette

₹499

View All 166 Titles →

Why Indian Classical on Vinyl?

Indian classical music is especially well-served by vinyl. The format's analogue warmth captures the microtonal inflections of a raga — the gamakas of Carnatic music, the meend and kan of Hindustani — in ways that lossy digital compression cannot. The resonance of a tanpura drone, the attack of a tabla stroke, the shimmer of a sitar's sympathetic strings: all are preserved with extraordinary fidelity on the best HMV India and CBS pressings. For collectors, these records are also irreplaceable cultural documents — many ragas and compositions were only ever recorded once.

Shop Indian Classical Records