Dr. Suresh Chandvankar, discussing the history and current situation of record collectors and archives in India. Foto: Piotr Majdak.
Gramophone machines and records are over 140 years old. During 1902 to 1985, over 300,000 gramophone records were issued in India. These were released on seventy five different labels and in various formats. The records were not in production and circulation during the 1980-2000, era of audio cassettes and compact discs. However, over one hundred private collectors are engaged in collecting old gramophone records, record players, open reel spool tapes, audio and video tapes, films and compact discs. They also collect textual material in the form of books, photographs, articles and catalogs. Mumbai based 'Society of Indian Record Collectors (SIRC)' was formed in 1991 to bring together interested collectors for social communication. SIRC is working for the 'Preservation, Dissemination and Documentation' of rich cultural heritage in the field of audio and video recordings. Several outreach strategies and programs have evolved in past twenty years. With the advent of internet technology, access has become easy through several social networking sites, links and web sites. Several new issues such as copyright and aesthetics have come up in new forms. The presentation discussed the role of individuals in general and SIRC in particular in the issue of access for all. Ultimate aim of SIRC is to create a network of collectors in realizing virtual archives of sound recordings.
The lecture was organised in collaboration with the AES Austrian Section, the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna.
