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Author: Vikram Sampath Producer: Vikram Sampath, Ricky Kej Mastering Engineer: Michael Graves A book accompanied by a 3CD set immortalizing the stories, the lives, the magic and the music of the pioneering women of India. Without their brave efforts, Indian music and the music industry would not be where it is today. When recording technology came to India in 1902 with the Gramophone Company from London, across the country--North, South, East, West, it was women who embraced this nascent technology. Most of them belonged to the courtesan community--the Tawaifs and Devadasis. Circumventing the social taboos against recording and the logistical & creative challenges involved, these gutsy women went ahead and bargained terms and conditions with European agents. In just 3 minutes that a 78 RPM Shellac could hold, they presented a concise portrait of an art form as improvisatory and expansive as Indian Classical Music. Their records catapulted Indian classical and folk music from
