1927

This is the gramophone age: thumri, dadra and ghazal compressed into three minutes of wax, recording sessions in Calcutta and Bombay, and the tawaif tradition's voices made immortal on disc. Film is still silent — music reaches homes by record and stage. The Indian Broadcasting Company opens Bombay (July) and Calcutta (August) stations — music now enters homes without a disc. The record trade meets its first rival medium. Our archive holds 5 songs of this year — each page growing toward the most comprehensive account of its subject.