Abdul Karim Khan 78rpms

Abdul Karim Khan: A list of 78 rpm recordings

Songs reproduced from 78rpm sources in CD format are identified as follows:

* Chairman’s Choice-Great Memories, EMI CD-CMC 1-82519/20, vol. 1 [1994]

** Golden Milestones: Abdul Karim Khan, Saregama/RPG CDNF 150481 [2003]

[One side of a 7-inch disc plays for approx. 1 min-40 sec; for a 10-inch disc, approx. 2 min-30 sec, and for a 12-inch disc, approx. 4 mins.]

Rec. Feb. 1905, Gramophone Concert Records (Bombay):

[32 recordings: 15, 7-inch; 10, 10-inch; and 7, 12-inch records]

    1        7”         Bhimpalasi            - ab tum dhiraj dharo
    2       7”         Pilu thumri            – soch samaj nadan
  *3       7”         Des                    – paiyan parun sis nevaun
  *4       7”         Jogia                  - (jhaptal) ram hari ka bhed na payo
  *5       7”         Sohni tarana
  *6       7”         Bhupali                 – tum hamsan jan bol pikha
*7       7”         Tilang thumri          – paniyan bharan main kaise jaun
  *8       7”         Kafi thumri            – dadukha bole morva sor karta hai
  *9       7”         Sarang tarana
  *10      7”         Zila thumri            – more karat dharat gai bhagani
  *11      7”         Shankara tarana
  *12      7”         Jhinjhoti bhajan      – more giridhar gopal
  *13      7”         Basant                 – aindi aindi gail gail dolat
  *14      7”         Bahar                           – karson le aye gadua
  *15      7”         Jaunpuri tarana           - (jhaptal)

16     10”        Multani                – (tintal) kangan mundariya mori
--      10”        [Bageshri tarana]         - [not issued]
   17       10”       Khyal                            - (ektal) pyare ke gar lagun
   18       10”       Tarana                 - (ektal)
  *19      10”       Lalat                            - piya piya rat re papiyara
  *20     10”       Sarang                         - (jhaptal) ghan gagan garjat brindabani
  *21      10”       Khamaj                         - (jhaptal) sudhi bisri gai aj apne gunanko
   22      10”       Bahar tarana           - (tintal)
  *23     10”       Hindol                          - (tintal) mori ankhiyon men parat gulal
  *24     10”       Sugharai                      - (tintal) nanadiya more maike radha pujat hai
  *25     12”       Malhar                         - (ektal) karim nam tero
  *26     12”       Malhar                         - (tintal) barsan lagi re badriya
  *27     12”       Bhairavi thumri        - kana tore dvare basiya bajaye

--      12”       [Bageshri tarana]         - [not issued]
*28     12”       Dadra gazal                 - (dadra) tark ulfat bhi hai aur vasl ka ikrar bhi hai
*29     12”       Malkauns                      – paglagan de
30      12”       Malkauns tarana

Rec. March 1934, Ruby Record Company, Bombay:

[Harmonium: Shankarrao Kapileshwari, Tabla: Shamsuddin Khan,

Tanpuras: Balkrishna Kapileshwari, Dashrath Buwa Mule]

**31 12” Basant – (ektal) ab maine man dekheri

**32 12” Basant – (tintal) phagava brija dekhana ko chalori

**33 10” Anand bhairavi – ugicha ka kanta ganjila (Muka Nayak) (re-recorded twice later)

34 10” Sindhi kafi – (ektal) nacha sundari karun kopa

35 12” Jhinjhoti thumri – (adatal) piya bin nahin avata chain

**36 12” Bhairavi thumri – (ektal) jamuna ke tira kanha

Rec. Feb. 1935, Odeon (Bombay):

**37 12” Bhimpalashri – prema seva sharana (Manapaman)

**38 12” Sarparda – gopala mori karuna

39 12” Shudha kalyan – maundara baju re (drut)

40 12” Gujri todi – begun guna ga (drut)

**41 12” Malkauns – piran jani dekhi (vilambit)

**42 12” Shudha pilu – socha samajha naadaan

43 12” Mishra kafi – bavari dama de gayo

**44 12” Gara thumri – jadu bhareli kaun albeli

**45 12” Tilang thumri – (tintal) sajana tuma kaheko

-- Anand bhairavi – ugicha ka kanta ganjila (Muka Nayak) [2nd recording, 33 above]

-- Sindhi kafi – (ektal) nacha sundari karun kopa [34 above]

46 12” Devgandhar – chandrika hi janu baire (Manapaman)

**47 12” Bilawal – pyara nazara nahin

Rec. April 1935, Odeon (Bombay):

48 12” Abhogi kanada – bangala rangila mai

-- Paraj - we janji aye [test pressing-not issued]

Rec. 22 Dec. 1935, Odeon (Bombay):

49 12” Nari bahar – de hata ya sharanagata

50 12” Jaunpuri – prem bhaven jiva jagiya natala

51 12” Adana – bandhan va bandho re

52 12” Malkauns bhajan – atana rama payin man leeg vege

53 12” Khamaj bhajan – tari tari re ram rayi

54 12” Mishra Zhangla – (tintal) ram nagariya men kaise jaiyon

55 12” Gujri todi tarana – dim dara dina MP3 excerpt

**56 12” Jogiya thumri – piya milan ki asha
57 12” Karaharapriya – ramani samana ineveru (Kannada)

58 12” Saveri – inthanera chinna (Kannada)

-- Anand bhairavi – ugicha ka kanta ganjila (Muka Nayak) [3rd recording, see 33 above]

Rec. 22 Dec. 1936, Odeon (Bombay):

59 10” BEEN solo: Darbari Kanada

60 10” BEEN solo: Pilu

     61      12”       Lalat                            – bhavda banada jobana
**62     12”       Shankara                      – aaj suhaga
    63     12”       Gauri                            – atahi prachundana
    64     12”       Marwa tarana               – dir dir dir ta nom
65     12”       Patdeep                        – dhana dhana dhari
    66     12”       Darbari kanada            – jhanak jhanak va more

Acknowledgements

All lovers of the music of Abdul Karim Khan are indebted to Michael Kinnear, whose book provides invaluable information on all aspects of the singer's life, contemporaries, and recordings. This is the definitive discography, and a model for other scholars. A review of the book is given below.

BOOK REVIEW: “Sangeet Ratna: The Jewel of Music “- A Bio-discography

Michael Kinnear, Khan Abdul Karim Khan – A Bio-Discography (Australia: Bazakhana, 2003), 290 pages. Price Australian $65 plus postage. ISBN 0 957735553 Paperback 22.5x16 cm

     Mr. Michael Kinnear has published this book from Australia recently. Around 1973, Mr. Kinnear chanced to listen to Abdul Karim Khan’s gramophone records and was fascinated with the music. He then decided to write a bio-discography of Karim Khan. This book is the outcome of painstaking research conducted over thirty years.
     Khan Saheb Abdul Karim Khan (1873-1937) was a legendary Indian vocalist of the 20th century. Born in the village of Kairana in North India, Abdul Karim Khan left his native place in 1890, never to return. He spent most of his active life as a musician in Maharashtra. Initially he served in the state of Baroda state. He had to flee from that service due to his association with Tarabai Mane, a student who was also a member of the Baroda royal family. They settled at Miraj in south Maharashtra. He established Music schools (Sangeet Vidyalayas) at Belgaum, Miraj, Pune and in Bombay. He also pioneered ticketed shows of classical music. These were organized in order to collect funds in aid of the schools that he had established. He also served in the state of Mysore, where he was honored with the title ‘Sangeet Ratna’. This book traces the life of Karim Khan, and his pioneering work as teacher, researcher, and popularizer of Indian classical music. Half the book is devoted to his musical as well as personal life. His wife Tarabai Mane left him in 1922. She worked hard to set up careers in music for her five talented children: Abdul Rehman (Sureshbabu Mane), Champakali alias Champutai (Heerabai Barodekar), Gulab (Kamalabai Barodekar), Sakina alias Chotutai (Saraswati Mane {Rane}) and Abdul Hamid alias Papa (Krishnarao Mane). The separation was a big jolt to Karim Khan, and although he continued his career, his music changed after that, and became full of pathos and sorrow. He later married another disciple, Bannubi Latkar, and settled in Miraj. He passed away on a railway platform in 1937 while returning from a concert tour from South India.
     The second half of the book describes his gramophone records (discography). Khansaheb made recordings in two sessions – first in 1905 in Bombay at S. Rose & Co. – a place near the present location of Rhythm House, opposite the Jehangir Art Gallery. He cut 32 songs, each of 90-150 seconds duration. The singing on these early records is quite forceful and exhibits his skills at a very young age. About 22 of these songs were reissued by HMV in 1994 as part of the ‘Chairman’s Choice’ series. He then refused all other offers for recording. In 1932, however, Bai Sundrabai persuaded him to cut records for the German Odeon company, then conducting recordings in Bombay. During 1932-36, he recorded over 25 songs, each of 4-5 minutes duration. These included classical, light classical, Marathi drama songs, bhajans, Canarese songs as well as instrumental music for the Been. Michael Kinnear gives a detailed and professional discographic account of the records, along with label photographs of discs and of the test records that were sent to Karim Khan for his approval prior to issuing in market.
     This book also gives an historical account of several important events that took place in Karim Khan’s period. We have details about the lives, professional careers, and recordings of Tarabai and her children, Abdul Karim’s brothers Abdul Latif and Abdul Haque, his uncle Abdul Wahid Khan, as well as other vocalists of the period, such as Rahimat Khan Huddu Khan, Roshan Ara Begum and Saraswatibai Mirajkar (Bannubai Latkar)
     The book is lavishly decorated with a large number of black and white photographs and maps, as well as a nice portrait of Karim Khan on the cover. The back page shows Karim Khan in a recording session for ‘Odeon’. In 1973, in commemoration of Abdul Karim’s birth centenary, Mr. Balkrishnaboa Kapileshwari published a 900-page book on Abdul Karim in Marathi. An English translation was published subsequently. However, there has been no other books before this on his life, music, and records. Khan Saheb’s records have been reissued in LP and cassette format, and now on compact disc. This book will provide the listeners with an account of Abdul Karim Khan’s life, and add to their listening pleasure.

Suresh Chandvankar,
Hon. Secretary, Society of Indian Record Collectors
Email: chandvankar@yahoo.com