Lakshmi Shankar: The Voice of Lakshmi Shankar [WPS-21461] an LP recorded and released in the US in 1969

Here we have a delightful LP of vocalist Lakshmi Shankar. She was born in 1926 and died in late 2013. She was the sister-in-law of Ravi Shankar and the mother-in-law of violinist L. Subramaniam, but these facts certainly were not the reason she was so beloved. I really think she had one of the most beautiful sounding voices in Hindustani music. Her personality shines through whether she is performing lighter fare such as thumris or for more "serious" ragas.

She did not release an enormous number of albums, but each one that she did release is full of lovely singing. I have three or four in the pipeline, mostly from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her discography does not stop there, however, and I encourage you to find a few of her later releases such as the one on Navras which I believe is still available as a CD. 

I have no doubt that there has always been and currently is a degree of sexism and misogyny on Earth, in India, and in the Hindustani Classical musical profession. It could not possibly have been easy for female artists such as Lakshmi Shankar to start and maintain careers. Family pressures alone would be enough to sideline several talented musicians and we are all the poorer for it. Lakshmi's granddaughter Gingger Shankar recently directed a film documentary about her mother Viji Subramaniam and Lakshmi and the hurdles they had to face in establishing their careers. Gingger came to my city a year ago to perform and show the film, but the event was cancelled at the last minute. I'm not sure if it available on DVD or a streaming service, but i look forward to watching it someday.

I actually transferred this one over a year ago. After recording it, the record and the album sleeve became parted somehow in my collection. I was not able to scan the cover and so did not post. A few months ago I ran across the empty album sleeve and reunited them. However, I put that LP away in a pile of LP boxes and don't have the inclination or energy at the moment to find it and scan the cover. Instead I am nicking the one I found on the web. Eventually I hope to post a better version.

side one: Raga Gunkali and Raga Madhmadh Sarang
side two: Raga Janasammohini

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT440
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24 bit, 96kHz FLAC file (468 MB)

(the highest resolution I am capable of recording)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (245 MB)

(after decoding into wav, can be burned to a CD)

320kbps mp3 file (99 MB)

(highest quality compressed audio file)