The All India Radio office here was unusually crowded on Wednesday with stalls full of CDs and DVDs of classical performances doing brisk business. Doordarshan and Akashvani, the country's public service broadcasters, have dug into their vast archives to bring out digital versions of performances by musicians and dancers. The latest releases include an audio CD and a DVD of Carnatic musician and violinist Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Other DVDs, that were released on Wednesday, include one featuring religious discourses by Velukkudi Krishnan and another on Kuchipudi by dancer Alekhya Punjala.

         "The archives is one of the greatest contributions from AIR and DD," said P V Krishnamoorthy, former director general of Doordarshan. Archiving got priority in AIR with the need to preserve Mahatma Gandhi's prayer speeches, he said after releasing the new set of CDs and DVDs that are available for sale at AIR and Doordarshan offices. AIR has released around 80 CDs so far while Doordarshan has brought out around 100 titles and is going strong with plans to digitise tapes and bring out more DVDs. Jayaraman's DVD started with a small introduction about his art by his daughter and artiste Lalgudi G J R Vijayalakshmi. "We owe it to AIR and DD for making Carnatic music internationally popular," said the musician, who acceptance speech was read out by his son Lalgudi G J R Krishnan.

        The artiste recalled how he grew up with AIR, listening to performances by veteran artists when he was in his village, Lalgudi. "I used to listen to programmes on a public radio. Then I would rush home to practice what I heard and learn the songs." Jayaraman did his first radio solo concert in 1947 at the age of 17. "I remember taking a train to Tiruchi from Lalgudi. It is a 64-year-old association," he said. When private television channels are mostly showing commercially viable programming, AIR and DD are still helping to develop classical music, he said. Bharatanatyam artiste Padma Subramanyam said the DVDs give her an opportunity to watch programmes in full. "I also request DD to create a library and open it up for researchers and those interested in arts," she added.

|||||| Thank you for your interest.||||||