Putumayo Presents - India (CD)

Putumayo World Music's release India, is a CD collection that showcases India's rich musical variety, from classical and acoustic folk to Bollywood and lounge music. India's emergence as a global economic power has brought increased awareness of this extraordinarily diverse country's multicultural offerings, its music foremost among them. India's thriving popular music scene--an adjunct to the country's immense Bollywood film industry--is highlighted on this collection. The love ballad "Tere Bina," from last year's blockbuster Guru, was written by acclaimed film composer A.R. Rahman and features Chinmayee, the award-winning female playback singer (an artist who records the songs that actors lip-synch). Rajeshwari Sachdev's "Maavan Te Tiyan," is another hit Bollywood song from the film The Perfect Husband. Several stellar musicians display their Indian classical music expertise. Satish Vyas, represented by his song "Homeward Journey," is a renowned master of the santoor, or Indian hammered dulcimer. Deepak Ram ("Ganesha") is a virtuoso of the bansuri (Indian flute), while Bombay Jayashri ("Zara Zara") specializes in the Carnatic South Indian vocal tradition. The liner notes were written by acclaimed music journalist Jim Bessman and include photos by award-winning photographer Robert Holmes. As with its other country-themed collections, Putumayo's India CD features a recipe, this time by renowned New Delhi-born chef Suvir Saran. Saran is the author of two best-selling cookbooks and owner of the acclaimed New York restaurant Dvi. A portion of Putumayo's proceeds from the sale of this CD will be donated to India Foundation for the Arts in support of its efforts to enrich the practice, knowledge, public access to and experience of the arts in India.