Track Listing

1. Zara Zara - Bombay Jayshree
2. Khwaab - Niraj Chag featuring Swati Natekar
3. Naino Sey - Sanjay Divecha featuring Kailash Kher
4. Shiva Panchakshara Stotram/Shiva Shadakshara Stotram - Uma Mohan
5. Homeward Journey - Satish Vyas
6. Tere Bina - A.R. Rahman & Chinmayee
7. Nagumomo - Susheela Raman
8. Ganesha - Deepak Ram
9. Vo Kuch - Kiran Ahluwalia
10. Maavan Te Tiyan - Rajeshwari Sachdev

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23820 in Music
• Released on: 2009-02-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
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 Dévi. 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.

About the Artist
Putumayo World Music was established in 1993 to introduce people to the music of the world's cultures. The label grew out of Putumayo clothing company, founded by Dan Storper in 1975 and sold in 1997. Co-founder Michael Kraus joined Dan to launch Putumayo World Music and establish a non-traditional sales division. Putumayo World Music has become known primarily for its upbeat and melodic compilations of great international music characterized by the company's motto: "guaranteed to make you feel good!" Putumayo's CD covers feature the distinctive art of Nicola Heindl, whose colorful, folkloric style represents one of Putumayo's goals: to connect the traditional to the contemporary. By combining appealing music and visuals with creative retail marketing, Putumayo has developed a unique brand identity - a rarity in today's artist-based music industry.

Customer Reviews

New, different sounds from modern India... and beyond!
"Putumayo Presents India"
(Putumayo, 2009)
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Not what I would expect from an overview of Indian music, but certainly a change of pace from the standard-issue Bollywood, bhangra and classical ragas we've come to know so well over the years. This is more of a pop-oriented album, but not one of those dreadful electro-dance fusions so often associated with East-West crossovers. This is a delicate, multi-textured album, with a variety of styles and tones, only barely moving into traditional Indian music towards the last few tracks. The various influences reflect the far-flung Indian diaspora, including work by artists such as South African flautist Deepak Ram, and Canada's Kiran Ahluwalia. Also included are a track by A. R. Rahman, who recently won two Oscars for his work on the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack. After listening to this album a few times, I was won over, although it's still a little on the slick side for my tastes -- nonetheless, it's nice to hear stuff that expands our appreciation of Indian popular music. Worth checking out, particularly if you are looking for something new, smooth and mellow. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To World Music)

Currently Ancient
The colorful tapestry of the cover drew me to this disc in surprising ways that I discovered upon listening, and not surprisingly, it has become my favorite purchase of this year in a short time. While retaining the forms of traditional India music and instruments (tabla, sitar) it combines tastefully with synthesizers, flute and guitar to incorporate themes of current and other cultures, specifically a jazz fusion style reminiscent of Al di Meola, ballads, to name a few, and the color interplay of the drone, highly melodic sitar and tabla, and spirited vocals that carry one away on a sea of pleasant wistful sonority. It reminds of me of being in Australia in 1988 for the Pacific Festival of the Arts and hearing the sitar when Fiji came on, wondering if the south pacific had shifted for a moment! All elements combine to form a holistic and spontaneously joyful music experience. To the extent that the CD cover and music within share these elements, their impact mirrors that of the sort of cultural olympics and realizing that Indian music reaches out far beyond its native land, even in the south pacific. How much the more so with this collection of tunes that embody the timbres of newer electronic instruments and current patterns while remaining true to its original form, distinctly native and embracing accesible trends in a meaningful way. Covering a broad swath, Putumayo once again delivers an important slice of the worlds culture on a disc. How fortunate as only 100 years ago people had to travel miles or be able to perform western music, let alone that from the other side of the world. The only thing I would have added is either a second disc or a companion album of pure Indian music, but that may not be what the label attempts to provide. There are plenty of sources for that, and so Putumayo is unique.

My new favorite cd from Putumayo
Putumayo has yet to put out an album that disappoints me. Every album from the label that I have listened to is pure bliss. PUTUMAYO PRESENTS INDIA is another gem and has quickly become one of my personal favorite albums from Putumayo. I have been on a Indian music binge after falling in love with the soundtrack to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE so it was obvious that I would gravitate to Putumayo's collection of Indian music. Granted the cd is short and just gives the listener a brief glimpse into India's music. As much as I like bhangra music, I often find the rhythms repetitive so it was to my relief to hear that the music on this compilation is more mellow. One of my personal favorite songs on the cd is "Shiva Panchakshara Stotram/Shiva Shadakshara Stotram" by Uma Mohan. I love the gentle percussion rhythms and Uma's airy vocals. The melodies is quite exquisite. My other favorite song is A.R. Rahmna & Chinmayee's "Tere Bina" from the film GURU. The melodies and vocals is what makes this song so enjoyable for me. I can listen to this wonderful cd without skipping a single song.