Few Indian music companies can trace their origins to a conversation with Rabindranath Tagore, survive the collapse of shellac records, navigate Partition, endure political unrest and later reinvent themselves for the digital age.

Hindusthan Records has done all of that.Founded in 1932 by entrepreneur Chandi Charan Saha, Hindusthan Records emerged during a period when recorded sound was transforming India’s cultural landscape.

The company would go on to preserve the voices of some of the country’s most influential artists, including Tagore, Kundan Lal Saigal and Sachin Dev Burman, while building one of the most significant music archives in eastern India.The roots of the company can be traced to the bustling Dharamtola district of Calcutta in the early twentieth century.

Motilal Saha, founder of ML Shaw & Company, sold imported bicycles and gramophones at a time when recorded music was beginning to attract affluent Indian consumers. The arrival of commercial recordings by artists such as Gauhar Jan helped create demand for gramophone players, turning recorded sound into a growing business.

After Motilal Saha’s death in 1916, his son Chandi Charan Saha expanded the family’s interests beyond retail. Fascinated by emerging media technologies, he entered the cinema equipment business and established distribution networks for Zeiss Ikon projectors across South and Southeast Asia.A visit to Europe in 1931 proved decisive.

In Germany, Saha studied modern sound-recording techniques and began considering the creation of an Indian-owned recording company capable of competing with foreign firms that dominated the market.That same year, he met Rabindranath Tagore during the poet’s European tour.

According to company records, Saha shared his ambition to establish a swadeshi recording enterprise. Tagore, who had earlier participated in indigenous recording experiments during the Swadeshi movement, supported the initiative and agreed to be associated with it.

The following year, Hindusthan Musical Products & Variety Syndicate Ltd, popularly known as Hindusthan Records, was established. Tagore became one of its first shareholders and participated in its earliest recordings. The company’s inaugural release featured Tagore’s song “Tobu Mone Rekho” on one side and a recitation on the other.

Tagore’s involvement extended beyond recording. He encouraged women from respectable Bengali families to participate in sessions, helping introduce voices such as Amiya Devi, Amita Sen and Sahana Devi to middle-class audiences. He also recommended students from Santiniketan and personally approved recordings before their release.

The company’s fortunes received a major boost in 1932 when film producer BN Sarkar joined its board. Sarkar’s New Theatres studio agreed to have songs from its productions recorded and marketed by Hindusthan Records.The partnership coincided with the rise of some of Indian cinema’s most influential films.

As productions such as “Chandidas” and later “Devdas” gained popularity, demand for their songs surged. Records carrying the New Theatres elephant logo found audiences far beyond Bengal, helping establish Hindusthan Records as a national brand.The company became associated with some of the most celebrated voices in Indian music.

KL Saigal began his recording career there, while Sachin Dev Burman found an early opportunity after reportedly being rejected elsewhere because of his distinctive vocal style.”Hindusthan Records gave me my start,” became a sentiment associated with several artists whose careers were shaped by the company’s willingness to experiment beyond mainstream commercial music.

Alongside film songs, Hindusthan Records built a diverse catalogue that included classical music, devotional compositions and Rabindra Sangeet. Musicians such as Ustad Faiyaz Khan and V Balsara contributed recordings that broadened the label’s artistic range.

The post-Independence era brought challenges. Partition in 1947 reduced Bengal’s market size and weakened the economic foundations of New Theatres. Many artists relocated to Bombay, altering the geography of India’s film and music industries.The company also faced operational constraints.

Its manufacturing arrangement with the Gramophone Company limited the recording of material produced outside Calcutta, eventually ending its long association with artists who moved elsewhere, including Sachin Dev Burman.

Nevertheless, some musicians maintained close ties with the label. According to Sovan Lal Saha, son of Chandi Charan Saha, KL Saigal continued returning to Calcutta to record at Hindusthan Records even after establishing his film career in Bombay.By the 1970s, another transformation was underway. The company launched INRECO, a manufacturing venture producing vinyl records.

However, political unrest in West Bengal and industrial disruptions created financial difficulties.”I was up to my ears in loan and I had to flee from Calcutta,” Sovan Lal Saha recalled in later years, describing the pressures faced by the business during that period.

The emergence of cassette technology further disrupted traditional record companies. Piracy compounded the industry’s challenges, forcing many established firms to rethink their business models.Ironically, another technological revolution helped revive the company.

The rise of mobile phones created demand for ringtones, providing a new source of revenue. Sovan Lal Saha said the income allowed the company to recover financially and rebuild operations.In the digital era, Hindusthan Records again adapted. It digitised its catalogue, launched a YouTube presence and repackaged archival material for contemporary audiences.

Historical recordings were combined with educational content exploring Bengali theatre, classical music traditions and devotional culture.The company’s latest expansion moved beyond music altogether. In January 2026, Hindusthan Records entered publishing, launching books on Bengali theatre history, Kali worship traditions and the stories behind Tagore’s recordings.

Music lovers visiting the Kolkata Book Fair were able to purchase decades-old recordings preserved on modern digital storage devices, a striking contrast to the shellac discs that first carried the company’s music nearly a century ago.

For Hindusthan Records, survival has depended on a repeated willingness to adapt. From gramophones and shellac records to vinyl, cassettes, mobile phones, YouTube and publishing, the company has repeatedly reinvented itself while preserving a significant part of India’s musical heritage.