First Computerised Album of India

Alisha Chinai's album "Baby doll" was the first computerised album of India. The album was released in 1988 on HMV. Alisha's husband Rajesh Johri was the sound engineer of the album. Alisha is one of the pioneers of pop music in India. Popularly known as Indian Madonna, Alisha made Indipop history with her music album "Made in India". The album is one of the biggest selling Hindi pop albums of all time in Indian Music History. Alisha has also done playback singing in Hindi films. Some of her famous numbers include "Kaate nahin kat te", "Its Rocking", "Aaj Ki Raat", and "Ticket to Hollywood". Alisha won Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for her chartbuster number "Kajra Re".

First Folk Album of India

Ila Arun's album Banjaran was the first folk album of India. The album was released in 1983 and had versions of nomadic ballads from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Ila Arun is a popular Indian folk singer with a unique, husky voice. Her other popular album's include: Best of Ila, Choli Ke Peeche Vol 2, Haule Haule, Ila Arun Pop Hits, Main Ho Gayi Sawaa Lakh Ki, The Very Best of Ila Arun, and Vote For Ghagra. Ila Arun has also sung and acted in films. Some of her popular film songs include "Choli ke peechhe kya hai" from the film "Khalnayak", and "Moranee bagaa mein bole aadhi raat maa" from "Lamhe". Ila Arun won the Filmfare best singer award in 1993 for the song "Choli ke peechhe kya hai".

First Gramophone Record in India

First gramophone record in India was made in Kolkata in 1898. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented a sound machine which he called phonograph. Hemendra Mohan Bose, an Indian entrepreneur, imported the phonograph of Edison and made the cylinder record. The records were popularly known as Bose's record. Rabindranath Tagore recorded the 'Bande Mataram' here in his own voice.

The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd recorded the first Indian song in their Beliaghata factory in 1898. There are different opinions about the recorded song of the first professional singer. The inventor of disc record, Frederick Gaiesburg of Germany, arrived in Calcutta on 27th October, 1902 to record the songs of the native singers. His desire was to send these records to Hanoever, make them into discs and then sell them in Calcutta. He is said to have gone to a theatre hall on 5th November, 1902, and recorded the songs of Gaher Jaan. 

There is another version according to which the 'Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd.' recorded the song of Sashi Mukhi on 25 cm. disc in 1902 for the first time. The song was adopted from the play 'Sri Krishna'.

First Hindi Rap Album

First Hindi Rap Album was "Thanda Thanda Pani" by Harjeet Singh Sehgal, popularly known as Baba Sehgal. The album was a remake of "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. The album recorded sales of more than 30,000 copies. 

Baba Sehgal is an engineer by profession. His first Album was Dilruba (1990) followed by Alibaba (1991). Thanda Thanda Pani was his third album. His music video Dil Dhadke had the distinction of being the first Indian music video ever to be shown on MTV Asia. Baba Sehgal has appeared in the main lead in the Hindi Film "Miss 420". He has also given music for the movies "Dance Party" and "Bhoot Uncle".

First Indian to Compose a Symphony

Illayaraja is the first Indian to compose a symphony. Illayaraja composed a full-length western classical symphony in July 1993. The hour long symphony was composed by him in one month. Illayaraja is the first Asian whose symphony was performed by John Scott of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which is patronized by Queen Elizabeth and whose president is Lord Yehudi Menuhin. 

Illayaraja is also a famous film composer, singer, and lyricist. He has composed over 4,000 songs and provided background music for more than 800 Indian films in various languages. He has thrice won the National Film Award for Best Music Director.

First Musician to Receive Padma Bhushan

MS Subbulakshmi was the first musician to get Padma Bhushan (1954) and Padma Vibhushan (1975). She was also the first musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1974. 

MS Subbulakshmi was a legendary Carnatic musician. She was popularly known as Nightingale of India and was famous for rendering of Bhajans. MS Subbulakshmi was born in the temple city of Madurai on September 16, 1916. She began her Carnatic classical music training under Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and then Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. She also acted in a few Tamil films in her youth. MS Subbulakshmi was conferred with Bharat Ratna in 1998.

First Music School in India

Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar set up the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Lahore on May 5, 1901. It was the first music school in India. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (August 18, 1872 - August 21, 1931) was an Indian classical musician born in Kurundwad, a small town falling under the Deccan division of Bombay Presidency during British rule, presently in Maharashtra.

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was run by public support, donations from the richer classes and funds raised by the concerts of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. The school was a challenge to the traditional teacher-student method of training music where a student lived under the roof of the teacher. Many students from his early batches became respected musicians and teachers in North India. This brought a change in the way people looked at classical musicians. Vishnu Digambar returned to Mumbai in September 1908 to start a branch of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Eventually, the Lahore school was shifted to Mumbai after Independence.

First Woman Sarod Player of India

Sharan Rani is the first woman sarod player of India. Born in 1929 in Delhi, Sharan Rani is playing Sarod for nearly 70 years. In fact, she is also popularly called as Sarod Rani. Sharan Rani learnt sarod from eminent musicians such as Baba Allauddin Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sharan Rani has performed concerts throughout the world. Jawahar Lal Nehru called her "Cultural Ambassador of India". 

For her achievement in music, Sharan Rani was awarded the Padma Shri in 1968 and Sahitya Kala Parishad Award in Delhi in 1974. She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Hindustani Instrumental Music in 1986. Sharan Rani is one of the three women to be conferred the title of "Gems of Indian Music" by the Government of India, the other two being Lata Mangeshkar & MS Subbulakshmi.

First Woman Shehnai Player of India

Bageshwari Qamar is the first woman shehnai player of India. Bageshwari Qamar learnt Shehnai from Ustad Bismillah Khan. She was crowned Shehnai Queen at Chandigarh in 1983, the year she made her debut. Bageshwari has recorded a jugalbandi with Ustad Bismillah Khan apart from solo cassettes. She represented India at the Bharat Mahotsav at Russia in 1988. 

Bageshwari Qamar is the daughter of Jagdish Prasad Qamar, the only disciple of Ustad Bismillah Khan, who joined him as per the traditional Gurukul system. Jagdish joined Ustad Bismillah Khan at the age of 10 in 1946. He lived and learned shehnai at the Ustad's house in Benaras.