NASA Chose This Indian Classical Singer's Voice to Represent Humanity in Space
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Long before India had satellites in space, one Indian singer had already earned a place on NASA's most ambitious mission beyond our Solar System.
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Her name was Kesarbai Kerkar. Born in the tiny village of Keri in Goa, she rose to become one of India's greatest Hindustani classical vocalists.
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Breaking free from the devdasi tradition in the early 1900s, Kesarbai dedicated her life to music and became the finest exponent of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
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After years of training under several maestros, she spent 25 years learning from the legendary Alladiya Khan, mastering one of Indian classical music's most demanding styles.
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Her brilliance earned her the title 'Surshri' from Rabindranath Tagore, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Padma Bhushan, and admiration across India.
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Ethnomusicologist Robert E Brown considered her Raag Bhairavi recording, 'Jaat Kahan Ho', among the finest examples of Indian classical music ever recorded.
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So when NASA created the Golden Record for Voyager 1 in 1977, Brown recommended Kesarbai's recording as India's musical contribution to humanity's message.
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Curated by astronomer Carl Sagan, the Golden Record featured masterpieces by Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. Kesarbai's was the only Indian song included.
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Tragically, Kesarbai passed away in 1977, the same year Voyager 1 was launched. She never knew her voice had begun its journey into deep space.
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Today, Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object in existence. Nearly 50 years later, Kesarbai Kerkar's voice is still travelling through interstellar space.
Photo Credit : NASA Science
From a small Goan village to the edge of the cosmos, Kesarbai Kerkar became one of humanity's musical ambassadors — her voice carrying India's legacy among the stars.
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Source: The Better India
