Chitra Neogy The Perfumed Garden

A first-ever reissue of a Chitra Neogy’s sultry rendition of this fifteenth century text, complete with sitar, tabla, & bansuri! After graduating from Calcutta University and Santiniketan with a degree in fine arts, Neogy moved to London and continued her studies in drama and film at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. As a way to make ends meet, she worked as a high fashion model and was introduced to photographer Marcus Harrison. Neogy’s voice piqued his interest, so he offered to record her. With only a microphone and book in hand, Neogy recorded the album within a day. Little did she know, Harrison added instrumentation and shopped it around to several labels before signing a deal with Pulsar records. After it was released in 1968, Neogy’s Perfumed Garden received critical acclaim, including praise from French ambassador Andre Malraux who wrote “I have never heard anything like this. Your voice is exquisite, layered and hauntingly sensuous.” Prestigious newspapers reviewed the album, one of which being the London Times, who compared Neogy’s enunciation to Lawrence Olivier, her range to Yma Sumac, and her sensuality to Eartha Kitt! Leaving the music industry behind to pursue dramatic arts, Neogy went on to perform in films like To Sir With Love, Lady J, Premonition, Eliza’s Horoscope, The Saint, and The Prisoner. She went on to make films of her own and now works as a professor of film at NYU.