Hidden Stories: at Pune’s New Rhythm House, rare records and fading formats continue to forge timeless bonds with music

“It is a place where you may get lucky with a second-hand collection of jazz tapes, CDs and LPs. Such places have become endangered nowadays,” says Bhushan Bhagwat, a member of the Pune Jazz and Blues Club, who has been visiting the shop for eight years.

From undergarments to cassette sales

There is always music playing at New Rhythm House – ghazal or Hindi and Marathi songs during the day, and Indian classical vocals or instrumental after 6 pm. The shop was started by Parasmal Solanki, whose father had migrated to Pune from Rajasthan, a region with a strong musical tradition. Today, the shop is looked after by his sons, Rakesh and Rajesh.

“My father was working in an office. After his brothers said that they would work and my father should rest, he decided to open a shop at Garware Bridge. It sold undergarments but people used to tell him to get cassettes from Bombay when he went to buy stock. Gradually, my father stopped selling undergarments and began to keep only cassettes. Ashoka Music, his new business, was born in the 1980s,” says Rakesh.

He adds that customers would come asking for cassettes of singers, such as Mangeshkar, which used to be advertised on the radio. “They used to say, ‘Lata Mangeshkar ka naya gana launch ho raha hai. Woh cassette aaya kya? (A new song by Lata Mangeshkar is being launched. Has it arrived?’” says Rakesh. He remembers that when Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was released in 1995, there was a long queue outside the shop even before it opened. “It was only after the songs became popular that people would go to watch the film,” he says.

The Solankis bought the present property and moved the shop here 28 years ago. By the time Rakesh entered the business, it was the era of CDs. “Even today, people are crazy about music. There is a demand for CDs, cassettes and LPs among people who want a better quality of music than you get online,” says Rakesh.

Collectors’ items, rare gems

He holds up an LP of Jait Re Jait, a Marathi classic directed by Jabbar Patel, starring Mohan Agashe, Smita Patil, Sulabha Deshpande and Nilu Phule, It is a collector’s item and costs Rs 10,000. The price is decided by how rare the item is. The shop gets its music from distributors, but it is the children of collectors who provide them with rare gems.

“If a parent dies and the children are not interested in the music collection, they give it to me. They want the music to go to a buyer who will appreciate the collection,” says Rakesh, pointing to boxes that contain records that have been provided by families who do not need them. “The records are in very good condition,” says Rakesh. Two years ago, he received 20 LPs of the ghazal king Jagjit Singh. It sold out immediately. “After that, it was only last week that I found a single LP of Jagjit Singh,” he says.

The shop is a hub of many elderly music lovers who regularly meet here to discuss their favourite songs and memories of famous singers. But, every so often, it is visited by a young student who wants to understand music.

“We guide them through a genre by recommending songs they would like. Music is essential to relax the mind. Once, I had a foreign researcher who had a list of ragas and musicians. He told me that they were researching the effect of Indian classical music on the mind and body,” says Rakesh. So, although entertainment is progressively becoming digital, New Rhythm House will always stay open for music lovers who seek a better way of listening.