Journalism of Courage
From being confined to storerooms to finding a new pride of place in many homes,gramophones,radiograms and spool recorders are getting a new lease of life
Its past 9 oclock in the evening. At Dr Prakash Kamats residence,old melodies like Aayega Aanewala from Mahal,Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki from Dulari and Chup Chup Khade Ho from Badi Behen fill the air. But what adds to the overall feel of such songs is the fact they are being played on the gramophone,on vinyl records. Such is the magic of these oltime black discs,the purity of sound and the refined quality of each and every beat,that they take you to a different era.
Dr Kamats collection of 11,000 records got him an entry into the Limca Book of Records in 2001. In different shapes,sizes and colours,the records that he has collected are from more than 25 countries. Besides Hindi,Marathi and English songs,Kamat also has rare records which contain speeches of Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru,Indira Gandhi,Ravindranath Tagore and Subhashchandra Bose. It was my father who bought a gramophone in 1963,for Rs 2500. The sound quality is still refreshing, says Dr Kamat.
Despite his fondness for old-time music players,Kamat also listens to music on CDs and MP3s. With gramophone,one has to physically get up and change the record if you want to listen to a different song. But with new-age technology,you can have all the songs of your choice in one CD and let it play continuously, says he.
Till today,Kamat has held seven exhibitions,wherein he displayed his gramophone records collection. Under his musical institution,Survihar,he has organised more than 75 programmes,where a large variety of songs are played on the gramophone for music enthusiasts. Kamat possesses five key-operated gramophones (turntable),three record players and four radiograms. He says,One of these radiograms was gifted to me by late Marathi stage actor and singer Jyotsna Bhole.
Fifty-two-year-old Jawahar Naik inherited his inclination towards music from his parents. A bachelor,Naik stays with his 85-year-old mother Hira Naik,who is also a die-hard fan of singers like Khursheed Bano and Begum Para. Naik has retained his fathers gramophone,which is still in working condition. Besides,he has a radiogram,a spool recorder and a radio,all bought in the 1970s. Whenever he plays radio,he listens to only Radio Ceylon. So much is his love for old melodies that in the past three decades,his radio station indicator has not moved from SW2-25M-band. He puts on the radio at 7 in the morning and after hearing K L Saigals song,which is played at exactly three minutes to 8 oclock,he puts it off. In the evening,I play the gramophone or radiogram and listen to songs by Suraiyya,Noor Jehan,Shamshad Begum and other such with great voices.
Naik has more than 5000 records - dating from 1928 to 1960 his collection includes movies like Alam Ara,Bandhan,Jhoola,Kangan and much more. Working as in-charge president,Consumer District Forum and Ex Civil Judge (JDJMFC),Naik is a regular visitor at Bhendi Bazaar,Mumbai on Fridays,from where he picks up rare records and spare parts of old music players.
Almost everyone must have seen the Rajesh Khanna starrer Anand. And the everlasting dialogue,”Babu Moshai,Zindagi Aur Maut ke Khel Mein Hum Sab Katputhli Hain” playing in the spool recorder has stayed in our hearts. The spool recorders may have disappeared from the market,but for a select few,the love affair with such masterpieces still continues. A businessman,34-year-old Mandar Vaidya owes his immense knowledge of music to his father. He was in search of a spool recorder for a very long time but could not buy it because of its non-availability in the market.
Finally,he was able to buy a second-hand spool recorder in 2004 for Rs 3500. Presently,he has a collection of around 40 spool tapes,which includes live concert recordings of Pandit Jasraj,Late Gangubai Hangal,Pandit Jeetendra Abhisheki,Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and many more. I usually play these spool tapes in late evenings. The sound quality is amazingly warm and clear and when these tapes are on,you get the feeling of attending a live concert, says Vaidya.
