Antique shops witness resurgence in Mumbai's love for cassettes of B'wood music
Updated On: 21 October, 2023 02:06 PM IST | Mumbai | Nascimento Pinto
As the world celebrates Cassette Week from October 15 – October 21, mid-day took a walk down Mumbai’s IT street and spoke to a few audio cassette sellers and asked them, ‘Do people even buy audio cassettes anymore?’ Surprisingly the answer is yes, but they are only purchased by collectors and youngsters, listening to old Bollywood music
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Atiqurrahman has at least 200 - 250 cassettes at his small shop in New Kantwadi on Perry Cross Road in Bandra. Photo Courtesy: Nascimento Pinto
Atiqurrahman is busy rearranging the items in his shop. He is probably busy thinking about where he has to go the next day when we chance upon him in New Kantwadi off Perry Cross Road in Bandra. It is because his small shop, which houses over 1,000 different items shines like a bright beacon of light for antiques. It includes knick-knacks and curios, along with statues, as well as posters and photo frames of the likes of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder’s ‘Into The Wild’ movie, as well as vinyls of music from ‘Prem Bandhan’ and a Sridevi movie. It gets even more interesting as we not only spot CDs but also audio cassettes. The latter, a rarity today in homes unlike 20 years ago is neatly stacked next to a pile of books while doing a balancing act at the edge of the small table. "Recently, a man came and picked up 1,200 cassettes from me," says the Mumbaikar proudly.
The world is celebrating Cassette Week from October 15 - October 21 this week. Interestingly, over 60 years after the audio cassette was invented by Dutch engineer and inventor Lou Ottens in 1962. Even after all these years, and Ottens’s passing March 2021, it still manages to attract the attention of a small number of people, who keep coming back for it and Atiqurrahman is one to cater to them.
Collecting cassettes in the time of digital music
The Bandra shopkeeper was an antique seller, he used to be a scrap collector before he realised the potential in old items and started not only collecting antique but also selling to collectors in Mumbai, and the process creating a treasure trove for many people including cassette enthusiasts almost 15-20 years after people have got over them. "Apart from old people, there are youngsters who come and slip it into their Walkman in style and listen to them, and they are listening to Bollywood music more than anything else," shares Atiqurrahman.
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