Still playing

Yes, Vinyl is popular all over the world, check out this story from India:

Written By Alokparna Das


From rare ghazals to old classical renditions, Balwant Singh stocks a treasure of records

Squeezed in between a row of commercial establishments opposite Gurdwara Shishganj is a shop with MP3s, CDs, VCDs, and DVDs on display. There’s nothing extraordinary about it, that’s until you step in and find hundreds of rare LP and EP records. In this age of Ipods, the owner of this 50-year-old shop, Balwant Singh, says hardly a week goes by without someone popping in, looking for a particular record.

From rare ghazals to classical renditions by Pandit Ravi Shankar in his younger days to collections of verses rendered by well-known poets to Pakistani records, Singh’s collection goes beyond old Hindi films. Originally priced at Rs 14, EPs sell for Rs 40 upwards and a rare LP of Malika Pukhraj can cost you anything between Rs 300 and Rs 500. Singh knows his prices are cheaper than those quoted by Shahs at Meena Bazaar or those on eBay but he’s happy to leave them at that.

“There are customers who buy even damaged LPs and EPs. A photographer with a leading media house, who is also a collector, is a regular customer here, as are several foreigners. There are customers who are building their own museums or auction houses. I also have an Australian clientele, they still make vinyl records in Australia,” says 85-year-old Singh, who is a collector himself and owns at least 20,000 records. “Time was when I used to stock the entire collection in the shop but my sons demanded their share of the property and as a result my shop shrunk in size,” he says.

Singh’s tiny shop stands close to Maharaja Lal and Sons, the oldest dealer of HMV in Delhi, founded in 1895. Initially, they sold cylinder records—vinyl records came later and were around till about 15 to 20 years ago. Even after they vanished from shelves in music stores, big players like Maharaja Lal and Sons and Radio and Gramophone Company in Connaught Place continued selling records. Now, of course, these shops, too, have stopped stocking them. As the salesman at the counter at Radio and Gramophone Company says, with HMV not making vinyl records any more, it was increasingly difficult to maintain a decent stock and shop owners were dependent on people who wished to sell off their collection of old records.

“When HMV decided to stop making records in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I bargained and bought a large number of records from the company. That added to my existing collection,” says Singh.

Originally from Kashmir, Singh says his family tried its hand at all kinds of ventures until he plunged into the music business about 50 years ago, beginning as a sub-dealer for Maharaja Lal and Sons. He went on to become a ‘big’ dealer himself, often visiting HMV’s office in Kolkata to buy records in bulk.

Singh remembers the time when LPs were much in demand and boasts of having photographs clicked with leading singers of yesteryears. He still idolises Maharaja Lal and Sons for the huge collection it had and also for salesmanship, and praises Syed Zafar Shah, whose family owns a records shop in Meena Bazar for the last three generations, for his knowledge of the trade. “Imagine a time when whether it was a wealthy collector or a baiji from G B Road, the shop owner would play records for everyone to help them select LPs of their choice; a time when hotels and restaurants sourced music for their Saturday nights from shops in Chandni Chowk; or when not only All India Radio but also radio stations of England and Australia recorded songs from collections like ours,” he says.

He breaks off as a customer comes asking for an LP record of Ustad Amir Khan’s rendition of Jogiya mere ghar aaye in Raag Lalit. Singh nods and within a couple of minutes puts the record on the counter. Next, there’s a demand for an old recording of Faiz’s ghazals, and Singh again disappears behind a column of records.