INDIA: GRAMOPHONE RECORDS COLLECTOR
Hindi/English/Nat
XFA
The first year of the new millennium is about to come to an end.
Many technological advances were made over the past 12 months, and many more astounding innovations and inventions are expected in the future.
But in
India, one young man is determined to hold on to the past.
Narendra Shrimali has built up a huge collection of gramophone records, some dating back as far as 1902.
He is now trying to persuade his local government to make some land available so he can build a museum dedicated to his prized possessions.
The Shrimali family in
Vadodara, in
Gujrat state, are used to having a relative with an unusual pastime.
Call it a hobby or an obsession, but Narendra Shrimali has been collecting gramophone records since he was 18.
The discs are from the days before hifi stereo sound, when without elbow power there was no sound at all.
Narendra owns more than eight thousand records dating back to 1902, the year records were first commercially introduced in
India.
Housed in old metal cupboards, they cross the entire range of world history, including recordings of speeches by
British monarchs from 1910 and more modern recordings of
American presidents like
John F Kennedy.
South Asian scholars in particular are interested in Narendra's collection.
He has a huge assortment of rare recordings from long-forgotten classical musicians, cinema scores, dramatists,
poets and regional artists to sitar performances from 1904.
Also among the treasures are
100 discs of
Parsi plays, and folk music from all over India.
The pride of the collection is the first Hindi music film score to be released on record.
His collection may be meaningless to a new generation of
Indians who haven't even seen a record player, but that's part of the appeal for Narendra.
The 30-year-old plays the records for anyone who wants to hear them and finds an audience among aged neighbours hankering for nostalgia.
Narendra, who works as a civil engineering lecturer, is happy with his obscure claim to fame.
SOUNDBITE: (
English)
"There are very few buyers as nowadays these record playing machines and other accessories are not available and one more thing is that the preservation is very much difficult. So it is bulky, preservation is difficult and also it gives the hissing sound. So all these constraints are there so very few people
...so what is unique thing in my feature is that
I am the youngest person having the largest collection in the world."
SUPER CAPTION: Narendra Shrimali,
Record Collector
It's a labour of love that has consumed the family's living space and resources.
Narendra's father has helped him with his hobby, but he's quick to add that if his son had chosen to collect
Madonna records, it would have been different.
SOUNDBITE: (Hindi)
"If it wasn't for his collecting old records I would never have supported him."
SUPER CAPTION: Jai Dev
Prasad,
Father
Narendra travels all over the country, following tips from a diminishing breed of enthusiasts.
For most people, old records are a waste of space, and he often finds records at roadside stalls and in junk shops.
Narendra now dreams of a museum dedicated to his collection.
The passing of time has not been able to choke the voices and music recorded on them and he hopes a special site will help to preserve this historic treasure.
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