Is the good old cassette coming back?

When I took my branded double deck cassette player to the company’s service centre for repairs, the executive concerned seemed bewildered. With eyes wide open he looked at the music system and then at me with awe. Were he not in the sales department, perhaps he would have bluntly said that both of us were antique pieces.

But like any good PR man, he gently asked, “When did you buy this, sir? It is a pretty old piece [euphemism for junk]. But I must admit you have maintained it very well. We will see what can be done about it. You know, spare parts of old models are sometimes not available. Nevertheless, we would do our best. You are one of our oldest customers, sir.”

I was not flattered. I told him I did not remember how many years I’d had it. But it had served me well. Being a music buff, I have played audio cassettes dating back to the 1940s on it. This double deck cassette player has been my most prized possession. I had always taken full care, never allowed anybody to even touch it, let alone operate it.

I feared the service centre executive might start yawning anytime. Instead, he started showing interest in my monologue. I grabbed the opportunity to have my full say about my hobby and first love — music. I told him that the music system had stood by me in my tense moments; having served as a great stress buster.

Finding a willing listener in him, I told him that I have been a connoisseur of good Indian music — Hindustani semi classical, instrumental, Hindi film songs, ghazals, qawwalis and folk music of all regions.

Whenever my chips were down, I would load a cassette of some classical based songs of Naushad sahib, Bismillah Khan’s shehnai, Ravi Shankar’s sitar, Shiv Kumar Sharma’s santoor, Allah Rakha-Zakir Hussain duo’s tabla, A.R. Rehman’s compositions, Rajasthan’s enchanting Langa music or devotional music.

Restless

One day, I found that except for the radio, nothing in my double-deck ghetto was working. Since then I’ve been restless. Please set this piece right, I almost implored the executive.

Now, it was his turn to do the talking. “Sir, the times have moved very fast. A cassette player is now outdated. Today, CD and digital download are the rage of the day. It is creditable of you that you are still doing with a cassette player. But, I think it is time you graduate to the new era gadgets.”

I made it known to him that I had not relished his suggestion which amounted to running down my good old piece. He got my point, sounded a bit apologetic and agreed to repair it. A date was given when I could collect it and I felt happy as a child getting a toy of his choice on his birthday.

Once again, I played my favourite cassettes feeling heavenly bliss. But it was short lived. A few days later it again broke down. Thinking that perhaps it was time for its retirement, I called our regular kabadiwala (scrap collector) and asked how much he would pay for it.

The fellow proved worse. “Sahib [Sir], this is junk. Nobody uses those cassettes these days. Even the poorest person goes for CD players or downloaded music.”

I did not give up. After all, what would happen to the huge load of cassettes I had so assiduously collected all these years? I asked myself. They had a great nostalgic value for me. I carefully wrapped and deposited the old ghetto in a corner. And after a hectic search I was able to ‘excavate’ another cassette player in good condition from the market.

My music sessions were back in full swing. However, the fear of my cassettes requiring a peaceful burial was always lurking.

Happily, I saw a silver lining in the dark clouds when recently I read an article headlined: Rewind, The Cassette Is Back. Hurray, I exclaimed. The write-up talked of the resurgence and popularity of the ‘humble cassette’ as shown by indie bands, including MGMT, British Sea Power and She & Him and record labels releasing new music on the old format — cassette.

Surely, the pocket Walkmans are also set to walk into our homes.

Lalit Raizada is a journalist based in India.