Cassette Week 2023: Antique shops witness resurgence in Mumbai's love for cassettes through Bollywood music

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.

Interestingly, the Mumbaikar has been running his shop for close to 40 years now. While he started by selling mud, coal and kerosene, he slowly moved towards collecting and selling scrap. He finally settled with this shop 20 years ago. He shares, "People have an interest in collecting antique items because they want to keep it as a showpiece and will pay for it. So, that is why I moved into this business."

In that time, he has kept cassettes for more than 10 years and has always seen a steady demand for them across age groups. So, how does he get these cassettes? He explains, "I have customers over the years who call me over to their house to come and collect the cassettes. I go on my rounds when they call me, and the height of the stack is reducing." Currently, there are over 200-250 cassettes which include favourites like ‘Elvis Presley King of Rock ‘N' Roll', ‘Best of Paul McCartney Live', as well as other compilations of Willie Nelson and UB40 in English music. It is no less with Hindi music such as ‘Golden Greats by Mehdi Hassan' ‘Best Songs of Hindi Films', as well as songs of ‘Yeh Dillagi' and ‘Baazigar' too.

It is not only Atiqurrahman who has seen this sudden interest in cassettes from Mumbaikars. Nishant Soni, a bookseller in Versova who also deals in props and antique items has also seen a revival in the interest in cassettes.

Having sold cassettes for close to 20 years, he says, "There has been a recent rise in interest in cassettes because of some of the popularity of vinyl again. Some of the vinyl players in them and that is what makes collectors buy cassettes from me." Soni only recently sold as many as 8,000 cassettes which he has collected over time, from people who want to dispose of. Now, he has just over 50 cassettes but will soon replenish his stock, from a customer base of 40 people who are not only from Mumbai but from different parts of India. "I buy them in lots from people who sell them as scrap because they have adopted new technology. However, some know their value and sell them accordingly," he adds.

Love for Bollywood music
These are a mix of enthusiasts, collectors, and vendors who buy it from him and sell it to others, who have been in touch with him over the last two decades. "There is a demand for cassettes along with LPs and even audio CDs," he adds. Interestingly, even the Versova resident has seen a lot more youngsters indulge in buying cassettes, even though it's almost 20 years past their time. He explains, "Most of them take cassettes of old ghazals and Bollywood songs sung by Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey." The demand for English music cassettes is lesser than for Hindi language and Bollywood music cassettes.

While there is a limited demand now, Soni says when they started cassettes used to be much more in demand. As of today, he sells these cassettes anywhere between Rs 40 and more, and the rare ones go as high as Rs 200 or Rs 300. "Some of the most popular and rare ones now are cassettes by a company called EMI. Some people buy cassettes based on the company, others buy them based on the titles, even today. Everybody's choice is different," he shares.

The sale is limited to a particular customer base, but Soni isn't giving up on cassettes just yet. He has a simple approach towards cassettes. "It is better to collect and sell these cassettes to those who are interested than sell them in scrap, where you will barely get anything. Music sells more for me in antique than props do." he adds. The main aspect of selling cassettes, he highlights, is storing and preserving them and when there is demand selling them at the best price.

Looking beyond cassettes
However, not everybody is as enthusiastic as Atiqurrahman and Soni, who run ‘Khan Paper Mart Old Scrap' and ‘Navin Book Shop' respectively. As this writer walked down Lamington Road, famously known as the IT street of Mumbai in Grant Road, on a sweltering October morning, he was met with a challenge. Many IT equipment shops sold computer and laptop parts, as well as CCTV and other electronics but it was difficult to spot a shop either selling cassettes or repairing them. It was a stark contrast from a decade ago when they were spotted in many spaces on the streets. Upon asking a roadside shopkeeper, he was met with a laugh followed by "It has been almost five years now that cassette shops have stopped existing here'. While some sold Walkmans on the way, they barely see any customers anymore and have put it away in the back of the stall.

After asking every other person on the road, he was told to cross the main road and check Tribhuvan Road, where these Mumbaikars have spotted some audio cassette shops. However, it was not to be because the ones that did exist have converted their shops into those that sell the latest electronic items like CCTVs as those are much more in demand now. While they previously made a huge profit of over lakhs per day, there is hardly anybody even knocking at their door, making even the owners lose interest, even though it was once a hobby that they nurtured over many decades.

People who want to sell or collect Cassettes can get in touch with them on the following numbers:

Atiqurrahman at Khan Paper Mart in Bandra
9702177074

Nishant Soni at Navin Book Shop in Versova
9820790388/8369729351