The Magic Of The Nostalgic Nineties - 3

It is time to start preparing lunch. So, I take out my well-used earphones, plug them into my mobile and put on a playlist. No guesses that the playlist is Best Of 90s. 

It has become a habit to listen to songs while cooking. (Psst! It actually started as a defence against 'Amma! Amma!' that keeps on repeating for eternity, whenever my kid has to do his homework. But no one needs to know this!) I do admit that somedays I get bored of listening to the songs and put on some instrumental music. And when I get bored of the same, the songs return with a bang.

Whenever I listen to songs, I get reminded about the one precious relic from my 90s that I miss very badly. The tape recorder!

This magnificent instrument has always enjoyed a place of honour in my family. Dad loves carnatic music, mom likes to hear devotional songs and I and my sister grew up adoring MS Subbalakshmi (MS, Thou are a Goddess to us, and will always be!)

I remember the first cassette that I had brought. It was during my SSC exams that the movie Rangeela had released. I brought the cassette ten days before my exam began. I still remember my mom glaring at me and saying, 'Write the lyrics of the songs as answers for the questions!'.

There used to be a shop in Dombivli, named Tinkle Stores and it sold cassettes and CDs. I just loved browsing through the shop and taking in awe, the wonderful collection of cassettes of movies that belonged to the yesteryears – of an era long gone by but which still enthralls people with its soulful melodies and wholesome stories. Most of the time I ended up buying songs of Kishore Da, Rafi Saab, Lata Di and Asha Di. (Irreplaceable legends, these majestic singers!) 

The main reason for my attachment to the tape recorder is my late uncle, my father's youngest brother. 

A brief introduction about him - when he was 7 years old, very high fever ended up damaging his brain. Although he grew up, he was still stuck up somewhere in his 7th year.

My uncle was extremely fond of tape-recorders. Most of my relatives knew that the best gift to him would be a cassette. It didn't matter which language it was, or whether it was filmy or spiritual. He would listen for a few minutes and then decide whether it was good or not. Till the end, we never understood what made him like or dislike the contents of the cassette.

Uncle firmly believed in the concept of early to rise and early to bed. So he went to sleep by 9.30 and would wake up sharp at 4, without any alarm. He would start playing the Suprabhatam by 4.30. Most of the times, he would play at a high volume. Somedays I would lose my sleep and would tread towards uncle's room, bleary eyed. If I found him seated there, I would simply walk back to my room and try to catch up some sleep. But some rare days, he would have gone to take bath, and I would lower the volume and run back to my room. Of course, after I woke up, he would wag a finger at me and say laughingly - 'You were the one who lowered the volume, isn't it?' 

Even before he reached 40, my uncle died, one year after I got married. He had worked that day, came home in the afternoon, had his lunch and was watching TV when his head rolled back and he breathed his last. The doctor said it was a stroke. I believe that he was a Karmayogi who had come to the earth for a very little while and attained liberation. Till the last day, he worked in the same factory that he had been working since years.

For many years, my mother played the tape-recorder in fond memory of her brother-in-law who had been more of a brother to her. After the advent of the mobile and the various apps and musical gadgets that slowly took over, the saga of the tape-recorder faded away into oblivion. 

There are 9-hours worth of songs in one of the playlists in YouTube, I find. But something is missing! It doesn't have the beauty of the tape-recorder or the excitement of buying a new cassette. Most importantly, I don't find my uncle sitting beside it and listening to songs. At high volume. He could not attend school and hence could not read or write. He learnt to write his name at the most. YouTube would have been of no use to him!

Dear Uncle, wherever you are, I hope there is a tape-recorder with you, and many, many, many cassettes!