Journey of playback devices comes alive

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 14

Decades old playback instruments were exhibited at Swami Vivekananda Dharamshala near Kochhar Market here.

The exhibition, showcasing more than a 100 such pieces of music playback heritage, were brought together under the banner of National Numismatics Society, where several collectors from different parts of the state and some from Haryana descended to showcase their collection.

Scores of LP records, EP records were exhibited and so were the gramophones, which were several decades old.

Sanjiv Puri, a collector, brought a 1915 gramophone made in England. It is an exquisite piece of music, which still works fine, he said.

Another collector Gursharan Singh brought a Tecnics turntable, which could play hi-fi music. “I also have Akai speakers having wooden grill, made in 1970,” he said.

Several LP records which were 12 inches in diametre and several EP records were showcased. Spool machines which had two spools, a tape from one moved towards another. Those made in Germany, Japans and England were all put on display. Several cassette players, radio-sets, walkmans, CD players, MP3 players, and innovative products of those times were also demonstrated.

One of the products of GEC, which are more than 50-year-old, had a radio which also had a built-in camera.

Narinder Pal, one of the organisers of the exhibition, said the best part was that the collectors had taken care of these instruments. He also showcased a clock and a radio. “This is more than 50 years old. It has a clock and a radio made in the US and it was assembled in Singapore,” he said.

Not just that, rare records and cassettes of Punjabi singers including those of Kuldeep Nanak, Chandi Ram, Shamshad Begum, Gurdas Mann and more were also exhibited.

As it was a collection by numismatists, centuries old coins were also showcased. Narinder Pal Singh, one of the organisers, showcased the punch-marked coins dating back to the 6th Century BC. Those from Kusan dynasty, from 2nd Century AD and Nanakshahi coins were also put up on display.

It is truly a nostalgic experience, said one of the elderly persons who visited the exhibition. “Hearing an old gramophone play transported me to my childhood days,” he said.