CHITRADURGA: The sound of music wafts from his hotel. P B Srinivos, P Susheela, S Janaki, Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey ... voices that almost every music lover in the country can spend a lifetime listening to. The source is not from a high-tech gadget but from a piece of musical history – the good old gramophone. For KS Sanjeeva, however, the passion took a tangible turn, transforming into a vast collection of gramophone records over the years.
The Chitradurga-based hotelier bought his first gramophone record player in 1976, when he used to run a small cafe in front of SJM Dental College, to fulfil his passion of listening to music. That many of his customers had a similar inclination made matters even better, and Sanjeeva had some unexpected gains with the move. His hotel became a huge hit, with people coming just to enjoy songs, along with some snacks and a cup of coffee.
Sanjeeva, the 70-something owner of Panchamrutha hotel in the city, has preserved his collection at his home, where the gramophones and records are kept in a small room. Among his prized possessions is the first gramophone he bought — an HMV machine — which he still keeps in good condition. Also with him are gramophone players like Telerado which can play seven plates at a single stretch, two Philips players, one HMV player, and Philips speakers, besides other amplifiers and sound boxes.
“I have a collection of about 3,000 plates, vinyl as well as clay plates, including rare ones. The collection includes songs from films such as Baiju Bawra, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje and Humraaz,” says Sajeeva, singing a song from Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker. “I have hit songs sung by Yesudas, Mahendra Kapoor, and several other singers, which I am ready to share with those interested by getting them re-recorded,” he adds, switching to Nesara Nodo Nesara Nodu from Kakana Kote. In fact, when All India Radio first opened its Chitradurga station, they collected songs from these plates, he says.
Sanjeeva, who came to the city from Kota (Kota Shivaram Karanth’s place) in 1971, is equally passionate about Kannada music, and says his collection includes Huli Halina Mevu, Prema Loka, Malaya Marutha, Kakanakote, Ranga Nayaki, Gandhada Gudi, Kaviratna Kalidasa, the Yakshagana sequences of Peraduru Mela, and Dharmasthala Mela. “All the plates are still in a running condition,” he points out, adding that besides around 1,500 Kannada film songs, he also has 25 Telugu, and 12 each of English and Tamil plates. Although he sold nearly 400 records made of clay and fibre mixture, he still has 400 records with him, running on the 78 RPM player. His initial investment was just Rs 1,500. Since then, he started generating revenue by recording the cassettes and plates.
With few technicians to repair the players now, Sanjeeva does that himself. Over time, he has collected a lot of spare parts needed for the players. Sometimes, he also has to make a trip to JC Road in Bengaluru to buy parts.
“I even had a gramophone that was run with a key, without the use of power or battery, but it got spoilt and I had to sell it,” he recalls. Sanjeeva considers his collection an invaluable asset, and does not want to sell them. “In the age of high-tech gadgets, the gramophone record player still plays melodious music, which is a rare thing to find now. And though youngsters may not like to listen to these songs, they watch the instrument with a lot of interest.”