Saturday, January 28, 2012

MOHAMMED SHAFI - THE GRAMOPHONE MAN

Numerous lovers of gramophones, old valve radios, record players, records and musical antiques and accessories from all parts of India and abroad, are nowadays looking to this man, Mohammed Shafi, popularly known as Gramophone Shafi and Gramophone Man, for their requirements of these items as well as to service their equipments. For the hobbyists in this field Shafi is one of the very few persons in this part of the country who is able to satisfy their needs which are unique and at the same time varied and person specific.
Mohammed Shafi is basically a dealer in musical antiques who runs a small shop by name ‘Gramophone world’ in the city of Calicut(Kozhikode) in Kerala. Hailing from Kallai adjoining Kozhikode town he had in his younger years worked in several parts of the country like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and, being fond of travelling and seeing places, had travelled through the length and breadth of the country as well as the Gulf and has a network of friends and contacts in all these places. Even as a child he was fond of musical equipments like harmonium and record players, clocks, radios and had keen interest in learning how they worked. He continued this interest later also and he was collecting these items during all his travels and life in North India and also acquired a fair knowledge in repairing and servicing them. He later decided that music, musical equipments and antiques will be his field and coupled with his natural desire to come back to his home town, he left his job in Calcutta and returned to Calicut.

By then there was a revival of interest among people for gramophones and record players and for collecting old gramophone records. More and more people were taking this up as a hobby and the only difficulty for them was getting the right equipments and servicing them. It was here that the role of persons like Mohammed Shafi proved important. With his large collection of these items and ability to get more of them through his large network of friends and contacts he created a space for himself in the field. Besides he is one of the very few people who can and is willing to repair gramophones, record players,amplifiers, loud speakers and so on. Apart from a good stock of equipments and records of all speeds for sale he also stocks adequate quantity of spare parts like cartridges, stylus of all varieties, gramophone needles, L.P.records, valves for radios, belts for the players and so on which are in good demand because of their short supply as many of them are presently not in production.In short his shop THE GRAMOPHONE WORLD is a centre of attraction and meeting place for hobbyists from all walks of life. In fact Shafi says that meeting people from various fields, big and small, and interacting with them has been an enriching experience for him. He owns a website http://www.gramophoneworld.com/ and has an email address viz., gramophoneworld@yahoo.com. through which people from several parts of the country contact him and he is able to send them their requirements.
But what makes Shafi different from the normal antique dealer is his love for music and the fact that collection of gramophone records and musical antiques has been his hobby as well. He has with him a big collection of gramophone records from the earliest 16rpm, 78rpm, EPs and LPs covering all genres of Indian music.There are a large number of LPs of Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, ghazals and English albums.The first edition of the record of Vande Mataram, speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and recorded voice of several national leaders and so on form part of the collection.A variety of gramophones and record players from the earliest like Columbia, Victor, RCA, Deca to the popular HMV and Philips models including those with magnetic cartridges and magnetic coil catridges are also there. Valve radios like Philips( Holland)and their famous stereo radios and the nostalgic Murphy radios are there. The most coveted items are the 19th century metal record playing 'Symphonion’ and the first portable hand wound record player Mikky Phone of the size of a school boy's lunch box when closed.The three arms serving as the turn table, the sound box, the winding lever etc. are removable and can be kept in the compact box when not in use or when transported. A table fan operating on kerosene, like the one seen used by the protagonist in the Malayalam film Salt and Pepper, is a coveted item in his collection.It is a delight to see them still functioning. A still immaculate Philips(Holland)Radiogram with its changer which can hold six records and play them continuously one after the other greeted the visitors of his house and an enthusiastic Shafi explaining its working. The sound quality of the radiogram is amazing. There is also a beautiful Foot Harmonium in very good working condition.A spool tape recorder in a compact wooden box is another attraction.The famous Gipsy gramophone is also there. There are many more invaluable items offering a feast to the eyes and hearts of enthusiasts. Many of these equipments were acquired by him in a state of disrepair and they are in the present working condition only after long painstaking efforts at collecting original spares and reconstructing broken parts. Any other person could have sold them off and earned a fortune as there are several hobbyists who are prepared to pay anything to possess them. But not for Shafi and that is what makes him different.



Mohammed shafi still travels a lot to all parts of the country and his family consisting of wife and two children often accompanies him.











14 comments:

S'nand_Parlikad said...

It was my ambition from my childhood to have a gramophone but could not have one. Recently, my Boss had given me a PHILIPS Hi-Q International Stereo 932 Record Player together with several records (in Hindi and English) but I could not play the unit since its Stylus was worn out. It took around two years to get a suitable Stylus and it is now in working condition. I had got it from Delhi. Now my disappointment is that I don't have any reords in Malayalam or any other South Indian language. With the news that Satyam Audios bringing out LP records, I had contacted them.

Moreover, you would appreciate that apart from hailing from Trichur, I have roots in Calicut. My sister is married to Calicut (Karaparamba). It would be my pleasure to meet you in person to see the wonderful collections of old Radios and such other things. I had purchased a Philips Valve Radio from Ahmedabad (I am in Ahmedabad) but some working problems. Lastly dial-chord has broken.

krishnanguruvayur said...

i had the pleasure of meeting shafi who repaired my 36 yr old fiesta popular record player a month back .he also has an amazing collection of gramophones and records .unfortunately malayalam records are few . voice of kerala on oyitty rd calicut also has very few malayalam records

Unknown said...

Sir I have Philips 533 model gramophone player. Looking for some one who could repair as there seem to be minor fault. Can you kindly let me know of someone you would know in chennai. Thank you in advance.

JAYSANKARAN said...

You can contact Sri Shafi over phone. Numbers are available on his website www.gramophoneworld.com.
Jayasankaran

Parasuraman S said...

It is wonderful to know about your efforts to maintain antique collections. I am a person with similar interest and has been servicing valve radios, amplifiers and record players and such other antique products for over 30 years. Even at the age of 64, I am on the job and get many sets from all over Kerala for service. I have collection of Valves and a few antique Radios and amplifiers. All the best to you.

JAYSANKARAN said...

Please let me know your telephone numbers and address.

Anonymous said...

I am Jayesh looking for philips 15 eg 1400 replacement diamond head for gramophone please suggest any store where it is available in india please contact me on LOTUSDHD@YAHOO.CO.IN

Unknown said...

I have a PHILIPS SKIPPER RADIO SET ( 4 BAND ) which is out of order since 4 years,although it's power is ON after giving the power button on.

I am looking for this antique radio is to be repaired and waiting for your kind reply.

Thanks with,
S Sanyal
Bata India Limited
Gate no. 9 , T Bata memorial Avenue
Kolkata 700140
West Bengal
Mob No. 9433371581
E Mail: subrata140504@gmail.com or
subrata.sanyal@bata.com

Unknown said...

Hello, I am delighted to know about your collections, will you please let me know the location of your shop and address with phone number? I am looking for a Gramophone and Tamil Christian Songs records and a Murphy or Philips Valve radio.
My email ID is rajanpt1959@yahoo.com
Thank you so much
Rajan
Coimbatore

Unknown said...

Hi,
I have an HMV Gramophone Model 102D of 1930s.
I need a spair part for this called "speed / motor governor", if any one can help me finding one that would be a great help and much appreciated.
Mahesh Rana
+91-9417785983.
Chandigarh

Anonymous said...

Shafi sahib the tone arm bearing assembly in my HMV 130 is at times stiff how is it assembled. I need to know what component goes where.

Unknown said...

Dear Sir,

I have old HMV Stereo Record Player (Fiesta Model, 1010), which is not functioning since last one week due to my mistake.

The problem of this device is it's turn table is not able to rotate since last 7 days when I applied oil to it's pulley and motor. It seems there are some obstacles preventing the rotation of this turn table.

Will you please guide me to restore this issue.

regards
Ayswarjya
(9148084924)

Unknown said...

I am looking for a Holland Phylips valve radio. Please let me know the available models. Syed Ashraf, Lakshadweep

Sunil Kunnoth Kozhikode said...

Thanks for this post. Shafi is a man full of music. His great job is commendable.