Vinyl died out, was wiped from stores and homes and replaced by tape, CD and eventually digital. However, in the late 2000s, vinyl saw a resurgence taking place with collectors who valued aesthetics and performance and M Purushothaman is one of them. The retired employee of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is fond of music. “I enjoy everything from blues and country to pop and Indian classical music.”

Purushottam traveled from listening to music on vinyl to cassettes and then CDs. “When the switch to digital happened, I decided not to go that route. I started collecting vinyl records.

Describing himself as a blue-blooded Bengaluru, Purushothaman graduated from St. Joseph’s College in 1969. A walk through his house in Indiranagar reveals his passion for music, the first floor has been converted into a music studio. Purushottam designed the house, which is a reflection of the past living in the present.

While the LPs remain in the main room on this floor, the smaller bedroom has been converted into a museum containing rare and vintage cassette players, tape decks and Walkmans including Nachamichi and Technics players.

Purushothaman says that he traveled to Colombo to buy the Technics player. He is one of the few to speak Wharfedale. “They suddenly left the market. I wanted it and so I got it.” Purushottam uses all the speakers (a collection of 10) to listen to music.

Pointing to a stereo system attached to a tape recorder, Purushothaman says, “These are Japanese-made and I’ve had them for about 20 years.” Amazingly, every piece of equipment is in working order as Purushothaman demonstrates by playing music on almost every machine. We listen to Bob Marley on the tape deck and go back to the vinyl section.

“It took me years to collect these and it’s a big investment, too.” Purushottam owns over 1,500 vinyl plates, over 600 cassettes and 800 CDs, all of which are in playable condition. “The cassettes are mainly pop, and I have everything from Indian classical music to jazz, rock and country music on vinyl.”

Purushothaman says that his passion for music originated in him when he was in college. “I would cycle around Bengaluru and in those days we had jukeboxes. I would use the 25 paise coin to listen to music and then move on to the next jukebox to listen to another genre of music.

He gives credit to an RBI colleague for making him a collector. When Purushottam plays a Phil Collins record, by connecting the player to a valve amplifier, it breaks the myth of woofers and bass not being powerful in older speakers.

It took Purushottam more than five years to adjust to the change from record to tape. “There was no other way because the records stopped coming out. Then I started collecting cassettes. When tapes replaced CDs, I decided to collect vinyl.

His vinyl collection includes The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Bee Gees, Bob Marley, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, Demi Russo, Dire Straits, Eagles, Harry Belafonte, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, Queen, James Brown, The Police and Whitney Houston. Are. “Country music is my favorite, Don Williams, Johnny Cash are at the top of my list.”

Apart from music, Purushothaman also collects magazines, which includes his complete collection National Geographic From 1960 to 2000. “I still read them, although my grandchildren don’t.” Purushottam had donated his collection of back issues of Reader’s Digest to some schools a few years ago.

Purushottam opens his home to vinyl fans. “The only condition is that we must have common friends because they will come to my house.” Not associated with any group, Purushottam calls himself an independent collector.

While vinyl is making a comeback with a bang, Purushottam tells new vinyl fans not to buy one or two plates and then lose interest. “Only invest in vinyl if you’re truly passionate about it.”

Instead of buying vinyl online, Purushottam recommends purchasing from genuine sources spread across the city. He shows us a vinyl that has just arrived. “I got this 1985 record from Japan,” he says and carefully places it on his shelf.