Youngsters browsing through the latest rock album, an elderly couple searching for a devotional track and a tourist hunting for his favourite piece of Indian music — on any day this can be a close description for the Rhythm House, the city’s iconic music store.
But as everyone welcomes the New Year, Mumbai will bid adieu to the 67-year-old place which will shut down this year.
Situated in South Mumbai, nestled between Kala Ghoda and Jehangir Art Gallery, Rhythm House was established in 1948. Known for its rich and diverse collection of music and movies, the store was so popular that it was often frequented by personalities like Mumtaz, Shammi Kapoor, AR Rahman, Rahul Sharma and Zakir Hussain.
Marching to a halt
This was before illegal music downloads on Internet hurt music sales in stores, and led to a lull in the overall retail market.
“It saddens us to inform you the time has come for us to bid goodbye to the music and video business for reasons that need no elaboration. We are the last of our city’s large format music and video stores to yield to the challenges posed by new technologies and piracy,” it says on the shop’s Website .
“I have worked here for 12 years, and now I need to look for other jobs. The knowledge of music which I had accumulated over the years will go to waste. Where can I possibly use this knowledge now?” he says.
From LPs to CDs
The store withstood the forever dynamic market: vending 78 rpm lacquered disc, LP vinyl disc, cassettes, VCDs, CDs, DVDs and even the newest optical Blu-Ray discs. Rhythm House offered it all. But issues of online piracy was the final blow for the store.
“Internet downloads and piracy has killed everything. What can we possibly do about that. Online shopping lacks the one on one interaction we have here at our store. You can’t get that anywhere else,” says Parmar.
The store, which had a staff strength of 45, two years ago, now has just 30 people. Even though the period from December-February has always been a “peak season” there is not much footfall.
“A lot has changed over the years. The public has stopped coming to the store. Even today when there is a heavy sale going on, not many new people are coming. I have seen this place grow, to watch it in this state is sad,” says Raees, an employee at the store for nearly 20 years.
As the Rhythm fades, the only visitors to the store are its patrons who enter to take one last look before the curtains fall for good.