Unspooling Nostalgia

 

Louis Ottens - the name may not ring a bell, but his invention had redefined the way a whole generation listened to music. This Dutch engineer, who died on March 6, 2021, is credited with the invention of audio cassette tape recorder.

As an employee of Dutch electronics giant Philips, Ottens and his team were entrusted with converting the bulky spool tape recorders into something portable and easy to use. Philips audio cassette tape recorders made their debut in 1963 and for nearly three decades the cassettes  held sway over the music industry.

I vaguely remember seeing a portable cassette tape recorder for the first time in early 70s. It was a Japanese-made National Panasonic (it was known so back then) – a horizontal contraption with piano like keys with the 'record' key blue in colour and rest of them in white. Back then it was a prized possession, akin to i-Phone these days.

The era of unwieldy record players was winding down to a close and making way for cassette recorders. The fastidious care that records and the record players' needle demanded hastened its journey to oblivion. The jokes surrounding the needle getting stuck and song lines getting repeated were numerous. Moreover records could not be 'erased' with newer chartbusters and hence proved quite pricey. For tape recorders an added plus was its capacity to record one's own voice.

However, in India it also happened to be the high noon of licence-permit raj, when even a radio set required licence and one had to queue at post offices to pay the fee. The Indira Gandhi government back then was aggressively pursuing the 'Be Indian, Buy Indian' policy and customs duties for all electronic items, including cassette tape recorders, were prohibitively high.

Hence, global brands such as Philips, Sony, National Panasonic and Hitachi etc were beyond aam aadmi's reach and he had to rest content with questionable offerings that were available locally. They were either unreliable desi brands or dubious fakes of Japanese and German brands, which smooth talking salesmen tried to palm off to gullible customers. It also encouraged smuggling and spawned a grey market for these goods. The situation eased up only in the early 1990s after the Indian economy got liberalised and global brands such as Sony and Samsung started setting up plants in the country.

The advent of Gulf boom in the 70s and 80s created a great leap of aspiration for hi-tech Japanese electronic goods among middle class in India and Dubai turned out to be a procurement hub, thanks to its relaxed customs laws. The 'two-in-one' stereo cassette player became the ultimate instrument for musical nirvana for the middle class. The greater the output of the set the more admired it was, something akin to bike enthusiasts' obsession with 'cc'. In many of the drawing room family photographs taken in that era, the stereo cassette player used to be an unwitting presence.
 
The coming of Video Cassette Recorders and the proliferation of TV stations in India did dent the demand for stereo cassette players and they soon got relegated to background. The idiot box became the new cynosure of middle class vanity and they lapped up TV serials and filmy offerings like 'chitrahaar' with gusto.

The ultimate death knell to cassette players came with the advent of compact disc players. These sleek teacup coaster sized discs provided superior quality of sound and unlike cassette tapes never got 'stuck' during playback.

Cassette tapes, especially those of poor quality, used to get entangled in the playback head. They had to be removed with extra care and spooled back into the cassette, often using a pencil. Soon cassettes tape recorders began making way for CD players and started disappearing from the drawing rooms of middle class homes.

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Reporting Sick During Pandemic

 

The Covid-19 pandemic may have disrupted our lives in many ways, but one of the worst-hit is 'reporting sick' for duty.

For many of us this used to be the first resort to bunk office and the most common excuse was fever, followed by splitting headache. The motivation for reporting sick could be many: going for a newly-released movie, shopping, celebrate the win of your favourite football team or to mourn its shock defeat; or something much more serious like attending a job interview of a rival firm.

The managers used to take it with a pinch of salt - while the stricter ones demanded explanation the next day, the more benevolent ones used to accept it with a wink.

Now the pandemic has totally redefined fever, cold, body ache and loss of taste and they are no longer something we can trifle about. While in the pre-Covid days body ache and loss of taste were often used to buttress one's case for reporting sick with a reluctant superior, now it invites alarm and social distancing.

During zoom calls even an accidental sneeze is seen as a major faux pas. The Manager will ask "Are you okay", while other colleagues will give you a very concerned why-don't-you-see-a-doctor look.

Things have now come to such a pass that even a common cold or fever is seen as a big misfortune. You try not to report to anyone and keep everything under the radar. The first stop is self-medication of time-tested tonics and tablets. Hypochondria sets in, and the moment the mercury strays beyond the normal mark, its paracetamol time.

If this proves ineffective, one reluctantly visits the friendly neighbourhood doctor or a hospital. The sight of doctors and other medical personnel in face shields and PPE kits at hospitals looks quite intimidating. If the doctor suspects the worst, a bevy of tests follow. It is one of those rare moments in your life when you pray for a negative outcome of tests.

Meanwhile, the office is kept in the dark. No eagerness to apply for leave this time and all out efforts are made to prevent any signals that your nosy colleagues' or boss' antennae may pick up.

However, this is not to conclude that 'reporting sick' has become totally extinct. They have come down drastically and the excuses have changed - neck or back pain, stomach upset or tooth ache are the new favourites.

 

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