Publicity posters of The Beatles on Blu-ray, DVDs and CDs, and works of V Shantaram in DVDs peep out from inside the glass wall. But enter the iconic Rhythm House at Kala Ghoda through its tiny door and a sense of gloom hits you. Though the music store’s in-house record player croons a melodious ghazal, it sounds like a requiem for the city’s famous destination to buy EPs, LPs, CDs and DVDs. It is confirmed that Rhythm House, the mecca of music, will shut shop soon.
Wa street across Jehangir Art Gallery in south Mumbai, on Wednesday evening, the signs were amply visible. Although a holiday, there were few customers while its 27-odd staff, mostly in distinctive red half-sleeved shirts, looked glum. Rhythm House’s managing director and second-generation owner Mehmood Curmally was a bit evasive but finally admitted: “We are winding down. We are clearing the stocks and not buying new ones. Right now, I can’t say by when we will put up the shutters.” However, a staffer said, “We have heard it will not survive beyond February 2016.”
The digital wave has sounded the death knell of many an iconic music shop, including Rhythm House. In the era of iTunes when music fans are buying tracks online and downloading tunes, the ritual of physical visits to music stores has waned.
Predictably, the news that Rhythm House would shut shop soon has shocked regular patrons, many of them celebrities and household names.
“Very sad. (It) has been a great servant to the music industry. A place I would frequent. Can’t think of town without Rhythm House. Will miss the beat,” mourned cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri.
Colaba resident Pamela Azaredo, 58, says she has been visiting Rhythm House ever since her college days. “We would walk into Rhythm House, spend a few hours browsing through the racks, buy cassettes and then walk out and enter Samovar, the restaurant at Jehangir Art Gallery. First Samovar downed its shutters. Now, I am told, Rhythm House too is closing down. It is a great loss,” said Azaredo.
Ghazal singer Rajkumar Rizvi is heartbroken. “This news is a body blow to me and my wife (singer Indrani) who have visited Rhythm House for decades…It is the mecca of music. I live in the US now, and here too the one name that is most recommended to Indians visiting Mumbai is Rhythm House.”
Ghazal and bhajan maestro Anup Jalota said the closure will disturb the rhythm of Mumbai. “Listening to music online or on cellphones has none of the romance of feeling an EP or LP or opening a double cassette door. It is like reading email versus opening and going through a handwritten letter. Around 20 years ago, Rhythm House was famous for its music booths where people were allowed to listen to trial cassettes and CDs before buying them. A bunch of naughty youngsters began to arrive every day to listen to ‘Roop tera mastana‘ or ‘Chingari koi bhadke‘ and returned content. Slowly, the authorities caught on and stopped this practice.”