Tracing ‘Tryst With Destiny

Every year,on August 15,Isar Qureshi’s house in Bopodi is abuzz with guests,including his friends,neighbours and relatives. Filled with excitement to be transported to an era of which they have heard and read about,the crowd settles in seats for a common reason — hearing the Long Play (LP) record of Jawaharlal Nehru’s landmark speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’. The speech was delivered by India’s first Prime Minister at midnight on August 14,1947. The LP of the speech was released in 1965 by His Master’s Voice (HMV) with the permission of AIR. Some of the city-based record collectors are proud possessors of the rare LP of Nehru’s famous speech.
Recalling how he got hold of the rare LP,Qureshi says,“I was around 12 years old when I overheard a conversation between my father and his friend about Pandit Nehru’s Independence Day speech. The person was saying he was unable to understand why Nehru gave his speech in English. According to my father,the speech not only addressed the country but the entire world. The answer made a big impact on my mind.”

After a few weeks,during a casual meeting with a friend,Nabi came across the collection of LP records,which belonged to his friend’s father. Browsing through the LPs,Qureshi saw the cover of an LP that had Nehru’s photograph on it. It was the LP of Nehru’s speech,Tryst With Destiny. Little Qureshi couldn’t stop himself from requesting his friend’s father for the record. “Luckily he agreed because he was planning to get rid of his collection. The LP is in working condition and I play it every Independence Day,” says Qureshi,now 42,who works as a leadership training consultant for Dale Carnegie India.
During this time last year,Qureshi was in Kabul for the US-AID project. He carried with him his turntable and LP and played it on August 15. “The attendees at the event,which included officials from various countries,were pleasantly surprised,” recalls Qureshi,adding that he also has the LP of the speeches of Adolf Hitler,Mahatma Gandhi,Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and John F Kennedy.


Written by Garima Mishra,Pune Published:Aug 15, 2013

Floored

Ritikas article

Collecting is a passion and collectors will spend a lot of money and time on this privilege. Isar Nabi Qureshi, is a hardcore music collector and Beatles buff. His collection of 400 plus record players, and over 15000 vinyl and shellac records amply illustrates this. His record collection, is eclectic to say the least, and encompasses a huge range of music, including Rock, Jazz, Country, Western Classical,Bollywood and all Indian and regional language records. It is his 5000 records strong Beatles collection however that he most reveres.
Isar who buys old record players and restores them, tells us that they are evidence of man's quest for perfect sound and ideally suited to listening to old music. The turntable is his pick and he has perfectly calibrated it and added amplifiers and equalizers, for a wonderful listening experience. Isar's love for music began when he was about 7 years old. It was at a Diwali fete that he won a mono Phillips record player and two Beatles EP records. " Those Beatles tracks had a really great effect on my perception of music" , he ponders aloud. Later in the 80s when records started going out of vogue, Isar went to Mumbai, and there at the Rhythm House he saw records being sold for Rs 20 each. It was then that he bought his first Beatles record, 'Revolver'. And thus began a lifelong passion for collecting their music. The movie 'The Birth Of the Beatles' , further fuelled this passion of his.
The Beatles were the most popular and accomplished musicians of the last century. These self taught musicians from Liverpool, England created music that continues to evolve in its form and depth . From their early days, to the music they created at the Abbey Road Studios, they gave the world true music .The bands first single "Love Me Do" released in October 1962. Their first appearance in the U.S. was in February 1964. They participated in several tours and live performances carving a permanent place for themselves. Isar's collection tracks the complete journey of the Beatles,. He has their best loved tracks like ,Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , Meet the Beatles, The Beatles Yesterday and Today, A Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul , The White Album,Beatles for Sale, Love Songs, Oldies but Goldies, Beatles Rock N Roll and their last album Abbey Road to name a few ,on Capitol , Apple and Parlophone records.
He travels around the country to source these records. "It's a terrific investment, but its my passion ", he admits. Isar also has doubles , unused records and Beatles memorabilia. He is quick to add that nothing in his collection is for sale. "It's just for the listening pleasure of people", he clarifies. Isar shares his passion with anyone who wishes to rediscover the Beatles and their music, and has a constant stream of Beatles buffs visiting him . Infact when The Bootleg Beatles were touring Pune, they visited his home , to see his collection. A virtual treasure trove of Beatles trivia , he can tell you all about how the Beatles started their own record company, and the Paul is dead hoax. Indeed Isar's unadulterated passion for the Beatles and their music goes beyond a mere hobby, and is a lifelong journey of trying to unravel and understand their music.
By Ritika Ramtri Kumar

Indian Express Article

With 18,000 plus LPs, 400 record players and 10,000 original CDs, city- based Isar Qureshi believes in preserving music in its most authentic form


A walk into his house will lead you to an era gone by. In his three-storey house, one floor is dedicated exclusively to music that houses all his collection - around 14500 (long-playing phonograph record) LPs and 400 different types of record players. From Beatles to speeches by Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, from live concert recordings to promo albums, city- based Isar Qureshi has shellac and vinyl records of all this and more. The prized-possession that has been collected over last three decades from different places, at different prices is intended to grow with each day coming. Out of this 14,500 LPs, around 5,500 are exclusively of Beatles, which he claims is the highest number of LPs possessed by anyone in the country.



A great music enthusiast, Qureshi prefers not to be called a lover of any particular genre of music. His love for the LPs dates back to the time when Qureshi was seven-year-old. "I had gone to attend a Diwali Mela and I won a record player in a game in which I participated," recalls this 38-year-old, who is working as head trainer at Tata AIG General Insurance. With the record player, he had won two LPs as well and that's how his attraction towards the old-time music pieces began. He adds, "Whenever my father used to switch on the turntable, I used to get fascinated with the rotating black disc."

However, the very first LP that he bought was when he was studying in Std XI. "I happened to come across the LP of Revolver by Beatles. While the price of the disc was Rs 40, I had only Rs 20 in my wallet. I went back home, got another twenty rupees to pick up the LP," smiles he. The rest as they say, is history as then onwards, every time Qureshi came in contact with any person or any shop in possession of a LP, he took all the efforts to buy the record. Once, he even paid 97 pounds to purchase a particular record. Qureshi has all the formats of records such as- 16, 33, 45 and 78 RPM.

Qureshi is not amongst those who prefer listening and collecting just old music. Apart from the LPs and old-time music players, he also has a huge collection of new music CDs— but strictly the original ones. He says, "Before CDs came into existence, there were these German-make metal-discs released, I have around six of them. I like to preserve the music in its original form. I am anti-MP3. I want my two daughters to experience what it it is like to listen to- Aayega Aanewala in the way it was recorded. You might find old songs in CDs too but the freshness may not be the same."

Having studied engineering and also having a good knowledge about the old-time record players, Qureshi is a pro in repairing them. Friends and others who face problems with their gramophones or record players often visit him and he is too happy to give service free of cost.

The vast collection has been bought from cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Some are even purchased from places outside India like Germany, US and UK. A music-lover to the core, there's barely an hour when some sort of music is not playing in his house. "I truly believe that music has no language. It soothes your soul and uplifts your spirit. Everyone in the family loves listening to music. Infact, even my daughters Alishba ( 4) and Areesha(3) know how to operate a turntable," concludes Qureshi.

The collection includes rare records like
—The Beatles Butcher cover
—Beatles on VJ and Swan records
—M S Subbulakshmi in 10 languages
—Pandit Nehru’s Tryst With Destiny speech
—Mahatama Gandhi’s speeches
—JF Kennedy’s ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ speech
—Malika Pukhraj’s rare 78 RPM records

TOI Article- Record Breaking

Collecting is a passion and collectors will spend a lot of money and time on this privilege. Isar Nabi Qureshi, is a hardcore music collector and Beatles buff. His collection of 400 plus record players, and over 15000 vinyl and shellac records amply illustrates this. His record collection, is eclectic to say the least, and encompasses a huge range of music, including Rock, Jazz, Country, Western Classical,Bollywood and all Indian and regional language records. It is his 5000 records strong Beatles collection however that he most reveres.

Isar who buys old record players and restores them, tells us that they are evidence of man's quest for perfect sound and ideally suited to listening to old music. The turntable is his pick and he has perfectly calibrated it and added amplifiers and equalizers, for a wonderful listening experience. Isar's love for music began when he was about 7 years old. It was at a Diwali fete that he won a mono Phillips record player and two Beatles EP records. " Those Beatles tracks had a really great effect on my perception of music" , he ponders aloud. Later in the 80s when records started going out of vogue, Isar went to Mumbai, and there at the Rhythm House he saw records being sold for Rs 20 each. It was then that he bought his first Beatles record, 'Revolver'. And thus began a lifelong passion for collecting their music. The movie 'The Birth Of the Beatles' , further fuelled this passion of his.

The Beatles were the most popular and accomplished musicians of the last century. These self taught musicians from Liverpool, England created music that continues to evolve in its form and depth . From their early days, to the music they created at the Abbey Road Studios, they gave the world true music .The bands first single "Love Me Do" released in October 1962. Their first appearance in the U.S. was in February 1964. They participated in several tours and live performances carving a permanent place for themselves. Isar's collection tracks the complete journey of the Beatles,. He has their best loved tracks like ,Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , Meet the Beatles, The Beatles Yesterday and Today, A Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul , The White Album,Beatles for Sale, Love Songs, Oldies but Goldies, Beatles Rock N Roll and their last album Abbey Road to name a few ,on Capitol , Apple and Parlophone records.

He travels around the country to source these records. "It's a terrific investment, but its my passion ", he admits. Isar also has doubles , unused records and Beatles memorabilia. He is quick to add that nothing in his collection is for sale. "It's just for the listening pleasure of people", he clarifies. Isar shares his passion with anyone who wishes to rediscover the Beatles and their music, and has a constant stream of Beatles buffs visiting him . Infact when The Bootleg Beatles were touring Pune, they visited his home , to see his collection. A virtual treasure trove of Beatles trivia , he can tell you all about how the Beatles started their own record company, and the Paul is dead hoax.

Indeed Isar's unadulterated passion for the Beatles and their music goes beyond a mere hobby, and is a lifelong journey of trying to unravel and understand their music