Gramaphones find many buyers in Chennai

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Mohammed Ali, 48, visits Chennai at least three times in a year to sell gramaphones and phones.

A pavement near Rajaji Bhavan, Besant Nagar, is his favourite spot and he brings at least 10 gramaphones that are more than 80 years old and more than 15 fancy landline phones.

The attractive pieces prompt people to ask Ali about them and the place from where he procured them. However, he is hesitant to reveal the names of shops.

“There are so many places and I buy gramaphones from all over India. I even get them from Chennai and Kerala. I have a team that repairs them and makes them ready for use,” informs Ali, who has been in this business for nearly two decades now and owns an antique shop in Kerala.

“My friend and partner introduced me to this business and from then on I have been collecting clocks, phones, gramaphones and decorative pieces and selling them,” he says.

“People of different age groups buy phones from me and those who are interested will definitely buy them unmindful of the cost,” adds Ali, who earns profits of Rs 50 to Rs 300 for every item he sells, depending on the size.

Ali sells gramaphones for Rs 3,000. “The rotational speed at which gramaphones are played is 78rpm,” informs Ali, who sells at least three pieces every day.

From 10 am to 5 pm, he stays at Besant Nagar to sell his ware and goes back to a lodge at Periamet. The sale will be on till Sunday.

“There are 10 gramaphones and fancy landline phones that cost between `2,500 and `3,500. I am sure that I will sell them by Sunday,” he says, adding that he will come back after a couple of months with more antique pieces.