Business has slowed down, but Mahalaya shifts spotlight to Kolkata’s radio-man

KOLKATA: In the age where people wait in long queues outside Apple stores to get their hands on the latest iPhone 16 series, which comes at an astronomically high price, who would think of listening to a radio? If not every day, on Mahalaya, the humble radio rediscovers its charm and utility. Bengalis dust off their old sets or repair the old ones before Mahalaya to listen to the iconic Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s rendition of ‘Mahisasuramardini’. And just a week or two before Mahalaya, the beginning of Devi Paksha, the otherwise quaint shop on 40, Banamali Sarkar Street in the potter colony of Kumartuli in Kolkata, buzzes with activity.

For 67-year-old Amit Ranjan Karmakar, Mahalaya is the most special time of the year. The old radio man of Kolkata gets to repair several radio sets on Mahalaya despite the waning popularity of the radio.

Since 1976, he opens the doors of his shop at 7 am, a habit he incorporated from his father. From vintage radio sets like Telefunken, Murphy, Phillips to Bush, give him a broken radio of any company and he will return it to you all repaired.

Wednesday is Mahalaya, and like every year, Karmakar has many sets to repair. He has already delivered 43 radio sets, with another 10-20 left to finish before Mahalaya. “Before Mahalaya, I stay up late at night to repair sets,” he said. Karmakar recalls how in 1981 he cried his heart out. That year, he repaired the most radio sets in his career and earned Rs 7,330, a personal record that still stands.

Popularly known as “radio kaku” among the younger generation, Karmakar shared how the youth who visited Kumartuli during Durga Puja helped keep his profession alive.

“They are a mobile-savvy generation, but they bring radio sets belonging to their parents and grandparents,” said Karmakar, who has more than 150 antique radio sets in his shop. His son, Partha, however, has not followed in his footsteps. Karmakar doesn’t mind, understanding how the radio business is losing its shine. “Technology has evolved, but Mahalaya is eternal. Radio might lose its sheen, but it will never lose its importance, especially on Mahalaya,” smiled the radio man of Kolkata.