For anyone who grew up in India in the 80s, the walkman is synonymous with collecting numerable audio cassettes of Kenny G or the U2. Almost every teenager could be spotted walking around with the bulky player strapped onto their waists until much slimmer versions were launched by Sony. Just like your first pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers or the Reebok shoes, Sony Walkman was a must have in the post liberalized India.
Legend has it that the walkman was conceived by an audio engineer, Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony Chairman Akio Morito, who wanted to listen to his favourite operas on long international flight journeys. Would you ever buy it if it were to be called ‘Stowaway’ or ‘Soundabout’? Thanks to the popularity of Superman in those days, Walkman came to be named. Though the makers hated the name Walkman, they had to stick to it as expensive promotional campaign had already begun. But soon it became the most loved gadget across the globe. With almost 220 million cassette players sold so far, the Sony Walkman is unarguably the most loved gadget of our times.
A steep drop in sales has forced Sony to stop the production from their Japanese manufacturing unit after the last batch is off shelves. Though officials at Sony say they will continue production from their unit in China, till they see a demand mostly coming from Europe and some Asian countries. So don’t bury your walkman dreams as yet. As customers are increasingly switching to the portable, sleek and compact designs, it was only evident that Sony took the decision of putting an end to production of this much adored gadget across generations. Are they still available even if the production has stopped? Curiosity got me onto the metro and hop off at Karol Bagh to walk down to Gaffar Market. I was still looking for the lost ruins of the immortal Walkman. After hours at the maze-like neighborhood I ended up in shop no. 40 and was greeted by a Chinese Walkman look-alike called ‘Super’, half the price but not even half as charming as the original.
In 1979, when it was first launched, journalists were given Walkmans and were asked to walk around listening to explanation on them. Though it gathered poor response initially, kids in Britain had already started to demand a walkman from their parents a year later. I remember my first brick sized Walkman that grandfather reluctantly purchased for me. It was the 90s by the time I got hold of them; also because that’s when I started listening to what I now call music that defined me. By now Walkmans had become cheaper, more celebrated possessions and less bulky. When it was a few years old and the play button had by now been worn out due to overuse, I stuck it together with sellotape and we were happy to rock and roll again. No product would ever come close to capturing what it meant being a teenager in the 80s.
During long train journeys I remember getting off stations to load up on lithium batteries to get my humble set going. I have come a long way since then, now I use the Sony Walkman W series that looks very futuristic and nothing like the original Walkman. I remember how I used to tire out all my A sides and would often not end up moving to the B side.
Soon the walkman was succeeded by the Compact Disc players. Cousins from America would be kind enough to bring me CDs of Pearl Jam and Nirvana to add to my collection. It soon became fashionable to boast of a CD collection. The Walkman came as big relief for most teenagers as it gave them some moments of solitude from prying eyes of the elders. This gadget liberated us like no other by making the listening experience easy and on the go.
A friend described the Walkman, ‘a seminal piece of technology’ remising fond memories of making mix tapes for his sweetheart and labeling them with love notes right through his teenage years. But today all our music is stored digitally on swanky iPods and other digital music players. The walkman was a huge influence on the popular culture. It was almost like the iPod of the 80s. It won’t be long before a walkman becomes a collectors’ item and is sold for not less than a few thousands at Chor Bazaar.
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