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Srinagar, Kashmir: A small community in Srinagar is tightly holding on to forgotten times. A number of old cassette players, now barely in sight anywhere, play the verses of Ghulam Ahmad Sofi as a few individuals relish the Sufi music and a part of history preserved carefully.

This is a community that firmly believes that audio cassette tapes possess a magic that the new digital devices lack. Archiving Sufi music by Muslim saints about spirituality, love, and the emotions of the universe, this community cherishes its ways, perhaps as a way to escape the region’s long periods of uncertainty and security shutdowns, highlighted AP in its report.

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In the earlier times, cassette players were used to play the soulful poetry of Sufi saints and the divine melodies of Kashmiri instruments such as the sarangi and the santoor while families gathered around to listen to the otherworldly music.

Most albums were released by local record labels back in the day, but some passionate fans bring tape recorders to the musical gatherings. They prefer tapes because it helps them feel the sound of every instrument distinctly, something they argue the digitised versions don’t pick up.

There are still some places where Sufi music gatherings continue to be recorded on cassette tapes, once widely popular in the 1970s till the 1990s before the digital era began.

According to many Kashmiris, the music is best heard on cassette tapes, as the digital versions fail to capture the magic. On top of that, the tapes and players are also a generational heirloom, passed down from one era to another.

“It is a sacred ritual in itself to press the play button of a cassette player to listen to a song on spiritual moorings,” Abdul Ahad, a carpet weaver, told AP.

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At the same time, there are many who digitise their old recordings to preserve them for the coming generations to get a taste of a cherished past. Only few mechanics remain in the Valley who cater to this community of Sufi music lovers to restore their machines whose spare parts are being increasingly rare to find.

Since tapes eventually wear out and the cassette players suffer mechanical failure, many have to resort to digital streaming platforms and smartphones. As time passes by, the personal experience of listening to cassettes is slowly fading away.