Ninety-year-old R. Sundaravadanan fell in love not with music but with the mechanism that brought music to the table during his teenage days. In the early 1960s in Thiruvananthapuram, Sundaravadanan, who had access to a library next to the University of Kerala campus, became hooked to technical books about audio electronics and the engineering behind them.
Fast forward to 2025, Sundaravadanan, known as “Stylus Mani” among antique collectors, is one of the only audio-electrical repair experts in these parts who can fix a damaged stylus and refurbish parts of a vintage turntable. Mani spends his days in a little workshop at his home in Paruthippara, Thiruvananthapuram, surrounded by piles of vintage record players, spare parts, and tools stacked one over another.
