Imagine walking into a shop and hearing music played from a 200-year-old radio! Sounds unbelievable, right? But it's true, and it's happening at Mahboob Radio Services near Charminar in Hyderabad. This shop, which began nearly 110 years ago by Sheikh Mahboob, a veteran from the Nizam's era, is still operated by his descendants.
Radios were a luxury during the Nizam’s time, owned mostly by affluent families. Mahboob started selling radios imported from abroad around the early 1900s, a time when radio was a novelty, invented by Marconi in 1893. Over the years, the family has collected and maintained radios from that era. Some of the treasures include Pilot radios which are still in working condition and serve as a connection to a bygone era.
This shop not only provides a nostalgic peek into the past but also showcases the endurance of these vintage machines, which can still catch and play radio signals clearly. Alongside, you can find American brand Bush radios, Dutch Philips stereos, and Indian Murphy radios, all ranging from 50 to 90 years old.
