Rajkot: ‘Lag Ja Gale Ke Phir Yeh Haseen Raat Ho No…’ the timeless Madan Mohan classic, caresses the ears as you enter Danev Society in Chalala town of Amreli. Walk further in, and the melody grows louder, pulling you deeper into nostalgia. Follow the tune and you are led to a home where a stunning view greets the eye – every room visually narrating stories of India’s great music legacy through radios.Radios rest not behind glass but amid daily life — on kitchen shelves, in hall corners, along the gallery walls, even beside the bed. Count them, and they exceed 400.Every World Radio Day on Feb 13, the home of 80-year-old retired drawing teacher Suleman Dal feels less like a residence and more like a time capsule tuned to multiple eras. The collection spans generations of sound technology — from early valve radios, large enough to command a room at three to four feet in length, to multi-band receivers capable of catching distant international broadcasts late into the night. Some sets boast 15 to 26 bands, reminders of a time when tuning a dial felt like crossing borders.For Suleman, his fascination with electronics began in childhood and later deepened through formal courses. What others might see as scrap or relic, he sees as circuitry waiting to breathe again. He repairs every radio himself, coaxing life back into aging valves and worn-out components. Over the years, the hobby quietly expanded, set by set, era by era, until visitors began referring to his home as a “radio museum.“Among the most evocative artifacts is a preserved radio license book — from a time when owning a radio required official permission. It stands as a reminder that radio was once rare, regulated and powerful — an object that connected villages to nations and households to history.Word of the collection has travelled far beyond Chalala. Visitors arrive from across Gujarat and cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Rajkot, drawn by curiosity and admiration. Many leave speaking less about the machines and more about the man — his discipline, his patience, and his undiminished enthusiasm at 80.Behind the scenes, the museum is also a family story. Suleman’s four sons support the effort, with his youngest, Munawar Dal, closely involved in maintaining and organizing the collection. Together, they ensure that the past continues to speak clearly.
