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.
“It started as a hobby — deconstructing electrical devices, radios, and record players. From childhood, my interest was always in screwdrivers, winding wires, etc. As a teenager, all that I ever wanted to do was work on turntables, make radios, and other audio devices,” says Mani. It became a career for Mani without his even realising it. He started a radio and electronics repair shop in Palayam named Audio Electronics. Gradually, turntables retired from the mainstream and tape recorders took over. Mani also adapted to the progress in technology for a while.
Later, when television became common, Mani turned to assembling amplifiers and speakers in his home workshop, where he continues to work even today. Over the years, Mani’s craft had more takers as vintage gramophone and turntable collectors grew in number. By word of mouth, he soon became known as “Stylus Mani”, with the gift of working with the intricacies of a stylus.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Mani discovered the possibilities of the Internet. He began advertising his service on a website, which opened the doors to enquiries from across the country.
Countrywide fame
Today, antique collectors from different States send their devices to him for repair. Mani, being a typical old-school man, still prefers and trusts India Post for all his dispatches.
As one enters a narrow passage past the gates to the old tile-roofed residence of Mani in Thiruvananthapuram, time feels frozen with a song from the 1950 Hindi movie Dastan playing loudly.
Mani is quietly working in his workshop, unbothered by the passage of time.
What began as a hobby became a career, and in his old age, has once again returned to being a hobby, much like the cyclical nature of life itself.
Keen eye: Mani inspecting a gramophone stylus.
Hands on: R. Sundaravadanan aka Stylus Mani working on a turntable at his workshop in Thiruvananthapuram.
Tools of the trade: Some of the tools Mani uses at his workshop.
On the table: A collection of styluses awaiting repair
Restoring tunes: Mani testing a refurbished turntable at his home workshop.
Mending master: Mani working on a turntable.
Old is gold: Mani playing his favourite old music record while at work.
Intricate work: Mani inspecting a gramophone stylus.
Music in motion: Amplifed note of a stylus smoothly tracing a record’s grooves.
Published – August 24, 2025 09:33 am IST
