Vinyl Records India - Review after One year

Well, this is the new craze of Vinyl Records in India. I have been collecting Vinyl records for over a year now and have 250+ records, mostly Bollywood movies.

When I started collecting records, the prices started from 500 rupees, which a year back I found expensive, the new records were released at 1200+ which was again expensive.  The records prices changed based on rarity.

Some 6 - 8 months back, started seeing online stores adding more categories to rare, like Angel First Recording, Polydor first recording, Odeon First Record, Oden Double ring, HMV Red Dot ... and many more and prices of some not rare records also touched the roof. Not only this, online resellers are selling records with printed covers also with very high prices, according to me a rare record is one with 1) Mint or near Mint condition 2) Mint or VG++ condition for cover. 

Not only old records, but new records with DIGITAL recording, release some 5 - 6 years back are also getting sold for some ridiculous pricing online, like DDLJ is being sold somewhere between 25,000 to 50,000 online.

I personally don't understand this pricing, especially for the new records which are digitally pressed, you can very well get CD's for the same or even wait for a few years for SaReGaMa / Venus / T-Series and others to release them again if this craze continues. For OLD records, you can wait for some sale online, especially if some collector sells the records.

I have personally stayed away from any such pricing and my max paying for any record stops at 3000, I am NOT a collector of records, just want to enjoy the experience of playing Vinyl records but not at these pricing for which the records are sold online.

Some of the websites to buy records from -

1. The Revolver Club - A decent collection of records ( Bollywood ), good customer service, the major plus is that their record grading is excellent. Website - https://www.therevolverclub.com/

2. Blisstainment - A very good option for new release of Hindi movie records, especially from Ishftar ( Venus ), they are generally very good with their services and pricing. Website - https://www.blisstainment.com/

3. MusicCircle - They also have a good collection of records, although recently old records are not in Good condition and pricing of new records is way off the charts, Rudali is being sold for 25,000 on their website so are some of the new records. They do describe the record condition correctly, you can go for VG+ records, Website - https://musiccircle.co.in/

4. Facebook sellers - I have not really come across any good Facebook seller, usually they are very expensive and don't Grade their records correctly, I would suggest to stay away, unless you have a seller at your city / town and can physically visit them.

5. SaReGaMa - Recently SaReGaMa launched Vinyl records selling directly from their website and have released 8 records, good ones, you can try them from their website here - https://www.saregama.com/vinyl/buy-now

6. RGH / NGH - these are 2 sellers in Delhi, which NGH is very expensive, their record grading is pretty accurate, RGH on other side provides records with very poor grading. NGH - https://newgramophonehouse.com/ , RGH - https://rghindia.com/

There are other websites are well, but I found the above ones which update regularly. 

I would say that Vinyl collection is pretty EXPENSIVE hobby and have got more expensive because of recent prices that sellers are selling the records, the Gear is also expensive, all depends on how much you can afford, storing is definitely an issue and you would need space as all these physical media requires storage space. Also you initially would love the music but eventually most end becoming collectors, where you just want records and probably would only hear them once or twice or not even that.

LivSpace Experience - Pune

LivSpace Experience - Pune ( 3 BHK Flat )

We got a new place in Pune and were looking for Interior design work for our new 3 BHK home, looked at a few options and then landed with LivSpace. We were in Bangalore and not present in Pune for design and interior work, so LivSpace looked like a good option as they are one place where you can hire Designer, Carpenters, Plumbers, Painters.. basically one place shop for entire house work.

LivSpace project work is divided into many steps but broadly 

1. Project Briefing 
2. Proposal
3. Design - 3D ( SignOff )
4. Site Work ( Custom and Modular )
5. Move In
6. Project Closure

Project Briefing

We started with Project Briefing in April 2021, where we gave just an estimate on how much we want to spend of the project and what all needs to be done, a very high level scope and estimate.

LivSpace gave us a call and basically said YES to all our questions, they just wanted us to lock in the project by paying some percentage of the project.

There were no updates till September 2021, where we moved to Proposal. There was nothing much in this Phase, we only had discussion with Sales Manager and she introduced us to the Designer.

Proposal

The designer went to the under construction flat and came up with some designs, to our surprise she showed us design on PHASE 1 of the apartment ( our flat was in PHASE 2 ), they had one flat which LivSpace completed design for and the designer simply showed us the same designs. She did not realise that builder had made lots of changes in Phase 2 and we could easily identify that the designs were from Phase 1.

This was our first warning that we should have LEFT LivSpace and not given the work to them, but we corrected the designer and she said she would come up with new designs

To our surprise, the designer did not care at all, she will NOT come to meetings, she will not include our suggestions in design, it was a total WASTE of time. We escalated it to the sales manager that was present in Project Briefing and she added designers manager for help.

We very clearly told the design manager that we don't want the designer and she is not good and does not do the work, again, the design manager did not agree and said the was overlook the project and make sure updates are done.

We struggled to get anything out of the designer, the designs were very ordinary, nothing great. After months we finally agreed to a design and the Proposal was made.

SignOff 

SignOff was the first time we saw the costing for items ( at first the designer did not share the individual costing of items, when asked for, she shared it ). The costing of items was super EXPENSIVE. I was shocked with some of the prices that they had quoted. A few did not make any sense to me, example, kids room desk was quoted as modular work for 1.5 lacks. We de-scoped a few things which did not make sense to us to spend so much, most of the work was still kept as-is.

We also added a few things that we wanted, the designer said they will be added and we could see COSTING added for them, but never got them in the 3-D designs. 

NOTE - This SignOff Document is the most IMPORTANT Document, so read it very very carefully and then sing on it. The 3-D designs are just for REFERENCE. We learned this hard way during the execution phase of the project.

Site Work

We were finally excited about beginning of work at the site and this is the first time we got to meet Project Manager, this person is responsible for executing the project on site. The project manager assigned was so lazy that there was no work done on site for first 2 weeks, he will NOT pick the calls, won't visit the site, won't call you back, won't response to WhatsApp messages. We got so frustrated, that we again escalated and asked the designer to replace the project manager with a new one, but it was not done. 

Our project was very time sensitive as we were moving from Bangalore and kids school were starting in Pune, we explained this to Designer as well as Project Manager that we have a fixed date of moving and cannot change it. As work was not going on as expected, we escalated this to the Operations team manager, and again, they said that the TAT for projects depends on project value and for us it would be 4 months !!.. this was so surprising, as on the website they say 45 days ( We found out that 45 days os for modular work, which also come s with lots of terms and conditions and they will never meet it ! )

Handover

We had so many issues with LivSpace, and the work kept on going and going, finally after delay of more than 2 months, and we reducing the scope, the house interiors was completed and we could live without everyday Livspace people coming for work, it was a relief. 

We had a refund and that was so difficult to get back, that took another 1.5 months and with lots of follow-up to get that refund, again such a bad experience.

Final Thoughts

After all the pain that we have gone through, we will NOT recommend LivSpace to anyone, so many issues from designing to execution and refunds. It is very expensive and does not justify the interior work at end of the day. They get most of the work done from the cheapest local vendor and it's really not worth.

Pune to Bangalore road trip - Toll Charges ( Updated May 2023)

 Travelled yesterday (16-May-2023)  from Pune to Bangalore, below are the total toll charges

There are total of 16 toll plaza, charging below

• Rs 115 at Khed-Shivapur Toll Plaza
• Rs 75 at TASAWADE TOLL PLAZA
• Rs 70 at Kini Toll Plaza
• Rs 80 at Anewadi Toll Plaza 
• Rs 60 at Kognoli Toll Plaza 
• Rs 25 at Hattargi Toll Plaza 
• Rs 115 at Hirebgewadi toll plaza
• Rs 100 at Gabbur toll plaza
• Rs 55 at Bankapur toll plaza
• Rs 140 at Chalageri Toll Plaza
• Rs 125 at Hebbalu Toll Plaza
• Rs 80 at Guilalu Toll Plaza 
• Rs 100 at Karjeevanhally Toll Plaza
• Rs 25 at Chokkenahalli toll plaza
• Rs 20 at Kulumapalya toll plaza
• Rs 30 at Navayuga Bangalooru Tollway

Total -> Rs 1215

Bird Lounge Dehradun Experience

Recently travelled from Dehradun Airport to Pune through Indigo flight, there is Bird Lounge on the first floor of the Airport after security check.

Experience

1. Cards Accepted - ONLY credit cards are accepted, no debit cards are accepted. American Express cards are NOT accepted. Priority Pass works as well. Below are the cards that I used for family of 4.

• Axis bank Vistara infinite credit card
• Citibank Premier miles
• SBI card octane 
• Dinners Club

Walk-in charges are Rs 1500 / person.

2. Food - Was travelling for a morning flight and the place had breakfast, which included Poori, Aloo, Sandwiches, coffee, soft drinks, and water bottle. There is a bar there as well, but I did not try any drinks there.

3. Lounge itself is pretty small, not much space and eating is not very comfortable.

I didn't really like this lounge and walk-in charges are too much, also the food choices are not that many, you can give this lounge a SKIP, not really worth. 

Living Experience - Bangalore Versus Pune

 I had lived in Bangalore for 15 years and then got a job in Pune, after looking at some of the posts online, decided to move to Pune and have been living in Pune for 2 years now, have lived in Pune in Koregaon Park, Viman Nagar and presently residing in Keshav Nagar

Below are my personal experiences when I compare Pune and Bangalore and individual can have different experiences.

To begin with, Bangalore is a much bigger place, so some of the comparisons are not apple to apple, but hopefully it will help a few who want to make this decision of moving from Bangalore to Pune.

1. Property / Rentals - The first thing I checked was property for rent, as my office is in Yerwada, so was looking for places in Pune near to the office. First thing noticed that Pune have very limited semi furnished housing, most of the houses are either unfurnished or fully furnished and there is a major difference in rentals for unfurnished and fully furnished. The rentals for 3 BHK can range here anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000+ depending on the location and type of apartment that you are looking for.  Coming from Bangalore and living in Kaggadaspura near to Bagmane Tech Park, this was just too much rental for me, so decided to buy my own apartment in Pune in Keshav Nagar.

If you decide to buy property, then the property tax is very high in Pune, a 3BHK ( 1200 sqft ) will be around 32k / year, which is a lot more than in Bangalore.

2. Kids Schools - I got admission for my Kids to Vibgyor School and fees are the SAME as that in Bangalore, schools are almost comparable and didn't find any major difference.

3.  Food / Eating out - Pune and Bangalore both have good places to eat out and you can find good places to eat, but Bangalore is more Cosmo and have food from ALL over India, my wife is from Kerala and we couldn't  find a single good authentic Kerala food place to eat. Also food is expensive in Pune and varieties are much lesses, if you are someone who likes to explore eating out difference cuisines then you will miss Bangalore. 

We really miss eating Goan, Andra and other South India cuisines !

4. Connectivity - This is a MAJOR disadvantage in Pune, it's not well connected to other parts of India and you have to rely on Mumbai for some of the travel. The Airport in Pune is very small and does not have that many flights to other locations.  Bangalore is very well connected both by road and air to almost all places in India and out of India as well.

5. Weather - This is very obvious, Bangalore has beautiful weather through out the year ( apart for couple of months for summer), Pune gets very hot during summer and also it's very dry, you would really need to crank up the AC's in your apartments and it's not possible to live without them here. The summer is very difficult time to live in Pune for someone coming from Bangalore. Also the dryness of summer leaves Pune pretty polluted as well, with construction going on everywhere in Pune, it's very dusty, I have apartment on 13th Floor and it gets filled with dust.

6. Expenses - At end of the day, it all boils down to the question, is Pune cheaper ? I will say NO it's not cheaper at all, in-fact you will end up paying more in Pune, rentals, Property Taxes, apartment maintenance, taxes in general are higher in Pune. If you are coming to Pune then make sure to ask for more money than what you are getting in Bangalore.

7. Traffic - This is one of the MAJOR thing that I had read on blogs before coming to Pune, but after living here, I can say traffic is not that much different than that of Bangalore, if it takes you  1 - 1.5 hours to travel 7 - 8 kms in Bangalore, it would take more than 1 hr to travel here as well, really difference of 10 - 15 minutes, sometimes that is also not there are at some places it's worst than Bangalore.

My personal experience and recommendation is that I will NOT suggest anyone to move from Bangalore to Pune, if you have to then make sure you enquire about the area where the office is and rentals etc, also be ready to miss Bangalore's climate, elevated lifestyle, food choices etc..