# VHS at heart

VHS videotapes became popular in 1970 but I only knew them at their dusk. The first VHS tape I rented was in 2001, I was a 5th grader and *had* to see Lord of the Rings. A few of my fellow classmates who had VHS players at home were talking about magic, dragons, and a small djin.

Now, we didn't have a VHS player. We didn't have a TV even. No, there was no financial issue, we were quite affluent even. It was a traditional ekannoborti (joint) family with all my paternal aunts, uncles, their children—with my grandfather as the patriarch. Now, he was a moulovi (religious authority of sort) who were very much opposed to the idea of a TV. He called it Shaytaner Baksho (the box of the devil). So watching that VHS tape of LOTR at was out of the question.

But it was a time when neighbors were close. When foods were still shared among them regularly. When people from one household frequented their neighboring ones. When people were truly social. One of my neighbors had a VHS player and I went to their home to see my film.

[source](https://www.madisontapes.com/listing/649910445/lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the)

Lord of the rings was one of the earliest Hollywood films I saw (before that I only saw south Asian films with their absurd musicals)—and that experience changed my perception of the medium for good. Of course, I couldn't rent a lot of films as I had no system at home and as a boy, I had no means to buy a system either. Still, I did rent tapes from time to time and took them to whoever wanted to let me see them at their home. Many did, as they didn't have to pay for the film and got to see it for free.

And before long, VHS started to disappear. CDs were already taking over the industry. It was an inevitable change but those tapes bear the mark of my growing up. A sort of affinity I still feel towards them.

— notacinephile