No business like the nostalgia business

The French actress Simone Signoret was partially right when she wistfully and at the same time ironically said, 'Nostalgia is not what it used to be.' Part of her reasoning, even from the trenches of the mid-1980s, was that with so many technological devices - recording equipment, both still and moving picture cameras - mass consumerism allowed little time or space for people to forget and then imagine what they have forgotten. Sitting in the hub of the 21st century, we archive and have access to 'memories' in far vaster quantity and with far more ease - whether picking out a song that one remembered as a kid from YouTube, or selecting an 'old classic' (the term itself always being updated) from one of the streaming platforms. But the nostalgia industry still remains relatively untapped.

While old reissues of, say, magazines - especially of less easily obtainable non-English Indian languages - and retailable fashion statements (Zeenat sunglasses, denim shirts, etc) may be happily consumed by an age-group that has both the years and the spending power under its (old-style big buckle) belt, more arenas like food, tourism and curated 'time travel' packages can be unleashed. Remember, remembering may be of things past, but the act itself takes place in the here and now. And it is in the here and now that business opportunities exist.