Tuning In To The Good Old Days of The Radio - Hindustan Times

Image Source: Flickr | The Good Old Days of Radio

Whenever I switch on my FM radio of the car, I dive straight into the early '70s when we had just one radio for the entire family. To avoid any conflict, time slots were allocated according to the preferences of family members.

The afternoon belonged to my mother who would not miss 'Behno ka karyakaram' and her all-time favourite 'Hindi Natya Rupantar'. 'Aapki Farmaish' and 'Aapki Pasand' programmes that played music on the request of listeners were liked not because of the songs but simply listening to our names in the list.

   The Urdu service of All India Radio was the favourite of all. Except for the time when ghetto box was placed in the living room, updating us on the news and routine music, the electronic piece, smartly attired in a brown leather case, kept on changing hands as per the time slots agreed to.   


Of all the music programmes, Binaca Geet Mala that was later christened Cibaca Geet Mala, was the favourite with us siblings. The mesmerizing voice of Ameen Sayani with signature 'Behno aur bhaiyo' is still fresh in the mind. The weekly chart ratings of the songs kept the curiosity level high not only of the youngsters but our parents, too.

The names of newscasters Ramanuj Pratap Singh, Devki Nandan Pandey, Vinod Kashyap, Melville de Mellow, and Surojit Sen were quite familiar to everyone. The words 'Yeh Akashvani hai, ab aap Ramanuj Prasad Singh se samachar suniye' or 'This is All India Radio, the news read by Melville de Mellow' and the melodious tinkling tune of Vividh Bharti still echo in my mind timelessly.

The sports lovers of my age cannot forget the hypnotic voice of Jasdev Singh rendering ball by ball account of the cricket matches in his emphatic style. In those days, TVs were rare. We used to get glued to the transistor radio to listen to the running commentary and visualize the scenes. Amid the high decibel sputter of the stadium, Jasdev Singh's narration of weather conditions, the sun, the breeze, and the grass made of the audience feel live on the scene. His co-commentator Ravi Chaturvedi, and Murli Manohar Manjul with their respective styles and voice tones reigned supreme in our minds.

The night-time slot was reserved for my sister, who never missed Tameel-e-Irshad, broadcast by the Urdu service of All India Radio. The programme of old songs was immensely popular with youngsters. The programmes, Shamme Firoza, and Nagma-o-Tabbassum, captured our hearts for the chaste Urdu rendering by hosts, especially Shamim Qureshi.

My sincere thanks to the small gadget that provided us with those soulful moments of joy, fun, and knowledge. My apologies for the tiny pocket piece which accompanied me to the hostel. The sweet little compact bore the brunt of my economic compulsions as I, bypassing its original circuits, overburdened the tiny soul with two large-sized batteries tucked with a rubber band on its back and confined it to one corner of my study table. But that noble soul never failed to entertain me and many of my hostel mates. Perhaps, due to the dedicated and selfless service provided to the masses, the box is regaining its importance in a new avatar.


✍ Dr. Sanjeev Trikha

 Featured in: The Hindustan Times

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