Those were the times..Radio

Sangam at Allahabad

I grew up in Allahabad and have vivid memories of my childhood there. Over the last couple of decades a lot has changed in the country and in Allahabad too and I consider my self fortunate to have seen this transformation from close quarters and also in some ways, contributed to it too. In the next series of blogs I hope to reflect on lives in those times.


Life was rather uncomplicated  then. There was less choice; whether in profession, in the market or for entertainment. All India Radio (Akashvani) was an info/entertainment companion. One woke up to the signature tune of the Akashvani and then timed oneself for school, as different programs followed. The Hindi news at 8AM, was time to leave. "Yeh Akashvani hai. Ab aap Devki Nanadan Pandey se poore samachar suneye..." and if I was not outside the gate by this time, cycling vigorously to school, I would miss the assembly prayer.   

The entertainment channel was called Vividh Bharti and I loved it. In the evening Vividh Bharti had a program around 7 PM dedicated to armymen; fauji bhaiyon ke liye, I forget the name. It used to play current Bollywood hits and triumvirate of Kishore, Rafi and Mukesh provided many hours of soulful companionship. Once a week a celebrity host from Bollywood presented his or her choice of songs along with anecdotes from the industry, while on other days requests from Fuaji Bhai's were played. I always made sure homework was over by 9PM so that I could hear Hawa Mahal which played skits and followed by Chaya Geet little later. Chaya Geet played some particularly melodious songs around a theme. I usually signed off for the day with Chaya Geet, though the broadcast continued till 11 PM.

Since radio was an audio only medium, I also read books while listening. The mind would automatically filter out all "noise", like advertisement spots and other programs and hear only to stuff that one liked. The radio played on throughout the day when I was home.

Another attraction was Binaca Geet Mala which was broadcast from Sri Lanka. It was a top of the chart count down program hosted by the legendary Ameen Sayani.

When a test match series (there were only tests then) was being played, one could hear the commentary even on the streets. Dr Narottam Puri  and Suresh Saraiya were the commentators in English, whose names I recall. Lala Amarnath would sometimes chip in as an expert. It was quite okay to ask anyone carrying a radio "score kya hai" and he would dutifully oblige.  I understand the sale of Philips pocket radios which ran on AA batteries and could be carried around,  shot up in during cricket series.

BBC was another channel which was quite popular. It took me a long time to understand what "news on the hour, every hour" meant. It was cool to listen and pretend to understand BBC news. In the 1971 war with Pakistan., BBC was a secondary source of news as many thought that the Akashvani news may not be very accurate. 

Ah life could not be imagined without a Murphy or Philips radio at home. I would look to hear from others, about their experiences with the radio in those times. Please share and oblige.