That was an evening when, having fiddled a lot with online news apps on my mobile phone, I switched on the radio at 8 p.m. I usually would do that at 9 p.m. to listen to the news on FM 'Gold'. While changing the channels quickily, finding no great filler up till the news would start, I listened to a voice that perplexed me. That was humaari agli peshkash hai Hawa Mahal (our next programme is Hawa Mahal). How on earth could I hear the announcement of the famous programme of All India Radio's (AIR) Vividh Bharati service?
In sheer disbelief, I continued listening to it for the next five minutes. Meanwhile I searched the Net and found out that from April 2015 "VB" services had been launched on the FM platform to reach a wider audience in the Delhi-NCR region. It was a breather for a listener like me and others who had grown up listening to the Vividh Bharati besides watching Doordarshan. The popular service from All India Radio, which offers a variety of programmes ranging from film music, skits, short plays to interactive programmes, and targeting all age groups, is one of the memories associated with my childhood.
When I was about five, my parents brought me and my sister to Mukteshwar from Almora, my birthplace. Mukteshwar is a nondescript hill station (utterly remote till the dawn of millennium 2000, now a well-known hill station) in Nainital district. It is surrounded by dense deodar and chir-pine forest. My father worked here and he
wanted us to get me admitted to the Kendriya Vidyalaya there. Those were the days when playschools did not exist. However, we had been to a kindergarten in Almora. It is located at a high altitude, hence the summers used to be you-wink-and-you-miss.
Being a small town there were few options of recreation, entertainment or dining out, so everybody used to stay at home before it got dark in the evening. The wild animals, including the big cats, too got active after darkness fell. Therefore people kept themselves indoors. The women would do the domestic chores and man either surrounded the bonfire in the common area of the government quarters or watched TV or listened to the radio.
The life-pattern at our home was no different from this. In the mornings, when my mother finished her pooja and we were done with the revision of our school lessons, my father used to switch on the radio and tune into Vividh Bharati. At breakfast we would enjoy Chitralok, which aired trailers of the latest movies. It was my favorite. The alternating narration by a male and female voice would give an impetus to the movie in such a way that one would leave all work and watch it intently.
Vividh Bharati had much more in its bouquet, beyond film music for the masses. Jaimala (a programme for soldiers), Hawa Mahal (my favourite No. 2), Inse Miliye, Bhoole Bisre Geet, Sangeet Sarita, Chitralok and Chhayageet are a few of the many popular programmes that were a part and parcel of our daily life.
In winter Mukteshwar used to get cut off from the rest of the country owing to snowfall. The surroundings looked beautiful; outside no other colour was visible but white. I would take out my father's binoculars to see the lofty peaks and snow- capped forests from our window. The supply of essentials including newspapers would cease, water in the taps froze and we were under virtual house-arrest. The TV antenna would become dysfunctional. Power supply would only make a guest appearance.
To beat the chill, my mother would make a makeshift kitchen near fire-place in the living room and we would get fresh chapatis made over charcoal.
The radio would, thus, become the only medium of entertainment in winter. I remember how I used to pretend as if I had fallen asleep, but actually not until my father switched off the radio at 10 p.m. By that time we were fully entertained and apprised of the current affairs too. My father would give us trivia, picking up the keywords from the news. My love for Vividh Bharati became deeper after hearing such anecdotes. No discussion on Vividh Bharati is not complete without touching upon the legend Ameen Sayani; his quintessential voice and peculiar narration were amazing. Whenever I go down memory lane, I will remember my childhood and Vividh Bharati.
It was very popular in some neighbouring countries as well. Listeners of the short-wave network would write appreciation letters to AIR regularly.
In today's context, the presentation on AIR may sound outdated but I still feel it had quality and substance. They say it is gloomy, whereas I say it actually can be heard by the whole family sitting together but doing their own thing. They say the news readers are monotonous but I strongly feel the 15-minute bulletin is enough for one to know current affairs.
Even today, when I have a wide range of choices of more than 500 channels, I relish Hawa Mahal and Chitralok, as I did during my childhood. The memories of my childhood are interlaced with winters and Vividh Bharati. People say I have become old, though I am just 32, but I don't mind.
Varun Joshi
Forwarded by :- Shri. Mitul Kansal
kansalmitul@gmail.com
