Remembering Radio Ceylon And Ameen Sayani's Voice

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 13 April 2023 Thanks for reviving and excavating the memories of Radio Ceylon and the Hindustani language spoken by its famous announcers, spearheaded by Ameen Sayani. Ameen Sayani - Wikipedia ------ Years ago, I read an article in the now-defunct 'The Illustrated Weekly of India.' Years have elapsed, so I can't recall the name of the writer who wrote the article. But I remember, she wrote that being a Tamil in Delhi, initially, it was difficult for her to understand the north Indian lingo and the Hindustani spoken by the people of Delhi. Then someone suggested that she should listen to Radio Ceylon and esp. its programme Binaka Geet Mala. She started listening to Binaka Geet Mala and soon got enamoured of the voice and colloquial Hindi, spoken by its regular announcer Ameen Sayani. Within six months, she mastered Hindi and went on to pursue Hindi (Hons.) during her graduation. Such was the impact of Ameen Sayani's voice and diction that he made a Tamil-speaking young girl learn and master Hindi! Not just Ameen Sayani, but other announcers like the famous Ganjwar sisters, Vimla and Kamini Ganjwar, Vijay Kishore Dubey, Gopal Sharma, Hasan Rizvi, Shiv Kumar Saroj (he wrote a few Hindi songs as well, notable among them is 'Khamosh Zindagi Ko Aawaaz De Rahe Ho....' Rafi, music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Film: Nag Mandir, 1967), Manohar Mahajan, to name but a few. They all spoke impeccable Hindi that was intelligible to the listeners. It was neither laden with incomprehensible Persian or Arabic words nor was it teeming with difficult and unheard-of Sanskrit terms. But the listeners still remember that most of the announcers had a natural tilt towards Urdu and the announcer Vijay Kishore Dubey would often say, 'Programme Khatm Hua Chahta Hai, ' instead of more common, ' Programme Khatm Hota Hai.' Those who're not familiar with Urdu will find this syntax rather different and also difficult: 'Mahfil/Bazm Khatm Hua Chahti Hai' In Lieu Of 'Mahfil/Bazm Khatm Hoti Hai.' But, 'Khatm Hua Chahta/Chahti Hai' is also perfectly alright, albeit often limited to the native speakers of Urdu. Many listeners learnt the nuances of refined Hindustani from these announcers and polished their Hindi and Urdu. Alas, no one listens to radio programmes any longer and this rootless generation is unaware of Radio Ceylon or All India Radio, Urdu Service. Students of Urdu literature would learn how to speak Urdu the way Mahmud Hashmi of All India Radio, Urdu Service spoke with perfect pauses and immaculate diction. Nowadays, announcers are called radio jockeys, whose Hindi, let alone Urdu, can unnerve those who're inured to speaking and hearing the very best. To a connoisseur, today's diabolical Hindi sounds like an extended expletive! Times have changed so drastically. ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/radio-ceylon-ameen-sayani/d/129549 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism