That voice of Ameen Sayani on Radio Ceylon still evokes strong nostalgia. ‘Binaca Geetmala’ was the highlight of our week. The recent filmy songs ? Yes. The countdown was the best. Which song will have the ‘sartaj geet ka beagul?? We waited for that last minute.
Before TV, the radio was the only entertainment. The new songs competing for a place in the race was a trend. The reception would be on & off. Sometimes, Sayani’s voice would waver & heard in bits & pieces. But the hard core fans that we were we would have our ear glued to it!
Next day, it was the hot topic of discussion. Girls would swoon over the new entry & vow to watch it . We had to wait for weeks or months for the film to come to our town. Also ‘Chaaya geet ‘ had clips of the old songs . No new songs.
Rushes & trailers then was a rage. Watching everything before the movie began brought you up to date. ‘Newsreel’ was watched with awe.
Ameen Sayani born on 21 December 1932 ,died of a heart attack at the age of 91 ,on 20 February 2024. He was an Indian radio announcer. He was the most imitated announcers. His style of addressing the audience with ‘Behno aur bhaiyo..’is still treated as an announcement with a melodious touch.
He compered over 54,000 radio programmes & 19,000 spots /jingles since 1951. As of 2014, he was still active in radio in India.
In 2009, he was presented with the Padma Shri award. Besides this, he won many awards in his lifetime.
With his passing, we all relate to an era bygone. Lost forever. But we have melodious memories of his voice, the evergreen songs & the youthful age that we will never be again. We relive those moments with his voice.
Goodbye , Sayaniji.
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