But few of them don’t. Vividh Bharati, for example. It completes 50 years today October 3, 2007.
During my school days at Miraj, 1965-75, Radio Ceylon (I haven’t forgot even a jingle “hey, hey Binaca Green, Binaca Green hey hey..”) occupied haloed place in our lives because we couldn’t quite tune to short-wave Vividh Bharati every day. Signal wasn’t reliable. Except on Sunday afternoons, when a guest star hosted the program Vishesh Jaymala, waves complied.
Radio Australia and BBC were more reliable. (btw- There hasn’t been anything more thrilling, yes including T20 WC, on either TV/radio, than 1975-76 Australia-West Indies test cricket series, heard on RA. India-West Indies 1974-75 was better in cricketing terms but was not as well commentated on and photographed-courtesy Patrick Eagar).
Although Vividh Bharati gives me Browningian reassurance of ‘All's right with the world!’ with K L Saigal number in the morning, the program I best like is Chhayageet at 10 PM.
It calms my nerves and creates hope for the next day. I have this habit of recording favourite but unpossessed song on a tape but when I am listening to Chhayageet, I don’t do it. I just let that moment of bliss prevail. Greed can wait.
10 PM in Pune is a time when noise outside is low, hot summer day is giving in to persistent cool breeze, birds & dogs are quiet, rain is not lashing very hard, cold winter night is still away, all of us have shut up and Vividh Bharati is on a song. Trance is never too far.
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Artist: Robert J. Day The New Yorker September 20, 1947
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