THIS is with reference to the obituary piece ‘Broadcaster whose voice united South Asia dies at 91’ (Feb 22). Ameen Sayani, the iconic radio presenter, died at 91 in Mumbai on Feb 20. Ameen Sahib got instant fame when he started hosting the most famous weekly radio programme of the time, Binaca Geetmala, in December 1952 from Radio Ceylon that ranked Indian film songs by order of popularity based on listeners’ requests.

Primarily, it was a sales promotion programme for the toothpaste brand. However, the company could have never in its wildest imagination hoped for the boost that Ameen Sahib’s programme did bring to its product. The prog- ramme was also instrumental in increasing the sales of radio sets, which at that time were the only source of home-based entertainment in the bsence of any television transmission in the region.

Initially, it was a 30-minute programme that was soon extended to 60 minutes, comprising 16 top songs sung by legendary singers. Music lovers across the subcontinent would be glued to the radio in the evening of every Wednesday, and wait rather impatiently. People would come back from their offices and businesses in time to ensure that they did not miss the programme; not even the opening line, “Behno aur bhaiyo, mein aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon”, which had its own iconic status in the peculiar tone and intonation of Ameen Sahib.

The build-up to the climax before the top-of-the-chart song was equally exciting as Ameen Sahib would create a lot of suspense, asking millions of his listeners to hold their breath and keep guessing.

Ameen Sahib visited Pakistan in 2008 at the invitation of the late Sultan Arshad Sahib, who was himself an encyclopedia of film songs. In honour of the visiting guest, a music programme was organised at the Karachi Arts Council where singers from the host’s music club, Amateur Melodies, performed. They were stunned but excited to perform in the presence of a person who had played a major role in getting those very songs popularised.

The broadcast continued till 1994, but its popularity at least in Pakistan had started declining after the advent and introduction of television in the mid-1960s, as people preferred watching drama serials instead of listening to the radio. The star status of Ameen Sahib, however, remained, and will remain, unaffected. Besides being a great radio personality, Ameen Sahib was able to bring a tremendous change in the social life of the people across the region.

Parvez Rahim
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2024