A String of Songs

Road trips with my grandchildren are always fun. They bring their snacks, smartphones, and iPods with them. I listen to their favorite podcasts, audio stories, and music. We have interesting conversations too. It makes me think how different it was when I listened to music at their age.

I would go to the living room where the radio was placed. It was a device shared by the whole family. We had a Phillips radio, the size of a small microwave oven with an indoor aerial. Before we tuned into a station the aerial had to be adjusted to get the best reception. When the initial “crackling” sound settled, we were careful not to touch the radio.

My siblings, cousins, and I looked forward to a weekly radio program called Binaca Geetmala which was aired by Radio Ceylon. I thought Geetmala which means a “string of songs” was a befitting name for the program. We made sure our homework was done, chores assigned to us completed and nothing remained that would prevent us from listening to our favorite program.

We waited in anticipation to hear Ameen Sayani, the host of the program come on air at 8 p.m. with his familiar greeting “Behno aur Bhaiyo…”, “Sisters and brothers…” flipping the conventional brothers and sisters greeting! His cheerful voice is still ingrained in my memory as it is I am sure for many listeners of that time. With my Geetmala notebook in hand, I was ready to update the list of top songs for that week. One hour of music just flew by.

Music from yesteryears still strikes a chord in my heart. The beginning of a song brings warm memories of my parents and my home in Hyderabad.