When it was the voice you fell for

MR Anand

The other day, when I was recalling the good old days and things from my boyhood, my thought went back to our first radio, a three-banded affair. The day my father bought it was a day of great joy for us. I was a fan of Radio Ceylon which broadcasted programmes based on cinema, travel and education. Radio served as a medium of entertainment without vulgarity. No one could accuse it of spoiling youngsters, as we blame now the visual medium of television for the distraction and degradation of youth. Radio programmes were above board and fit for universal hearing.

It is also a fact that radio never interfered with your occupations and duties. You did not have to be tied to it. You could those days listen to it while attending to your work. Can anyone do the same with TV? When you watch TV you can watch only TV. But radio demands only your ears. Housewives of yesteryear used to cook, wash dishes and clothes and attend to children, listening to radio broadcasts. Mechanics repaired cycles, bikes and cars, listening to songs from their radios. Barbers were cutting hair, lending their ears to radio music.

How can we, belonging to that golden period forget those summer nights we spent on open terraces of our houses lying on our back on a grass- mat, eyes blissfully closed, listening to the cute Philips transistor. Whenever I happen to pass by the famous Panagal Park at T Nagar Chennai, my mind goes back to those evenings I spent there with my grandfather, who sat on a cement bench listening to the news from Delhi through the park’s amplified radio.

 Radio gave relaxation and eased the nerves. Unlike TV, which earned the nickname of idiot box, radio had certain honour and respectability. Parents could trust radios with their children. It did not require a child-lock. It gave importance and drew our attention to the voices which are subtler than appearances. People used to fall for voices rather than for looks. Incidents were many, where not-so-beautiful women among radio jockeys, announcers and artists had fans among handsome men and vice versa. 

There was a Sunday programme for children called ‘Pappa Malar’, conducted by Radio Anna, a very sweet-voiced gentleman. There was not a child in Madras in the sixties who had not loved him for his voice and not his looks. As a source of knowledge and information radio is superior to visual medium. What we hear is absorbed faster. That was the reason during ancient Vedic days education was imparted orally. What we hear stays longer with us than what we see. Excessive watching of TV may affect our eyes but no amount of listening to radio will harm our ears.