"Behenon aur bhaiyyon…" Half a century ago, the words held us in thrall. The warmest greeting to waft from the radio, "Sisters and brothers" was a respectful inversion to cheer. Flipping the conventional "Bhaiyyon aur behenon" salutation with amazing adab was, of course, the redoubtable Ameen Sayani
With just-right cool at the mic and typically tender lilting tone, the man behind what must be the most mellifluous announcement in broadcast history, compered over 54,000 radio programmes, jingles and spots
Binaca Geetmala on Radio Ceylon defined him. The smash hit show presenting top listeners' choices in Hindi film songs saw spiralling lakhs of households tune in for this Wednesday evening hour. Kids collected "Binaca charms", miniature toy animals packed with Binaca toothpaste tubes
Ameen Sayani, shared a close bond with Lata Mangeshkar. He says: "Lata was not only the queen of Indian melody, but also my sister. While she was just two-three years elder to me, I never called her Lata didi because we had a close bond and she was so youthful"
Former BBC News Journalist, Pervaiz Alam met Sayani recently in December 2023, at his flat in New Marine Lines, Mumbai. He shared on X: “Couldn’t resist the temptation of recording him. He gladly agreed but I’ll post that informal recording some other time”
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