Traversing through Ameen Sayani's “Namaskar behno aur bhaiyon” and beyond

Renowned radio announcer Ameen Sayani passed away at the age of 91 on February 21. Here’s an overview of the announcer’s contributions and the impact he left behind.

Ameen Sayani was a key figure in spreading the influence of radio listening in India. In the early 1950s, as a newly independent country that was grappling with finding a commonly-approved means of entertainment, Sayani began hosting Binaca Geetmala on Radio Ceylon, a weekly countdown of Hindi film songs. His unique greeting - “Namaskar behno aur bhaiyon, main hoon aapka dost Ameen Sayani”- and his charming way of presenting, made thousands tune into the show.    

Geetmala found popularity across India and South Asia, and ran for 42 years - making it one of All India Radio’s (AIR) many success stories.

His brother introduced him to radio

Sayani was not the only one in their family to be associated with the radio. Hamid Sayani, a renowned radio announcer and Ameen’s brother, introduced the former to All India radio, Bombay.

Hamid too, had attained such popularity, that he was nicknamed King of Airwaves in the 1950s. The brothers collaborated on many radio programmes before Hamid’s death in 1975.

International radio space

Sayani helped export Indian radio shows internationally. He has also hosted several shows that were produced for radio stations abroad. Some of the longest running ones were ‘Mini Insertions of filmstar interviews’ for the BBC’s Ethnic Network in the UK, ‘Hangamay’ for ethnic stations in Toronto, Canada and Houston, Washington and other locations of the USA, and ‘Sangeet Paheli’ for Radio Truro, Swaziland.

In India, he was actively associated with the radio till 2014, compering and producing the show ‘Sangeet Kay Sitaron ki Mehfil’.

Beyond radio

Sayani helped his mother, Kulsum Sayani, produce and edit a fortnightly journal, Rahber, for newly literate groups of the population, under the instructions of Mahatma Gandhi. The journal was published in Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati simultaneously,

Sayani also dabbled in films. He appeared in Boxer, Qatl, Teen Devian and Bhoot Bungla, portraying an announcer in most of his Bollywood ventures. 

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