On February 20, 2024, the world lost a legend. Radio presenter Ameen Sayani died of a cardiac arrest in Mumbai. He was 91. An iconic voice synonymous with radio, Sayani compered and presented over 50,000 shows.
Growing up in the 1980s, I have fond memories of listening to the Binaca Geetmala on the radio. It’s a coincidence that the legendary voice fell silent only a week after the World Radio Day on February 13.
Radio was a constant presence in the lives of the people back when the channels of entertainment were limited. Listeners formed a relationship, a bond of sorts, with the voices inside the radio sets. A similar personalisation is somewhat reflected in the compering style of All India Radio jockeys even today.
Radio offers content that is informative, empowering, liberating, and entertaining. A slice of little something for every listener. Driving long hours on Delhi’s traffic snarled roads has kept me close to FM despite the numerous choices of content consumption in Digital India.
In my interactions with blind and visually impaired people over the past few years, I realised how accessible this channel of media is, as compared to television, cinema, or OTT. Unlike the later generations of radio listeners who have switched to private radio stations, a large section of the 63 million (as per World Health Organisation) blind population still tunes in to the All India Radio. Their daily dosage includes news updates, sports commentary, dramas and short stories, interviews, and of course music.
Unlike the visual media, radio doesn’t exclude. Persons with vision impairment who rely heavily on audio input, can equally catch, participate, and enjoy radio broadcast. In fact, a lot of them grow up aspiring to be Radio Jockeys.
The National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (earlier known as NIVH) located in Dehradun, runs a community radio station Hello Doon 91.2, where all programmes are presented by the visually impaired youth. The institute offers an RJ course which trains blind students to pursue career options in voice functions.
But what about mainstream radio? Do you know of any blind presenters on the popular radio stations?
RJ Shrikanth who was born with vision in one eye, works with the Food Corporation of India in Chennai. He lost his good eye in an accident and went completely blind. When he stopped going to school following his blindness, he was drawn to radio. Apart from his day job, he worked as a Radio Jockey on the weekends, to keep his creative passion alive. He has worked for All India Radio, 92 Tamil FM, and BBC World Service.
A few more visually impaired people in India who may not be widely recognised, have presented on the All India Radio. Rajni Gupta hosted a show called Yuva Swar on AIR, promoting young musical talent. Dilip Karampuri hosted shows focusing on literature and poetry. Rupendra Yadav worked as an AIR presenter on a show called Antardrishti, to empower people with disabilities.
In more recent times, Radio Udaan, an online radio station run by and for the disabled community, has popularised many voices among the visually impaired people. Since its inception in 2014, Radio Udaan has conducted several RJ hunts across cities, following which visually impaired people were trained to anchor and edit before going on air.
There are some well-known voices in the international radio circuit as well.
Peter White is a British journalist and broadcaster, best known for his work on BBC Radio 4. Born totally blind in Winchester in 1947, Peter has presented numerous programs including You and Yours and In Touch which focus on issues affecting visually impaired people.
Another famous presenter is Lucy Edwards who apart from contributing to various BBC radio shows, co-hosts a podcast called Blind Guy Travels.
Allan Russell is a blind radio presenter and journalist from New Zealand. He has worked for Radio New Zealand and other radio stations, covering a range of topics including disability issues.
Gilles Pépin is a radio host from Canada, who has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio. He hosted the program Les Heures du Monde (The Hours of the World) on Radio-Canada.
Closer home, in Pakistan, Rehana Gul followed her childhood passion to become the first blind RJ from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Gul works at FM 92.2 where she invites other persons with disabilities to her programme, Mashalona.
In a fast-changing world driven by technology, radio has managed to live on. That’s because it is accessible and connects with a diverse audience across geographies. It doesn’t discriminate on the basis of caste, gender, socio-economics, or disability.