My Love... Vividh Bharti

Wednesday, February10, 2010

Today at exactly 5.55 am, i switched on my radio set and tuned in to All India Radio / Akashvani / Vividh Bharti at 101.0 MHz, FM channel. The radio immediately emanated ever-the-same haunting tune to announce the break of dawn. It got followed by the National song 'Vande Matram' and then the news in Hindi at 6.00 am. I usually prepare lunch boxes for my kids while listening to the Bhakti Sangeet that follows the News broadcast. I am either in the midst of preparing dinner or at the dining table with family while the Hava-Mahal plays in the background.


I’m in love with Vividh Bharti and my love for it was inherited from my mother, who is an avid listener of this unique channel right from her childhood as well. The USP of Vividh Bharti is its socially relevant programs, presented by people with gifted voices and in a solemn style that has refused to be affected by the pace and noise of other radio channels.


I missed this channel when in Boston, USA, and tried to search if it was available online like many other radio channels. But, alas, that was not the case. I tried to convince myself that the appeal of Vividh Bharti lies in its old-world setting only, and by becoming available online, it might lose out on the hearts that love to feel nostalgic thinking about the good old days that Akashvani symbolizes.