Ameen Sayani.
Credit: DH Photo/ Mrityunjay Bose.
Mumbai: Legendary radio announcer Ameen Sayani, whose iconic ‘behno aur bhaiyo’ still rings in our ears, has passed away.
His voice is synonymous with the golden era of Indian radio.
Sayani had a great sense of humour and was an excellent communicator and storyteller.
He was 91 at the time of his death.
Sayani achieved fame and popularity all across the India sub-continent when he presented the Bianca GeetMala of hit songs over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon and later Vivid Bharati.
Ameen Sayani, a resident of Churchgate area of Mumbai, suffered a heart attack on Tuesday night after which he was rushed to the Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Girgaum, where he passed away.
"One of the greatest radio presenters, Ameen Sayani has passed away. He was the iconic presenter of the popular radio show “Binaca GeetMala,” public broadcaster Akashwani said.
Born on December 21, 1932 in Mumbai, Ameen Sayani was a household name for generations.
Ameen Sayani was introduced to All India Radio in what was then Bombay by his brother Hamid Sayani.
Ameen presented English programmes there for ten years and later moved to Hindi programming.
Sayani produced, compered in over 54,000 radio programmes and 19,000 spots/jingles since 1951.
Sayani assisted his mother, Kulsum Sayani, in editing, publishing and printing a fortnightly journal for neo-literates, under the instructions of Mahatma Gandhi. The fortnightly, Rahber (1940 to 1960), was simultaneously published in the Devnagri (Hindi), Urdu and Gujarati scripts – but all in the simple "Hindustani" language promoted by Gandhi ji.