Those were the days : Binaca geetmala

We have lived in the best of times and we are living in the worst of times.

In my boarding at school, on Wednesdays the dinner was served at 7. 30 PM sharp and not at 8 PM as on other days. By 8 PM we assembled in the radio room to listen to the Binaca geetmala hosted by Ameen Sayani over the airwaves from Radio Ceylon. I remember that even with this most popular programme, Binaca could not dislodge Colgate as the market leader! But if a vote were taken, I am sure, the radio programme would have surpassed all TRPs (or equivalent for all media put together) ever and found an irreplaceable place in the Guinness Book of world record for TRPs or whatever. In the boarding that was the only radio to which we boarders had a regulated access. Other time for the radio was 6 PM to 6. 30 PM every day. So, the Binaca geetmala , bugle and all, was a welcome midweek relief.

 Music was different then they say. Yes it was. There were no mixers in the studios in the decades of 60s and 70s. The vocals were pure self modulated rendition by artistes…and then there were Noorjehan, Lata, Asha, Talat, Mukesh, Rafi and Kishore. But it can’t be that there are no good singers now. Definitely there are and one of them, in my oipinion, is a close competition to Lata.  Then why do we prefer listening to yesteryears’ songs, besides nostalgia? Better lyrics could be a reason too.

I feel the all important aspect of 'music of yore' is that then, music was listened to collectively. No walkman, ipod and earphones. Music was always a shared pass time, enjoyment or passion. A joy shared is multiplied. The kings and emperors of yore listened to music in a mehfiland not in the confines of their bedrooms sitting by themselves or with cohorts. What a shame that Mian Tansen’s voice could not be captured for posterity…but on that day when I stood next to the platform in the Mughal fort at Fathepur Sikhri, from where Tansen is reported to have sung the raag Megh Malhar and brought down rain, I thought I heard strains of his voice wafting in the air.

I could also hear the pin drop silence of the mehfil presided over by Emperor Akbar and his Queen Jodhabahi perched on specially erected permanent stands, that exist even today.

Binaca geetmala of another generation….