Nostalgia washes over you as you walk the promenade of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation building in Colombo. Various pictures adorning the walls depict important highlight moments in the station’s history.
Of all the photos on display, one photo caught my attention, where I could see Queen Elizabeth II, who had just died in 1954, addressing the public in a studio of Radio Ceylon.
The photo itself reflects the illustrious past of the iconic Sri Lankan radio station, which won hearts not only in its own country but also in India and Nepal.
A world away from social media and the internet, Radio Ceylon as it was known in the 1960s and 70s remained a mainstay of entertainment for the vast majority of people in South Asia. Listening to the channel, radio listeners found peace as most countries gained independence only a few decades ago after a bitter freedom struggle with the British.
In that era, Sri Lankan radio was known for its vast record collections and some talented announcers whose sweet voices and charismatic speeches enlivened the programs.
Unlike today, the music, announcements, and beloved sounds of that era traveled across borders and traveled over the airwaves to millions of homes and offices.
Like India, Radio Ceylon is deeply rooted in the country’s colonial past. On 16 December 1925, the Radio Service was established during the British Empire and served as the Allied Press Service during World War II.
After independence, Sri Lanka came under the jurisdiction of the government of Ceylon.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation took over after it was established in 1972, but by then, the broadcaster from the small island nation had already made a huge impact in the region, building a huge fan base not only within its borders but also beyond.
Hudson Samarasinghe is the current Chairman of the iconic Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC).
Hudson Samarasingh, chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), said: “I remember in the 1970s, many Indian tourists used to stop the bus near SLBC to see the popular presenters who worked here.”
“Sometimes, I even saw people taking dirt from our grounds. I later learned that these people consider our station a holy place because early morning bhajans and such devotional songs are played here,” he said. explain.
Apart from some iconic radio jockeys in the announcer’s seat, its large number of songs (including a variety of Hindi music) has made Radio Ceylon popular with thousands of people in Nepal and Pakistan, especially Indian music lovers. fan.
Reflecting on Radio Ceylon’s impact in Nepal, one of the listeners, Tumita Hazra, 66, said: “I was at school and I still remember when my father left to go to his room we used to listen to it.” Feeling, we like the performance style of the anchor. I can say that our generation will never forget this beautiful radio station from Sri Lanka that entertained us in our teenage years. “
Another longtime listener to the service is Kishore Kumar Mallick, 67, a resident of the East Indian city of Kolkata, who said he first heard The Beatles when he tuned into Radio Ceylon as a student.
“I am a guitarist by profession and I still remember Radio Ceylon as a strong influence on me as a teenager. It was through this station that I first learned about the Beatles and it can be said that the rest have now Traveling has been a part of my life,” he said, nostalgia washing over him.
A glimpse from the balcony of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reveals several photos reflecting the station’s illustrious history.
It is believed that one of the key reasons for Radio Ceylon’s success in the South Asian airwave paradigm is its vast library and music collection.
During my visit to Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, I met Record Librarian Subhashini De Silva, she took us to the Hindi library and acted as the perfect guide to tell the story of the radio station in detail.
“There are five libraries within SLBC, including an archive,” she explained to IBNS in fluent Hindi.
“Four libraries are dedicated to languages such as Sinhala, Hindi, English and Tamil,” she said.
In the Hindi library, there are songs in other Indian languages like Bengali and Sindhi, she said.
“Our Hindi radio library contributes to the performance of Hindi services in Asia,” she said.
Records librarian Subhashini De Silva displays old records at the station’s Hindi library.
Subhashini De Silva also showed the card service archive inside the Hindi library and said, “We are still keeping it and will work hard to preserve it in the future.”
Battle of the Airwaves: AIR vs Radio Ceylon
From the 50’s to the 70’s, Radio Ceylon competed fiercely with Radio All India, giving Indian listeners the best experience they really wanted to cherish.
There is no doubt that Radio Ceylon dominated broadcasting in South Asia during that period.
Looking down the history, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Radio Ceylon experienced a phased rise in India under the restrictive policy of the then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (the minister in the 1950s was BV Keskar).
Mahua Chakrabarti, an associate professor at the Department of Museology at the University of Calcutta, writes in her observations: “For a few years from 1952, ‘All India Radio’ (AIR) stopped broadcasting film music because the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, BV Keskar, was in charge of After the fall of AIR, it was considered that film songs became vulgar, pornographic and westernized. He first imposed a quota of ten percent on film music, after discussions with “Film Producers Association of India” were ineffective, AIR stopped playing film music completely For years. AIR’s ban, however, did not affect the genre’s popularity as people tuned into “Radio Ceylon” to hear the film’s music.”
“Radio Ceylon was at the right place and at the right time,” Mahua Chakrabarti quotes famous radio host Ameen Sayani in her article Up.
So when you visit Radio Ceylon during your stay in Sri Lanka, don’t forget to walk down the long corridors and see all the pictures framed on the walls, telling the story of a station’s past that not only made history but also wrote The next golden age of broadcasting is known for its performance.
