Veteran radio presenter Ameen Sayani passes away at 91

The legendary radio host of “Binaca Geet Mala,” Ameen Sayani, died on Tuesday from a heart attack. He was ninety-one. Rajil Sayani, Sayani’s son, verified the death announcement. The individual stated that his father passed away on Tuesday night due to a heart attack. He was subsequently transported to HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. The hospital’s doctors attended to him, but they were unable to save him, so they declared him dead, Rajil said.

Ameen Sayani was born in 1932 into a family that valued language and literature highly. He would help his mother, Kulsum Sayani, with the biweekly publication of “Rahber,” a journal started by Mahatma Gandhi. Simultaneously, it was released in Gujarati, Urdu, and Hindi. Hamid Sayani, a renowned English broadcaster, was his brother. 1951 saw Ameen Sayani start working for Radio Ceylon.

The audience in a newly independent India was mesmerized by the voice emanating from radio sets that once resembled big wooden boxes, saying, “Namaskar bhaiyon aur behno, main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon.” He avoided the somber tone of radio hosts in favor of an approachable yet educational style and vocabulary. With the ban on All India Radio airing Bollywood songs, his show and presentation became an instant hit. It also developed into a vehicle for the propagation of plain Hindustani, which struck a chord with people all over the nation.

Initially airing on Radio Ceylon for thirty minutes, his show Binaca Geetmala became a sensation in the 1950s. It changed names multiple times without ever losing its identity: Binaca Geetmala, Hit Parade, and Cibaca Geetmala. It moved stations and was later aired on All India Radio’s Vividh Bharti.

As a voice actor, he has hosted and compered more than 54,000 radio shows, setting a record. In addition, he holds a record in the Limca Book of Records for his voiceover work on almost 19,000 jingles.