World Radio Day: Meet the Akashvani men linked to PM Modi’s Mann ki Baat

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, February 13

It is World Radio Day and the energy at Akashvani’s Delhi station is unmissable. Preparations are in full swing for the recording of the 110th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship monthly radio address Mann ki Baat to go public on February 26.

Behind the dazzle of the show, vastly credited with boosting All India Radio’s listenership trends, are two broadcasters who have stayed with the programme from day one and through all these years. The first — MS Rawat — has led the production, recording and designing of the show in his capacity as programme head, Akashvani Delhi Station. Rawat has been with All India Radio since 1987.

The second, Jainendra Singh, who joined AIR in 1988 and retired in 2022, continues to anchor a unique show called “Post Box No 111”, designed as a follow-up of Mann ki Baat. It engages with the people and the initiatives PM mentions in his address. “Out of all the shows in my 36 years of broadcasting career, Post Box No 111 is the closest to my heart. PM Modi touches upon cultural heritage, national heroes, success stories in his show and I get a chance to go deeper into those stories in my follow-up episodes,” Jainendra Singh told The Tribune today. Singh began his career from AIR Jalandhar station and served at the Chandigarh station twice before shifting to Delhi.

Post Box No 111 is broadcast on AIR FM Rainbow Delhi on all other Sundays except the one reserved for PM’s Mann ki Baat broadcast. It is named after the post box number which the Department of Posts created for Akashvani’s Mann ki Baat.

Uttarakhand-born MS Rawat, like fellow broadcaster Singh, is the only constant in the decade-long journey of one of All India Radio’s longest running shows that first went on air on October 3, 2014. Rawat leads the team that records Mann ki Baat at the PM’s residence every month.

Mann ki Baat is available in English, 22 regional languages, 29 local dialects (25 north-eastern and four Chhattisgarhi) and 11 foreign languages, including French, Chinese, Indonesian, Tibetan, Burmese, Baluchi, Arabic, Pashtu, Persian, Dari and Swahili.

9 years, and counting

Mann ki Baat, one of the longest running shows on Akashvani, has had three constants since it was first aired on October 3, 2014