Memorable moments in a radio station

Harjap Singh Aujla

Updated At : 04:04 AM Feb 13, 2026 IST

IN the autumn of 1951, my father wrote to the station director of All India Radio (AIR), Jullundur-Amritsar, seeking permission for a family visit to the broadcasting house.

The station director deputed Jodh Singh, the producer of the programme for rural listeners, to show us the studios. One of them was the turntable and disc jockey room, capable of playing 78 RPM (revolutions per minute), 45 RPM and 33.33 RPM records. Another studio was meant for recording of music; solos, duets and choruses (qawwali) could be recorded using the tanpura, sarangi, clarinet, violin, sitar, tabla and dholak as the accompanying musical instruments. Another studio was meant for group discussions and was named the Dehati Programme Studio. The talk shows and VIP speeches were relayed live from this studio.

The radio station was located along the Garha road in Jullundur (Jalandhar). When we reached there in the evening, the Dehati programme was about to start. A frail young woman announced (translated from Punjabi), “This is All India Radio, Jullundur-Amritsar, the time is 6:45 pm, the programme for the rural listeners begins.” The announcement was followed by the signature tune of the show. We were ushered into the studio. We saw a skinny comedian (Piara Lal Sud), who played the part of Chacha Kumeidan. He had been given the same position that he held at AIR, Lahore, before the Partition.

The other characters included Munshiji, played by Kundan Lal Sharma, a refugee from Gujranwala, Prior to 1947, Jodh Singh served as the headmaster of Government High School, Lyallpur. He hailed from Gujranwala. In India, he applied for the post of a producer at the AIR station and got selected. Later, he was given the charge of an Urdu programme, Sadaa-e-Watan, which drew many listeners. Subsequently, another popular programme, Gurbani Vichar, was also assigned to him. He retired as the No. 2 official of the AIR station.

The Dehati programme also featured a comedian from Jullundur, who was known by his nickname, Sant Ram; we saw him acting like a typical Yamla Jatt. And then there was a comic artiste from Amritsar, Harbans Singh Khurana. An expert in agriculture from Khalsa College, Amritsar, gave tips about the cultivation of vegetables.

Towards the end of the 45-minute-long show, we heard a melodious song by Zeenat Begum, “Aa ve panchhi des deya keekan bhulliya en rah…” We were told to remain silent throughout our stay in the studios — and we readily complied. The artistes were requested to avoid playing jokes on each other in our presence.

Today, on World Radio Day, I fondly remember that visit to an AIR station which held us spellbound 75 years ago.

The author is a retired civil engineer

Memorable moments in a radio station

Harjap Singh Aujla

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