Every year National Broadcasting Day is observed in India on July 23 to remind everyone of the impact of radio. Long before television came into existence, it was the good, old radio that was the only source of entertainment and gaining information for the whole nation.
The radio played an important role in bringing the country together and also bringing the entire nation under one canopy after the independence.
Be it the patriotic songs or speeches from the leaders, all were heard with great reverence and continued to instill a feeling of pride and faith in the country’s administration and achievements.
Facts to know about AIR on National Broadcasting Day
Walter Kaufmann composed AIR tune
For decades together Indians woke up to the tune of All India Radio which was so sweetly composed by Walter Kaufmann. He reached India in 1934 after the fascist rule of Hitler in Prague forced him to leave his country.
He continued to live in Bombay and even contributed to the music department of the AIR in many other ways apart from also working for Hindi movies and doing research on Indian music.
Amitabh Bachchan was rejected by AIR
Amitabh Bachchan’s high baritone voice has made many dialogues famous and it is one identity of Big B for which he can be never matched. But when the Bollywood superstar tried to get a job at AIR he was rejected because of his voice. Thankfully, that gave Hindi cinema its angry young man.
AIR banned use of harmonium
Most of the musicians use harmonium to compose their songs. It is an integral part of every classical and semi-classical program even today. But between 1940 and 1971, AIR banned the use of the harmonium because the national broadcasting platform considered it incapable of handling the complex Indian classical notes.
First commercials started in 1967
Today you cannot watch a serial, series, or program without a commercial break. But it took decades for AIR to introduce commercials on its platform. The first commercial on AIR started on November 1, 1967.
AIR and Doordarshan separation
Another platform of the National Broadcasting network-Doordarshan was launched on September 15, 1959. Both AIR and Doordarshan worked under the same authority until on April 1, 1976, both were separated.