Years before the television set had people glued to it with Doordarshan’s iconic shows like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buniyad, Humlog and Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne—one medium ruled the roost.
The radio.
In most middle-class homes, where a TV set was a distant dream, the radio took centre stage. And while the history of this wonderful medium that connected the masses is not something people usually Google about, it is incomplete without the mention of one particular radio programme.
One that aired for over 40 years, reigning over the hearts of millions of listeners. Not just in India, but also beyond borders–in South Asia, parts of the Middle East, East Asia, and Europe.
Once a week, on Wednesdays, as the family neared supper time, a member, (often the youngest enthu-cutlet) would tune into Radio Ceylon at 8 PM. When tuned just in time, they would hear the closing lines of the Binaca toothpaste jingle, also the sponsor of the much-awaited programme to follow.
And then, a voice would resound through the radio set. A mix of baritone and warmth that broke away from the monotony of the All-India Radio (AIR) announcers, this living legend’s voice brought life to every household.
“Ji haan bhaiyon aur beheno. Main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon aur aap sun rahe hai Binaca Geetmala.”
A 30-minute programme, Binaca Geetmala was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952–1989, and then on AIR’s Vividh Bharati network from 1989–1994.
Ameen Sayani, who is now 86, narrated the history of its inception on its silver jubilee.
Born to a devoted doctor who treated underprivileged patients free of charge and bought them medicines, and a mother who ran the periodical Rahber to propagate Gandhi’s vision, Ameen forayed into this earliest form of radio jockeying in the 1950s.
As a degree student of erstwhile Bombay’s St Xavier’s College, he applied for the role of a Hindi broadcaster on AIR. And as hard as it is for most of his fans to believe, he was rejected.
“Your ability to read from scripts is good but Mr Sayani, your pronunciation is defective with too much Gujarati and English influence in your pronunciation,’ was how he had been turned down, recalled Ameen in an interview with the Times of India.
Shattered, he turned to his guide and guru-his older brother, Hamid Sayani.
Hamid, a producer for Radio Ceylon, told him to listen to the station’s Hindi programmes during the recording.
Coincidentally, these recordings took place at a studio in the technical institute of St Xavier’s itself. Needless to say, the young Ameen would trade classes to learn and emulate the art of broadcasting.
This was also the time when sponsored radio shows made their debut on the medium.
Ameen was first noticed by Radio Ceylon’s Balgovind Shrivastav, the producer of the show-Ovaltine Phulwari. Unhappy with the voice for the Ovaltine advertisement, Shrivastav once got on to the stage and asked if anyone from the studio audience wanted to try reading out the script. Ameen volunteered. When the youngster read the words aloud, Shrivastav shut his ears to block his sound.
A second try impressed him. And thus began the young Ameen’s journey. He read advertisements every week. Was he paid? Well, if a small tin of Ovaltine could be considered a payment, then sure. What really marked his breakthrough into commercial radio was the absence of Indian film music on AIR. This vacuum was filled in 1951 by Radio Ceylon.
Using the concept of its already existing show-the Binaca Hit Parade which did a countdown of western songs, the brand decided to do a Hindi version for the masses.
The sponsors started looking for a less experienced individual who would have to write the scripts, present and produce the show. Additionally, he/she would have to read letters by the listeners, tabulate the requests and analyze the popularity of each song, based on the feedback from the listeners. It was a lot of work and the salary was a meagre Rs. 25 a week.
It wasn’t much but certainly more than Ameen’s prior payment of a small tin of Ovaltine.
He took a giant leap of faith. And then there was no looking back.
The first show raked in 200 letters. But into the second week, the number spiked to 9,000 letters and later 60,000 a week. In the year 2000, it also won the Advertising Club’s Golden Abby Award for being the most outstanding Radio Campaign of the Century.
The show
Binaca Geetmala played seven contemporary songs in no particular order. But soon enough, it started ranking them based on popularity and feedback by the janta. The number of listeners shot up to 20,00,000 from the once 9,00,000. Over the years, the name of the show kept changing from—Binaca Geetmala to Cibaca Geetmala and later Colgate-Cibaca Geetmala—due to brand takeovers and change of sponsors.
But one thing remained constant. Ameen Sayani’s voice. For the lakhs of listeners, Ameen wasn’t just a radio jockey, he was a friend and confidant who played out their favourites, read song dedications, their heart-warming stories and letters. He also entertained the listeners with music trivia. Bets were placed on which song would top the week’s chart.
Every rank was referred to as a ‘paidan’ by Ameen—a staircase that led to the top of the Binaca Geetmala peak. Songs could either step up from one paidan to the other or climb down after losing its rank to newer competitors.
When he would announce, “Binaca Geetmala ke paidan ki choti par hai,” the suspense was built with the sound of a bugle. To be number one on the Binaca list was a sign of pride for music producers and directors.
The show’s popularity made Radio Ceylon extend its running time to 60 minutes from half an hour. And such was the media and public attention that it often caused crowds to gather in parks and traffic jams if someone played their radio loud.
“It was impossible to miss this weekly program on the radio during childhood. Even when outside my home, I could still hear the programme in remarkable continuity while walking, my only concern was to reach home before the top song was played. No other radio or TV programme in the world could have stayed popular for such a long time (four decades!) and in so many countries (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and so many other Asian countries). The magic was in the Indian music, deeply meaningful, heart-touching simple lyrics, fabulous presentation of Amin Sayani and melodious heavenly nostalgic voices of several artists,” writes a fan of the show on YouTube.
Binaca, the oral hygiene brand was launched in 1951 by FMCG brand Reckitt Benckiser. Before brands like Pepsodent or Colgate became a household name, in the 1970s, Binaca was one of the country’s favourite toothpaste.
What made the product memorable? Well, apart from the jingle and the radio show, the free toys and waterproof stickers that the brand gave out with the toothpaste and toothbrush packs made it a much-loved product among children. Another marketing strategy was the free water picture sticker at a time when stickers or self-adhesive tapes had still not entered the market.
One of the brands most remembered print advertisement featured brave-heart Neerja Bhanot.
And while the brand couldn’t survive competition in the dental hygiene space and was bought by the Indian FMCG company Dabur in 1996 for ₹12 million, it continued to live on in the memories of thousands through the melodies of Geetmala.
(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)
Source…..Javita Aranha in http://www.the betterindia.com
On February 7, if you are wandering around the popular South Beach in Fort Kochi, you are sure to come across a magnificent herd of 100 Asian elephants.
If you are wondering about the possibility of such a huge congregation of these beings at one place, let us break the news.
These are beautifully sculpted life-size elephants that have been made by tribal artisans from Thorapalli in Gudalur using Lantana camara or Lantana, a toxic invasive weed.
Highlighting the cause of nature and wildlife conservation at a global scale, the Lantana elephants are part of a greater initiative to raise funds for conservation and help people and elephants live together more harmoniously.
“Our vision is to bring Asia’s elephants and the issues they face out of India and the shadow cast by the African ivory crisis. With Asian elephants numbering only a tenth of their African counterparts, the importance of this unique migration cannot be underplayed. The survival of a species is at stake,” says Ruth Ganesh, principal trustee and the creative force of Elephant Family.
She had conceptualised the Lantana herd along with Shubhra Nayar of TREC.
Modelled on real elephants from the Gudalur-Pandalur region, in its bid to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of Asian elephants, this unique project is also clearing the harmful Lantana from the Nilgiri forests while providing livelihoods to about 70 artisans from the Paniya, Bettakurumba and Soliga communities.
With their inherent knowledge of wild elephants and their exceptional crafting skills with Lantana, these artisans are bringing life to the elephant forms, while earning a dignified income.
Lantana was introduced to the Indian subcontinent as an ornamental shrub by the British.
However, it has taken over forests at a disturbingly fast pace, and is threatening the survival of the pachyderms by reducing their fodder base in the region.
The tribal artisans. Courtesy: The Shola Trust.
“Lantana encroachment has a negative impact on the regeneration of native flora, fodder and also non-timber forest products. It pushes animals out of forests, causing crop damage for local people, with a huge negative impact on livelihood of the indigenous communities. This project provides them with a livelihood opportunity and also gradually clears the forests from Lantana,” says Dr. Siddappa Setty, a fellow at ATREE.
This magnificent herd will stay in Kochi for about a month and then travel across the world to be part of exhibitions at different locations for auctioning.
The proceeds will be routed to a newly created Asian Elephant Fund that will be governed by a panel of elephant specialists in Asia.
“This project is innovative in many ways—it uses traditional indigenous artisanry to create these beautiful forms which can raise both awareness and funds for conservation while contributing significantly to indigenous livelihoods and clearing an invasive species to restore ecosystems,” adds Dr Nitin Pandit, Director of ATREE.
To know more about the Lantana elephants and their global tour, click here.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Source…….LeksmiPriya.S in http://www.the betterindia.com
Jimmy K. asks: Why is there a plastic bag attached to airline oxygen masks if they don’t inflate?
Because the economics of having large oxygen tanks aboard airliners simply doesn’t work out (not to mention that the air quality inside the plane would rapidly become unpleasant if fresh air wasn’t constantly supplied, regardless of the oxygen levels), commercial airplanes have a very clever system installed to solve the problem of ultra-low pressure atmosphere at cruising altitudes.
In most modern airliners (the Boeing 787 Dreamliner not withstanding), outside air is “bled off” from the compressor stage of the turbine engines and eventually piped into the passenger areas. However, a bit of processing is needed first as the compressed air is extremely hot (on the order of nearly 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius) at this stage. Thus, before it enters the passenger compartment, it is first allowed to expand and is run through a heat exchanger and air cycle system to cool it off sufficiently. This system also can work as a heater, with some of the hot air mixed in with the cooled air to regulate cabin temperature.
Once cooled and filtered, the pressurized air, which now has sufficient oxygen density to keep people happily conscious, is piped into the cabin area, usually at levels around 12 psi (about equivalent to atmospheric pressure at 7,000 feet). Why 12 psi instead of something like sea-level pressures of about 14.7 psi? 12 psi is sufficient for the majority of passengers while simultaneously reducing the structural strain on the aircraft itself over something like sea level atmospheric pressures.
As for the air already in the cabin, this is vented out through an outflow valve (or multiple valves in larger aircraft), usually located near the rear of the plane. (FunNote: Before smoking was banned on commercial aircraft, the area around this outflow valve was generally stained dark brown from tobacco smoke.)
This outflow valve opens and closes automatically to maintain a steady pressure inside the cabin, while the entire system is ensuring that fresh air is continually being piped into and eventually blown out of the aircraft. In fact, while many complain of airplanes seeming “stuffy,” this system ensures that all the air in the aircraft is being completely replaced on average every 2-3 minutes. Yes, that means that your car, house or office is likely significantly more “stuffy” than a commercial airplane flying at 35,000 feet.
(Note: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner handles cabin pressurization a little differently, using a modernized version of the old, somewhat inefficient, electric compressor system seen on many older aircraft.)
Unfortunately, sometimes planes lose cabin pressure. Whatever the cause, the loss of pressure (usually set at atmospheric pressures past 14,000 ft) will result in oxygen masks deploying. From here, useful consciousness may only last as little as 5-15 seconds, depending on remaining cabin pressure, which is why it’s critical to immediately put your mask on, rather than helping someone else first. You can help them much better when you’re not unconscious or dead.
So how do these airline oxygen masks actually work? It turns out, the economics of having a centralized oxygen tank to provide even emergency oxygen for passengers likewise simply doesn’t add up. Similarly, having tiny individual pressurized oxygen tanks also isn’t feasible. In fact, these masks aren’t hooked up to any tank or air line at all. So how are you able to breathe oxygen through them?
Science.
While designs can vary slightly, in general, when you pull on the device to place it over your face, the tug on the mask’s lanyard releases a spring-loaded mechanism that sets off a small explosive charge. (Yep.) The resulting spark triggers a mixture of lead styphnate and tetracene to generate heat, which will eventually cause a chemical reaction that produces oxygen for your mask. (This is why they tell you to tug on the mask to get the oxygen flowing- you’ve got to set off the explosive charge to get the whole thing going.)
That’s right. What you breathe through the mask didn’t begin as pure oxygen. Rather, the plane is equipped with numerous small chemical oxygen generators (also known as “oxygen candles,” about the size of a small package of tennis balls) which contain a mixture of mostly sodium chlorate (NaClO3), less than 5% barium peroxide (BaO2) and less than 1% potassium perchlorate (KClO4). When these chemicals are heated by the lead styphnate and tetracene, each undergoes a reaction that ultimately results in a fair bit of filtered, life sustaining oxygen running through the tube to you.
Of course, you might also smell a faint burning odor, but this is nothing to be alarmed about; it just assures you that the system is working. In fact, if the plane is actually on fire, the masks usually won’t deploy, so as not to make the fire worse with the extra oxygen.
This brings us to the question of why the plastic bag on the breathing apparatus won’t necessarily inflate as you’re using the device. More than just cosmetic, the bags serve as something of a reservoir for oxygen. If you aren’t taking a breath at all (and have a good seal with the mask tight against your face) the bag keeps the precious, continuously flowing oxygen from escaping into the thin air around you, enabling more of the collected oxygen to be taken in when you do take a breath. When this is happening, or you are breathing out with the valves on the mask releasing much of the used air, the bag may begin to inflate as oxygen collects. When you breathe in, it will deflate.
So why won’t it always inflate at least a little to show its working? To begin with, you may not have a great seal with the mask on your face, particularly if you have facial hair. This will allow any produced oxygen (and air you exhale) to more readily escape. (As long as the mask is reasonably secure on your face, this should still provide you with sufficient oxygen to get by on as long as the plane isn’t flying above 40,000 feet and the pilot does his or her job and gets the plane down below 10,000 feet as rapidly as safely possible.)
Even if you have a good seal, however, the rate at which the oxygen is generated is often not enough to fully inflate the masks’ bag before you take deep, potentially panicky breaths, deflating it. This is simply because the oxygen generation isn’t on-demand (for the passengers anyway), but simply a continuous-flow production of oxygen.
Despite the potentially slow production, the chemical oxygen generators do provide oxygen at a sufficient rate to sustain passengers, generally designed such that peak oxygen production occurs right away (when the plane may be at very high altitude) with the oxygen production rates tailing off over the course of approximately 12-20 minutes before the system burns itself out.
This should be long enough for the pilots to get the plane low enough so that the air pressure is high enough for (relatively) normal atmospheric breathing. And if you’ve ever been lucky enough to be in this sort of situation, you know that those pilots can get the plane from altitudes like 35,000+ feet to safer atmospheric levels alarmingly quickly in an emergency; while it may not be literally true, it at least can seem like roller coasters have nothing on them, which is a good thing in this case.
Bonus Fact:
As a result of the way the system works for pressurizing the airplane cabin and keeping a steady supply of fresh air, the humidity levels are ultra-low, making it so you dehydrate very quickly on flights. Particularly for long flights, it’s critical then that you drink plenty of fluids. This ultra-low humidity level, combined with the low cabin pressure, also reduces your sense of taste and smell by as much as 30%, which is why airline food generally tastes so bland. To try to compensate for this somewhat, many airlines make sure their food is much more strongly flavored or spiced than you’d normally find appetizing.
In Panama, a new study finds that kids are more likely to drink healthier beverages if you speak the truth — subtly.
Slogans that equate drinking water with good health are more effective at steering schoolchildren away from sugary sodas. | Reuters/Lucy Nicholson
What’s the best way to persuade children to drink water instead of unhealthy, sugar-laced beverages? Do you:
A) Tell them it will make them more popular.
B) Tell them it will make them healthier.
C) Tell them it will make them smarter.
D) Just tell them to do it without explaining why.
The correct answer: B.
Turns out honesty is the most persuasive tactic, even for kids, while exaggerated claims and ungrounded mandates can potentially have a negative effect, according to new research by Szu-chi Huang, an associate professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The field study, performed in collaboration with UNICEF, was designed to determine the most effective way to steer schoolchildren in Panama away from unhealthy sodas and other sweetened drinks toward drinking water instead.
Cowritten with Daniella Kupor of Boston University, Michal Maimaran of Northwestern University, and Andrea Weihrauch of the University of Amsterdam, the paper will be published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research in January. The research is the first to examine the effects of associating actions with goals in a real-world environment, in this case four elementary schools, where children encounter countless messages daily, Huang notes. Additionally, unlike previous research that has centered on adults, Huang’s study is the first to test the effectiveness of such associations on kids.
Targeting Pre-existing Associations
The school posters imploring students to “Drink Water” tested secondary slogans as well: (left to right) “Make Friends,” nothing, “Be Healthy,” and “Learn Faster.” Credit: Courtesy of Szu-chi Huang
The researchers put up posters in four elementary schools located within 10 miles of each other and of similar size and socioeconomic status. Each school had a kiosk selling bottled water. In a preliminary questionnaire, the researchers found that children strongly associated water consumption with health but saw only a moderate association between water and intelligence. The children held an even weaker association between water consumption and the ability to make friends.
In the main study, each school put up posters with a message unique to its campus. At one school, the posters implored students to drink water and “be healthy.” At another, the signs said that water would help them “learn faster.” At a third school, they declared that consuming water would help students “make friends,” and at a fourth school the signs simply told them to “drink water,” without further explanation. The posters remained on display for a month.
People don’t want to follow an order without any reason. This rule applies to children as well.
Szu-chi Huang
The researchers found that children at the school where posters declared that drinking water leads to good health increased their water consumption by 31%, suggesting that targeting the students’ pre-existing association (that water is healthy) led them to the desired outcome, says Huang.
At the school with posters associating water with learning faster, consumption didn’t change from the pre-study level. And at the school highlighting the questionable association between water and making friends, consumption marginally decreased. That decline may have occurred because the posters linking water to making friends “may have seemed dishonest or confusing,” causing children to shun the advice to drink more water, Huang says.
Avoid Blunt Directives
At the school where posters simply advised the students to drink more water, without stating why, water consumption declined significantly, by 48%. Like the children who were turned off by the attempt to associate drinking water with being popular, these students also may have regarded the blunt directive to drink water as manipulative.
“People don’t want to follow an order without any reason,” says Huang. “This rule applies to children as well.”
In the weeks after the posters were removed, water consumption generally reverted to the pre-study level.
These results suggest that children may need continuous reminders, whether in the form of posters or some other messaging, over time to alter their behavior. Regardless, Huang says, these most recent findings shed light on what kind of messaging and what mode of communication may work to encourage children to modify their habits and help them live healthier lives.
“A conservative estimate of disabled in India is over 2% of the population. Most of them are fighting silent battles every moment and achieving small wins every day.
Belonging to this community, I feel happy and privileged to be recognised and appreciated to such an extent in the past few months. And at the same time with the existence of the likes of Louis Braille, Helen Keller and many more, I feel humbled.
I have always believed the word “handicap” is a union of two positive words handy and cap, both denote a sense of support. As being handy for someone and as a cap, playing the role of shade in the bright sunlight or taking the hits of crashing raindrops.
I was born in a nondescript village called Choudanakuppe in Tumkuru District of Karnataka and attended my village school till Class 4.
Very early, I began facing certain difficulties in reading the blackboard but as a child, I couldn’t comprehend it (the problem). Both my parents were illiterate, busy making ends meet and struggling with my brother who was losing mobility in his legs.
So call it fate and neglect, I lost my vision completely by the time I was 9.
This was a shock to my family and they tried getting me treatment but to no avail. Luckily my uncle made me join a school for the blind in Mysore and I restarted school.
For a freshly blind child, I needed to adapt to develop the orientation before the society relegated me to a position of losers. I had my share of embarrassments from not being able to find a path to the restroom and unable to bear severity of nature’s call I sometimes attended to it in corridors and classes, much to the disgust of people around me. I played the role of an involuntary clown who couldn’t understand the coordinates of normal clothing – wearing it inside out and upside down. But soon I went on to top the class, I got the badge of honour. I completed my education until class 10 in the same school in Mysore; I still choke with emotion when I think of all the years spent there.
I completed graduation where I met my future wife Achintha, my steadfast support through everything. I subsequently went on to find a job. But despite having a job an unsatisfaction brewed in me and I decided to take the UPSC plunge. My wife dedicated close to 10 hours a day just for my preparation, she would read out to me, make audio notes.
I have been told I have come far in life, but one never should forget where one came from. In my mind, the showreel of my frail mother making numerous trips to get a disability certificate and spending Rs 50 on it makes me jolt up even today.
But I tell this story not to jolt you – I tell it because I want to tell each one of you to never stop aspiring and never give up.”
Story By – Kempahonnaiah | IAS 2017 Batch | West Bengal Cadre
