Legendary radio personality, Ameen Sayani, passed away due to a heart attack, at age 91, in Mumbai, on 20^th February, 2024. Recognised as the voice that defined the golden era of Hindi music, Sayani became a household name in the early 1950s with the extremely popular, weekly program ‘Binaca Geetmala’, which he hosted in his inimitable voice modulation and engaging style, every Wednesday, for over four decades. Innumerable tributes poured in from celebrities and personalities, including PM Modi.

Born on December 21, 1932, in Mumbai, Sayani started off as an English-language broadcaster, but switched to Hindi soon after. He was introduced to All India Radio (Bombay) by his brother Hamid Sayani and shifted to Radio Ceylon in 1952. In addition to his iconic show Geetmala, Sayani had produced, compered (or spoken for) over 54,000 radio programmes and 19,000 jingles since 1951; and was also acted in a few movies including ‘Bhoot Bungla’, ‘Teen Devian’, ‘Boxer’ and ‘Qatl’.

Despite the advent of FM stations or the growing popularity of Television, which marked the decline of the traditional radio stations, his popularity never vaned. May his soul rest in eternal peace.