Children from Karnataka should be proud of the fact that the vernacular name for ‘All India Radio’, ‘Akash Vani’ originated at Mysore, a place well-known for silk and sandalwood.

In 1935, Dr MV Gopalaswamy, Professor at Mysore University, started an experimental radio station using a low power transmitter from his residence.

Subsequently a 250-watt transmitter was imported for better coverage and this station was named Akash Vani. The station survived with support from the municipality and private grants. In 1942, the station was taken over by the then Mysore State.

All India Radio adopted the name Akashvani in 1958.

Within a year of the first radio broadcast in England a special programme of music was broadcast at the request of the Governor of Bombay, Sir George Lloyd, from the Times of India Office building also called— ‘The Old Lady of Boribundur’ in Bombay (now Mumbai) in August 1921. This was carried out with the help of the Posts and Telegraph Department. The Governor tuned in to the broadcast at Pune, 175 km away.

The Madras Presidency Radio Club, under the stewardship of C V Krishnaswamy Chetty, started a broadcasting service using a tiny 40-watt transmitter with an effective range of 8 km.

This was replaced with a 200-watt transmitter on July 31, 1924 and formal programmes of music and talk shows went on air for 2-hr 30 min every day. The club stayed on air until 1927 when it went bankrupt and was forced to close down.

The Corporation of Madras restarted it in 1930 and six loudspeakers were set up in different parts of the city so that people who had no receiver sets could also enjoy the radio.    

The Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) was established in Bombay on July 23, 1927 with a 1.5 kw medium wave transmitter with an effective range of 50 km. The station was inaugurated by Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India. The next broadcasting station was in Calcutta, established on August 26, 1927.  

The first news bulletin over radio was broadcast in English from Bombay Station on July 23, 1927. As the radio station did not have a news bureau, the bulletin was based on news items supplied by the news agency, Reuters.

The designation of the Indian State Broadcasting Service was changed to All India Radio (AIR) on June 8, 1936. All India Radio adopted the name ‘Akashvani’ in 1958. 

Thakur Balwant Singh, in 1936, composed and set to music the signature tune for the All-India Radio that is played even today at the beginning of its morning broadcast. According to another source, Walter Kaufman, director of western music programmes in Bombay, composed AIR’s signature tune in the year 1936.

G V Joshi