Radio is magic. I still cannot comprehend how sound waves travel over the air to reach my ears through that wonderful gadget called the radio. Imagine how surprised those who lived over a century ago must have been when they heard a voice that literally came out of thin air.
Of course, everyone thought that radio would die when television came to the scene. After all, here was a medium that could beam pictures over the ether, along with sound. In fact, when Music Television (MTV) was launched almost four decades ago, the first song played, somewhat ironically, was “Video Killed the Radio Star”. But radio is still very much alive and kicking, via both traditional FM/Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) airwaves and the Internet.
There is a debate over the legacy left behind by the British and we cannot deny that some of the things they bestowed upon us have been beneficial – from the railways to tea plantations. Radio is also part of that legacy. In fact, Radio Ceylon, the precursor to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) began broadcasting in 1924, just two years after the British Broadcasting Company, later renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), took to the airwaves in London. Thus the SLBC has the distinction of being one of the oldest continuously functioning radio services in the world.
The SLBC, as well as radio technology, have evolved over the past 99 years, but its core mission has remained the same – Educate, Entertain and Inform. Unlike the private radio stations which can have loose talk and lousy music all day long, the SLBC has strictly maintained its professional standards through the years. It is perhaps this commitment to quality broadcasting that has enabled the SLBC to face stiff competition from dozens of private Sinhala, Tamil and English radio stations.
Radio, the sole source of entertainment
As a child of the 80s, I grew up with the SLBC. Although television was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1979, it took a few years for the “idiot box” to come to my village in Ambalangoda and radio was the sole source of entertainment we had. I remember waking up to religious programs and devotional songs, followed by patriotic songs, which wafted into our ears as my brothers and I got dressed to go to school.
On the days that I did not attend school, our German-made Grundig radio was constantly on and by my side, dishing out favourites chosen by listeners. These request programs were a hit in all three language streams, back in the days when one had to send a postcard with the title of the song and the names of people requesting it. Old SLBC hands tell me that they had to wade through a pile of postcards to reach the microphone. Back then, there was no FM, but the AM sound quality was not bad either.
The first teledrama was not aired until 1983 and at least until then, radio dramas reigned supreme. I remember two of them in particular – Muwanpelessa and Monarathenna. These two were so successful that the entire country came to a standstill when they came on air during the prime time belt from 8.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. Later, both of them were turned into hit movies, featuring most of the members of the radio crew, who were only heard but not seen until then. Then there were programs such as “Thunpath Rata” which wove a beautiful cultural tapestry. Even amidst the proliferation of private TV and radio channels, the SLBC is still the most trusted source of news for most people, with its news jingle ingrained in the mind of practically every Sri Lankan.
Broadcasting with wide reach
The SLBC did reach shores beyond Sri Lanka, through AM as well as Short Wave (SW), which is now nearly dead thanks to the rise of the Internet. In fact, the SLBC’s Binaca Geethmala show featuring the top Hindi hits of the day was enormously popular in India. (At the beginning, Rupavahini too was highly popular in Tamil Nadu because India did not have colour TV until the late 80s). The SLBC had a treasure trove of Vinyl LPs of songs in many languages (which are back in vogue worldwide, overtaking the Compact Disc or CD), not to mention spoken word material such as famous speeches by Sri Lankan and world leaders. These have since been digitised.
In a way, the Internet has been a blessing for SLBC and other radio services. Today, one need not own a radio per se to listen to the radio, though dedicated radio sets are still available. Some manufacturers such as Roberts still make retro-looking radios that evoke the nostalgia of the early days of radio.
The SLBC reaches listeners around the world through www.slbc.l and smartphone apps. There is another way to get the SLBC (all its channels) – Radio Garden, a dedicated radio app that features practically every radio station on Earth.
What they do is mind boggling to say the least. All you need is a smartphone and a good pair of Automatic Noise Cancelling (ANC) headphones to drown out external sounds and you become one with the awesome sound of the radio.
Many have predicted the death of radio over the years and any reports of the same have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the Internet seems to have given a new lease of life to radio with the concept of podcasting. You do not have to give up your other chores to listen to the radio or a podcast, unlike TV which requires one to sit down and be a passive witness to the events depicted on the screen.
The SLBC has reached a remarkable milestone with its 99th anniversary. We do not know what form radio will take by 2034, leave alone 2134. Such is the pace of technological progress. But the concept of radio will not fade away, just as the concept of quality journalism will not fade away even if print itself does not survive the Internet age. May the SLBC live long and prosper.
