“Jee Haan, Behno Aur Bhaiyo!”

These words have echoed in millions of ears for decades. The moment one hears these words, they are certain of an audio treat with some of the finest narratives followed by an array of memorable melodious songs. Today as Ameen Sayani breathed his last, these iconic words rest in eternal peace with him.

Ameen Sayani can easily be called the Godfather of the Indian voice industry. Ruling listeners' hearts from the early 1950s till the mid-1990s, he brought in a new wave in the radio and voice-over industry and paved the way for so many young aspirants to try their luck in the voice industry.

The radio announcing industry can be divided into two eras, Before Ameen and After Sayani. Before he entered into the announcing industry, the style of compering was very formal or straightforward. He brought with him a certain charm and elegance, which made every listener sit up and pay attention to what he said. In the times, when television had not yet taken over, Ameen Sayani conquered every heart through his bass-tone voice and immaculate modulation that gave the much-needed credibility and oomph to every narration. Listeners' imagination would come into play when he would describe a song or the artiste's creativity in his countdown show. The much-needed narrative to each song in every paaydaan, created a film of its own in the listener’s mind. He made radio listening a very personal interactive experience. It seemed he was addressing each listener individually with his effortless ease.

Having grown up in the 80s and 90s, I was introduced to Ameen Sayani by my parents and their love for Vividh Bharti. I have grown up listening to his inimitable style and that became the ultimate benchmark for announcing, compering and interacting on public platforms for me. Announcement/anchoring was equal to Ameen Sayani to me, PERIOD!

A few years ago, when I had got an opportunity to attend a two-day music conference, little did I know that the grand finale was a surprise session with the legend himself. During that conference, I also made a presentation on the importance of audience connection, which was applauded by all in general and Ameen sir's son in particular. On the second day when the surprise was shared that the culminating session would be graced by Ameen sir, I had no words to express my feelings. Rajil Sayani (Ameen sir’s son) had by now gauged my devotion for the man and gracefully asked me to sit in the front row for a better view.

My voice guru was on the stage and watching his fragile body with a support belt for his spine, I was emotional and controlling my tears. Then the man starts talking “Jee Haan Behno aur Bhaiyo!” and I burst into tears. The emotions were unexplainable. The session ended and Ameen sir had to be taken to the green room. Rajil bhai very sweetly came to me and my friend and said, “Come, let's take Papa to the green room". With eyes wide open, we went to the stage, held his hand from each side and helped him walk slowly and steadily to the green room. The moment he settled down in his chair, he gave me a sweet glance and I was crying again, this time like a baby without any control over my emotions. In a composed manner, he put his hand on my head, asked my name and said, “You have a sweet voice, don’t spoil it by crying!” I was standing there speechless! How can one contain so much love and affection? This one blessing was more than enough for my lifetime.

The moment I got out of the auditorium,  I called up Dad and narrated the whole scene to him and now both Dad and I were crying with happiness.

Today I curate my music shows and interact with artists from the entertainment industry, and every time I take a silent approval from my voice guru and evaluate myself by asking if Ameen Sayani ever heard my anchoring, would he approve of this style and content.

Last few years there have been multiple rumours of his demise and every time I read something, I would message Rajil bhai and he would quickly respond, “Don’t worry he is fine, don’t believe in fake news!" Wednesday morning when I heard the unfortunate news, again I sent a message to him anticipating a quick similar response, but no reply came!

The divine voice today is gone silent forever!

You will always live in our hearts sir and will remain the eternal inspiration for every aspirant of the voice industry.

Travel well to the other realm.

Kalpana Swamy is the Product Head of MUZICALLI, a music appreciation community. She hosts her radio show on Zoom, which features popular Hindi film music