Sreekumar Mukhathala was busy organising an outreach programme as part of All India Radio (AIR) when it dawned on him: the national broadcaster, whose Thiruvananthapuram chapter is now celebrating its 75th year, can never be spoken of in the past tense.
“That may be the common perception. But this is far from true. The reach and the prospect of the medium, and the potential of our content to address the needs and concerns of the masses, have always stood out. The tech advances have only led us to adapt our content in tandem with the changing times,” says the assistant director (programmes), who is set to retire on April 30 after three decades of service.
As part of the anniversary, AIR Thiruvananthapuram has been organising outreach programmes across the district. On April 22, it was set to travel to Amaravila for a workshop for children on local and folk arts. “Such programmes, reflecting the culture and life of the masses, have always been AIR’s hallmark — unlike the heavily cinema-based content visual media doles out,” he adds.
The years spent at AIR have been monumental, working with greats and emerging talents. This has been another hallmark since its inception on April 1, 1950, when Travancore Radio — established by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal in 1943 — merged with AIR.
Travancore Radio’s first transmitter was located at Kulathoor, with the studio at Palayam, where the MLA quarters now stand. Initially, broadcasts were limited to Tuesdays to Fridays, from 7pm to 9.30pm. The focus was on music and theatre, later adding a news bulletin in English read by Indira Joseph.
AIR evolved by merging the Indian State Broadcasting Service with regional services and was given the name ‘Akashvani’ — coined by Rabindranath Tagore. Akashvani was also the name of India’s first private radio station, founded by professor M V Gopalaswami in Mysore in 1936. The merger made Thiruvananthapuram the first AIR station in Kerala, followed shortly by Kozhikode.
“Bhakthi Vilasom at Vazhuthacaud — the former office residence of Diwan Sir C P Ramaswami Iyer — became our operational hub. GPS Nair, who worked tirelessly towards it, was the first director. We still function from that sprawling, campus,” Sreekumar says.
Over the decades, AIR Thiruvananthapuram has seen many artists who later rose to prominence serve in permanent and honorary roles. After India’s independence, AIR drew up a uniform pattern of broadcast and content, including news, education, and socially relevant programming, evolving with time.
Modernism guided content creation, but it always kept the working class and rural listeners at its heart.
In Malayalam, AIR covered agriculture, literature, theatre, music, and education — topics deeply rooted in the lives of common people.
“The radio occupied a prominent place in homes. Our mornings would start with its signature tune,” recalls Karunakara Kurup, a retired banker, fondly remembering Vividh Bharati and Lalitha Ganangal, which offered a refreshing contrast to the purely classical perception of music.
In fact, AIR’s declassification of music remains one of its biggest cultural contributions.
“The Lalitha Sangeetam concept received a big push from AIR. It started in the north as Sugam Sangeet, Mellisai in Tamil, and then Lalitha Sangeetam in Malayalam,” says Dileep M K, a transmission executive.
It was K Raghavan, transferred from Delhi to Kozhikode AIR, who, alongside P Bhaskaran, popularised light music in Kerala. Since then, AIR’s light music team has only grown stronger, producing compositions that have become cultural staples.
The teamwork of stalwarts like Kavalam Narayana Panicker and M G Radhakrishnan at AIR led to classics such as Ghanashyama Sandhya Hridayam sung by K J Yesudas, Odakuzhalvili Ozhuki Ozhuki Varum sung by Sujatha, and Shararanthal Velichathil Shayana Muriyil Njan by Kamukara Purushothaman.
Among those still serving are S R Mahadeva Sharma, Manjula Mrinalini (violin), Mavelikkara R V Rajesh (mridangam), and Nanchil Arul.
“Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was once our tanpura artist,” recalls Dileep. “Many staffers rose to fame outside. Even now, we have a panel of about 400 composers and artists, including Perumbavur G Ravindranath, an A-Top artist.” AIR’s artist grading system remains a sought-after benchmark. “Despite the many courses available now, AIR grading is still treated like a certification,” says Manjula Mrinalini.
Prominent singers such as K S Chithra, G Venugopal, Kallara Gopan, and G Sriram are among those who have earned the A-grade, with regional panels for light music and central panels for classical music.
“While the highest is A-Top, famous singers often don’t return for further grading. We have seven A-Toppers linked with AIR Thiruvananthapuram,” Dileep notes.
Workshops on grading were recently conducted at NSS College, Niramankara, and Government Women’s College, Thiruvananthapuram.
“While other avenues for ratings exist today, the AIR tag remains valuable,” Manjula says.
However, the ongoing recruitment freeze poses a serious threat to maintaining quality. “There have been no recruitments for ten years now. We were the last batch, in 2015,” says Aishwarya Nair, who handles women’s and children’s programmes.
“The current team is strong, but to sustain the institution, we need quality hands regularly,” she adds, during a break from recording an Aithihyamala storytelling session.
Ruby Babu, a transmission executive for plays, says her section has embraced modern techniques. “We record playsand simultaneously live-video them for social media promotions. The visual now complements sound,” she says.
AIR is also actively organising theatre workshops for university students.
Programmes are finding new life online too. For instance, Nervazhi, a Saturday morning show for the visually impaired, once aired a session highlighting the challenges blind commuters face while boarding buses. Inspired by this, students at Chinmaya Vidyalaya developed an app, also called Nervazhi, to assist the visually impaired.
AIR Thiruvananthapuram’s complex now boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure — composite rooms dedicated to drama, talks, storytelling, light music, instrumental, and classical music. “As I said, people mistakenly view AIR as a relic of the past. The truth is very different — we are adapting swiftly,” Sreekumar says, sipping lemonade with younger colleagues.
“They are the young face of this institution. We are exploring podcasting next, to tap the modern listener who consumes audio content while working or commuting,” he says.
“Our programmes remain free of cliches and glamour yet are creative, critical, and entertaining — be it documentaries, literature sessions, or talks. Even as a government-run entity, we have consistently upheld journalistic ethics,” he adds further.
What AIR Thiruvananthapuram now needs is more permanent hands to steer the ship forward, Sreekumar and his younger colleagues point out — a team evidently in love with their work, the calm interiors, and the serene expanse of Bhakthi Vilasom, a cornerstone of India’s flagship radio network.