Many afternoons, I’m drawn to All India Radio on 9,445 kHz. I love what the ether does to their Bengaluru transmitting station’s signal as it travels at the speed of light over 8,700 miles to my home here in the southeastern US.
I enjoy, too, the way All India Radio announcers speak the news, in slow cadence, honoring the fine tradition of radio: “This is the general overseas service of All India Radio. It’s time now for the news. Please stand by…” I also delight in their English language news bulletins, which begin with “Namaskar.” I appreciate this–it makes it much easier for me to identify the station when listening on an analog radio like my BC-348-Q. I’m sure this makes a difference for many other listeners seeking their station, too.
I also love All India Radio–like I do the Voice of Greece–for their superb music. Where else on the shortwave dial will I hear the sitar sing, as on AIR?
But don’t take my word for it. If you live in North America and Europe, when conditions are favorable, All India Radio is a favorite listening experience for many–myself obviously included.
For your listening enjoyment, here is a 30 minute recording I made of All India Radio only an hour ago on 9,445 kHz, starting at 22:00 UTC. Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
…and for anyone who doesn’t find themselves in the right place or time to hear AIR via shortwave their programs are also available daily at the WRN website. Typically the files are 90 minutes long and always include a large musical component. What makes these audio downloads very special is that they are not pristine studio recordings, they are actually recorded off the air (from a very strong signal) so you still can enjoy some of the shortwave atmospherics.
Hi, Mark–I had no idea! WRN uses a radio recording of AIR…I’ll have to seek it out now. Typically, I listen to WRN while travelling in my car (via the TuneIn app). They do have a great mix of international stations, many that I miss on the SW bands.
AIR is something special indeed. There are a handful of stations on the dial that you recognize instantly due to the unique confluence of their music, production styles, and transmitter characteristics. AIR and Radio Cairo are probably the two most obvious examples. While Cairo is grimy, distorted, fuzzy, and melodramatic, AIR is always strangely fluttering or glistening or phasing – a really magical sound. I find that a little goes a long way for me as of late, but I’m always glad to stumble across them.
Myke, you sum that up beautifully; I whole-heatedly agree. Thank you!
All India Radio is also one of my favorite stations. I listen daily. At sunrise when eating breakfast (here in Sydney) the DRM service which is published as targeted to Europe on 9950 powers in and my WinRadio provides perfect digital reception. In the late evenings I usually turn on my vintage FRG-7 to listen to their musical program in fantastic shortwave analogue. The Indian music complete with fading and a little QRM makes for exotic listening. India is one of my favorite countries, I vist often, and have been lucky enough to have lived and worked there for many years in the past. Listening in to AIR brings back so many memories.
Wow, Mark, Thanks for sharing your thoughts about All India Radio. You have had some amazing travels and, like you, SW broadcasts make me nostalgic for places I’ve visited/lived and also serve as a reminder of the distance between us. When I lived in France, Germany and England, the VOA reminded me of home. While living in the States, listening to RFI, DW and the BBC Word Service trigger feelings of nostalgia for those countries.
Best,
Thomas