Hyderabad, Feb. 24 -- When Ameen Sayani passed away recently he left behindhim a legion of grievingfans. Rarelydoes any man capture an entire nation with the mellifluous tonalquality of his voice on the radio. But Ameen Sayani was able to do just that. His voice conveyed so many things to so many people.

His diction was perfect and his voice created an ambiance of refined culture, tradition, and charm. But above all, he had a deep empathy towards all his listeners. He brought out programmes that were captivating and kept the listeners engrossed from start to finish.

The story of his rise began in 1952 when the Minister for Information and Broadcasting was a man named B V Keskar. Thisministerliked only pure classical music and nothing el...