Re: [HCDX]: Radio in India

["Mike Brooker" <aum108@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thank you for your most interesting posts.  I visited India in Dec.
1995/Jan. 1996.  I didn't get anywhere south of Bombay.  I would like to
return to India some time and see the south (Kerala, Tamil Nadu).  You can
view pictures of my India visit at
http://webhome.idirect.com/~aum108/bharat.html
My India logs and bandscans are at
http://webhome.idirect.com/~aum108/dx_india.html

>The FM dial in India is practically empty, only
>a couple signals noted, appearing relays of AM.

In '95 FM was still a novelty, available in only the major cities (Delhi,
Bombay, Calcutta, Madras).  The only FM station I heard was "Times FM",
102.6 in New Delhi.  Programming was mostly in EE, as close as it gets to an
AM drive show in India: Western and Bollywood hits, traffic reports,
bilingual Pepsi ads ("Yeh right one baby hai"!)  This was such a blast!
>
>
>
>The Indian "Bollywood" movies are everywhere, and
>the 5th test (cricket) between Pakistan and Sri
>Lanka drew big crowds on a TV at the Chennai airport.

I heard some cricket play-by-plays (in EE) while in India.  There was also
field hockey on the radio, as the SAF (South Asian Federation) Cup was being
played, involving the national teams of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal
and Bangladesh.  The final game pitted India vs. Pakistan, as bitter a
rivalry as Canada vs. Russia in ice hockey in 1972.  India won, but the
celebrations were not quite as intense as when Paul Henderson scored the
series-winning goal for Team Canada.  The preceding reference is meaningful
only for Canadians aged 35 or older -- the '72 Canada-Russia series was a
defining moment in my childhood! :)
>
>India is just getting wide spread Internet connects
>with "browsing kiosks" becoming fairly common, and the
>best of them offering ISDN lines. Our host David has
>an account with VNSL, the monopoly ISP and generally
>gets 28 kB connects with a 56 kB modem.
>
In 1995, Internet access was only available in Delhi and Bombay.   Just as
well that I couldn't find any net cafes, as I would have wasted so much time
catching up on e-mail instead of experiencing the real India.  The Internet
is still a government-owned monopoly in India.  But most Indians seem to
have e-mail accounts on Hotmail, etc. rather than VSNL.

I tried to visit the head office of All India Radio in New Delhi.  But it
was guarded by soldiers toting World War I-vintage rifles, with fixed
bayonets.

73
********************************************************************
Mike Brooker
99 Wychcrest Ave.,
Toronto, ON  M6G 3X8
CANADA
(416) 536-7406
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