Centre for Historical Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
CHS Seminar Series
on
‘Radio For the Millions: Hindi-Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders’
by
Dr. Isabel Huacuja Alonso
Assistant Professor, Columbia University
On 23rd August 2023,
Room No.326, CHS, SSS-III.
Abstract: From news about World War II to the broadcasting of music from popular movies, the radio played a crucial role in the history of Hindi-Urdu transmission during the height of its popularity from the 1930s to the 1980s, creating a transnational community of listeners. The talk argues for a more expansive definition of what it means to listen. Through the concept of 'radio resonance', it is emphasized that radio relied on circuits of oral communication such as rumour and gossip to account for the affective bonds. By analyzing Hindi film-song radio programs, Alonso demonstrates how radio spurred new ways of listening to the cinema. Drawing on a rich collection of sources, including newly recovered recordings, listeners’ letters to radio stations, original interviews with broadcasters, and archival documents from across three continents, the lecture rethinks assumptions about how the medium connects with the audience.
Isabel Huacuja Alonso is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University, USA.She is a historian of sound media with a particular interest in radio's role in the making and unmaking of borders.
We look forward to having you with us.
