Srinagar, June 7: Prominent broadcaster Surja Sahib, who worked in erstwhile Radio Kashmir (presently All India Radio, Srinagar) for more than three decades passed away in New Delhi on Monday. Sahib was working in Radio Kashmir till 1990 after which she moved to Delhi, where she breathed her last after a prolonged illness.
She was a creative broadcaster who possessed great oratory skills. Late Surja Sahib was known for engaging her listeners with her great quality voice and delivery of speech, said Pran Chandra, who was late Sahib’s colleague for more than 30 years as announcer and broadcaster. After her long stint in Kashmir, Sahib had moved to Delhi where she worked with AIR Delhi Urdu service for a women’s-centric radio programme and another show based on letters from listeners. At Srinagar, Sahib participated in the popular programme “Vaadi Ki Awaaz”.
Apart from working as an announcer, Surja Sahib also performed as a drama voice during the 1970s and 1980s.
“She had a beautiful broadcasting voice. Her Urdu pronunciation was too good, that is why mostly she was given the assignment of Urdu shows” said Mushtaque Ali Khan, senior broadcaster and film-maker. The news about Sahib’s demise has been widely condoled by the broadcaster fraternity in Srinagar and Delhi.
”I have known her since the seventies when I got a number of opportunities to work with her. She was really a nice human being. I cannot forget her smiling face,” said Khan.