DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, December 24, 2006: East Indians in Durban are delighted to have their very own 24-hour Hindi radio station. From humble beginnings in 1998 when government guidelines only permitted the radio channel to operate for two months a year because it was labeled as a community channel to a full-blown recognized station in 2002, Radio Hindvani is a success story. The news release explains, “Radio Hindvani is a home away from home for over 200,000 expatriates in Durban because it touches their heart. Today, the station has 90 employees and interestingly all of them are volunteers. It’s not just Hindi music that is on the menu Hindvani also serves programs on sports, Indian cooking, news and religion.” Reena Bhoora with Radio Hindvani says, ” I would say the golden oldies – they are my favorites as well. Apart from that we have some hip-hop and kawallis that the youngsters love. We even play some Hindi songs composed in South Africa that we call chutney nagara songs.” Veer Singh, an Indian origin taxi driver, sums up the community sentiments about the station, “It offers a variety of in-depth knowledge about my culture, my tradition and where I come from.”
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