Pearl Ondaatje was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia. She was one of the radio station's first female newsreaders and a presenter of radio programs, including programs for women listeners of the radio station.
Pearl Ondaatje worked very closely with the Australian administrator Clifford Dodd and Livy Wijemanne in shaping the new Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon in the 1950s in Colombo. Millions of listeners across South Asia tuned into the hear the voices of announcers such as Pearl Ondaatje. Radio Ceylon ruled the airwaves of the Indian sub-continent in the 1950s and 1960s.
She is a relative of the Canadian philanthropist, Sir Christopher Ondaatje and his brother, the award-winning author Michael Ondaatje, who were both born in Ceylon.
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It is generally recognized that the first radio transmission was made from a temporary station set up by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 on the Isle of Wight. This followed on from pioneering work in the field by a number of people including Alessandro Volta, André-Marie Ampère, Georg Ohm and James Clerk Maxwell.
Vernon Corea was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. During his time he presented some of the most popular radio shows in South Asia, including The Maliban Show, Dial-a-Disc, Holiday Choice, Two For the Money, Take It Or Leave It, Saturday Stars, To Each His Own, Kiddies Corner, and Old Folks at Home. He was well known not only in Sri Lanka, but right across the Indian Sub-Continent from the late 1950s to the 1970s – this was in the heyday of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Radio Ceylon is a radio station based in Sri Lanka and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Department in 1923, just four years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva, Tamil: இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் கூட்டுத்தாபனம், Ilangkai Oliparappuk Kūṭṭuttāpaṉam) came into existence on 5 January 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa and the Director-General of the CBC, Neville Jayaweera. The first board of Directors of CBC consisted of Mr Neville Jayaweera (CCS), Mr A. L. M. Hashim, Mr Dharmasiri Kuruppu, Mr K.A.G. Perera and Mr Devar Surya Sena. After the first board meeting, it was decided unanimously to appoint the chairman, Mr Jayaweera, as the new Director-General.
Radio broadcasting in Sri Lanka dates to 1923. Radio broadcasting, like other forms of media in Sri Lanka, is generally divided along linguistic lines with state and private media operators providing services in Sinhala, Tamil, and English language.
Jimmy Bharucha, was a Sri-Lankan Parsi broadcaster called a 'colossus in Sri Lanka's broadcasting world'. Bharucha died in Colombo in June 2005.
Greg Roskowski was an announcer of Radio Ceylon during the height of the station's popularity in the 1950s in the Indian Subcontinent. Roskowski, born of a Japanese mother and a Polish father, was the booming voice of Radio Ceylon's morning radio programs.
Nihal Bhareti was a popular radio announcer with the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in Colombo. He joined Radio Ceylon in the 1960s. His mellow voice attracted hundreds of fans in Sri Lanka as well as on the Indian sub-continent.
Clifford R. Dodd was an administrator and radio expert, with twenty years experience in broadcasting in Australia, before he arrived in Sri Lanka. He was sent by the Australian Government under the Colombo Plan to work in Radio Ceylon. He was appointed Director of the newly formed Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon.
Livy Wijemanne was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon. He was one of Sri Lanka's greatest broadcasters. On 31 October 1948, the Post Master General appointed the young announcer as an Assistant Controller of Programmes. This was a start of his career in management in Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Timothy Navaratnam Horshington was a pioneering broadcaster of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia. Horshington was one of the earliest Tamil announcers to be appointed to the panel of announcers in the 1950s by Livy Wijemanne and Clifford Dodd. He was very popular with listeners on the island - Ceylonese enjoyed listening to his mellow voice over Radio Ceylon - the radio station ruled the airwaves in the 1950s and 1960s in South Asia.
Claude Selveratnam was a popular radio announcer of Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Selveratnam read the English news bulletins of Radio Ceylon as well as presenting some of the popular radio programs of the day such as - 'Holiday Choice'.
Eardley Peiris was a radio announcer with Radio Ceylon who joined the radio station in the late 1950s and enjoyed huge popularity with millions of listeners across South Asia. He presented some of the key radio programs like Holiday Choice, he also read the English news bulletins of Radio Ceylon.
Shirley Perera was a popular announcer of the 1960s and 1970s in Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Perera presented some of the well known radio programmes of the station including 'You call the Tune.'
Christopher Arthur Greet was an actor and radio presenter. He is best known for his work alongside Victoria Wood in the 1998 BBC comedy series dinnerladies.
S. P. Mylvaganam was a Sri Lankan radio broadcaster. He was the first Tamil language announcer for the Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon. He had fans across Sri Lanka and India.
Elmo Fernando was a popular announcer with Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation. Fernando was an excellent reader of the news. He joined Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia at a time when it was known as the 'King of the Airwaves' in the 1950s and 1960s. Millions tuned into the station from across the Indian sub-continent. When he was at Radio Ceylon he was mentored by the veteran broadcaster Vernon Corea.
Dayananda de Silva was a distinguished radio journalist who has enjoyed a career of 42 years in public service broadcasting, on the island of Sri Lanka. De Silva joined Radio Ceylon in the early 1960s. Radio Ceylon, now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), is the oldest radio station in South Asia. Millions of listeners across the Indian sub-continent tuned into Radio Ceylon. Dayananda de Silva joined Radio Ceylon when Ronnie de Mel was the Director-General of the station.
Mervyn Jayasuriya was a veteran announcer with Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Jayasuriya presented some of the most popular radio programmes over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon, such as "Roving Mike" and "Sports Newsreel". Millions tuned into the programmes, right across South Asia.
Kiddies Corner was a hugely popular children's radio programme broadcast on the Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon. The format was devised in 1963. This was the 'golden era' of the radio station, the oldest in South Asia. Millions tuned into Radio Ceylon and it was known as the 'King of the Airwaves' in South Asia in the 1950s and 1960s.