When was the last time you tuned into a radio station and sat through a series of advertisements only to listen to your favourite song or show? In the world of Spotify, YouTube, and other digital music services, the good old radio has become ancient. But Ram Singh Boudh, a resident of Gajraula in Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh, is guarding the humble radio. His collection of over 1,000 radios has secured him a position in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Mr Boudh has radios from the 1920s to 2010, purchased from various markets of the country, including Delhi and Meerut. He has 1,400 radios but as per the guidelines of the Guinness World Records, all radios should be unique. The duplicates were removed from the list. With 1,257 radios, Mr Boudh broke the previous record of M Prakash, who had a collection of 625 radios.

When asked about his motive behind establishing a radio museum at home, Mr Boudh said it is to make the future generation aware of the impact of radio on society. He added,

10 years ago, on October 3, 2014, PM Modi started Mann Ki Baat, giving a new lease of life to radio and Akashvani, bringing the broadcaster advertisements and money.

In November 2023, during his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised Mr Boudh’s efforts. In his address to the nation, PM Modi noted that Mann Ki Baat has made radio more popular in every household. Sharing a letter by Mr Boudh, PM said,

Ram Singh Ji has been collecting radios for many decades. He says, that after Mann Ki Baat, people’s curiosity about his radio museum has increased.

Following PM’s mention, Mr Boudh received a special invitation for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi this year. He is retired from the post of supervisor of Warehouse Corporation of India.

Known as the ‘radio man of India’, Mr Boudh claims to have the only radio museum in the world.

With inputs from Afsar Ali

Amroha (UP):

Twelve wagons of a Delhi-bound freight train derailed near the Amroha railway station in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening, officials said.

No one was injured in the accident that comes three days after eight coaches of an express passenger train derailed in the state’s Gonda district, killing four passengers and injuring 31.

Moradabad Division’s Senior Deputy Commercial Manager (DCM) Aditya Gupta said that “12 wagons of a goods train derailed just after crossing the Amroha railway station around 5 pm”.

He said that no one was injured in the accident.

The Northern Railway CPRO said the accident happened at the Amroha Yard on the Ghaziabad-Moradabad section, disrupting train movement on the route.

Fifteeen trains have been either diverted or cancelled, railway sources said.

“In the meantime trains on this route are being diverted via Ghaziabad, Hapur and Gajraula,” Mr Gupta said.

He said the freight train “was coming from Uttarakhand and was headed for Delhi, and the contents of the wagons which got derailed are not known”.

Work to restore movement of trains on the section is underway and is expected to be completed by Sunday morning, officials said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)