Perumbavoor: Forty-nine years back, one fine day, this friend first came to Varghese's house with the movie song 'Arattinanakal Ezhunnalli ...' Then onwards, he is Varghese's best friend. It is none but the 'Pride' radio of the 'Philips' company. It delivered him the news and entertainment, from the morning 'Subhashitam' to the ‘Chalachitraganangal' at the midnight.
 
Varghese said that in the early days, Malayalam programmes were mostly heard from Ceylon. "I bought the radio with the money I got from harvesting 80 sacks of paddy. Everyone in the locality and family would assemble in the evening to hear the news and the songs. The main occupations at that time were farming and palm weaving. The radio was playing in the background all the time. If you want to listen to the programs, you have to pull the aerial," Varghese said.
 
The warranty card and license he received when he bought the radio 49 years ago are still with him. Varghese also recalled that during the emergency, police came to the house asking for the radio license.

Despite having a TV and a mobile phone at home, Varghese, who is 85 years old, and his wife, Thresiyamma, still enjoy radio programmes. He lives with his son Joey and his family in their ancestral home in Okkal, Ernakulam. UNESCO has been celebrating February 13 as World Radio Day since 2012.