The Decline of JK Bank Diary: A Reflection on Lost Standards

New Delhi, India Aug 1, 2026 ALN: ‘Recently, while going through my old hard disk and trying to delete some obsolete files, I stumbled upon a programme titled “JK Bank Diary.” For a moment, I was transported back in time. This was a programme that I had initially coordinated, written and presented for a long period of time and then it was taken over by Sajjad Bazaaz who wrote and produced it on behalf of the bank. It was conceived with a clear and meaningful purpose, to promote financial literacy among the people and make them aware of banking services and financial matters in a simple, accessible and engaging manner.

Listening to those old recordings after so many years was an unexpectedly emotional experience. I was amazed at the amount of effort, thought and professionalism that had gone into producing the programme. Every aspect, from the content and research to the scripting, presentation and production, reflected a serious commitment to quality. It was not merely a sponsored programme; it was a carefully crafted broadcast product that had a purpose and a certain standard.

Out of curiosity, I immediately wondered whether JK Bank Diary was still being broadcast. I searched the internet and, to my immense happiness, found that the programme was indeed available online. I was genuinely excited. I thought that perhaps the programme had survived the passage of time and had continued to evolve with changing technology and the changing needs of the audience.

But what followed was nothing short of a profound shock and deep dismay. When I listened to the present version of the programme, I could hardly believe that I was listening to the same JK Bank Diary. The content, the quality, the scripting and the presentation were, to put it mildly, atrocious. The difference between the programme I remembered and what I heard today was painfully stark.

It made me wonder: How could a programme that was once produced with such care, professionalism and purpose be allowed to deteriorate to this extent? But being a sponsored programme it is now being independently produced by the bank itself. A programme is ultimately a reflection of the institution that produces it. When standards decline, when professional expertise is ignored, when content is treated casually and when presentation is reduced to a mere formality, even the most meaningful programmes inevitably lose their soul.

I do not claim that the programmes of the past were flawless. But there was certainly an earnestness, a sense of responsibility and a professional pride in what we produced. We believed that broadcasting was not simply about filling airtime. It was about communicating with people, informing them, educating them and, above all, respecting the intelligence of the listener. JK Bank Diary was born out of that philosophy. Some of the brilliant voices Roshan Khayal, Ruhi Sulatana, Sakina Rather and many others were associated with it.

To hear it today in such a diminished form is therefore not merely disappointing for me personally. It is deeply saddening to witness the erosion of standards in this pioneering sponsored programme. The signature tune of the programme has been changed, and changed for the worse. There seems to be a peculiar tendency among unprofessional people that whenever they take over a programme, the first thing they do is change its signature tune. In the world of broadcasting, a signature tune is not something you change like a diaper. It is the identity of a programme.

Take the BBC’s Sherbeen, Vadi ki Awaz, Gami Bayan hindi Khatre etc, for instance. The moment you hear it; you instantly recognize the programme. That is the power of a well-conceived signature tune, it creates an immediate association and captures the listener's attention even before a single word is spoken.

A diary is, by definition, a record of the events and happenings of a day over a period of time. Yet, the signature tune of JK Bank Diary begins with the phrase “Tazkira-e-Roz-o-Shab,” meaning an account or recollection of the happenings of day and night. This expression is not only semantically misplaced but also sounds rather vague in the context of a programme that is essentially meant to deal with banking and financial matters.

The phrase “Fikr-e-Zindagi,” meaning concern or contemplation of life, is equally inappropriate. One wonders why a financial institution would venture into the realm of philosophical contemplation on life when its core purpose is banking and financial services. The language of a signature tune should reflect the identity, purpose, and character of the institution it represents. In the case of a bank, the emphasis should naturally be on financial awareness, savings, investment, economic empowerment, and responsible banking - not on abstract philosophical reflections about life. And then come the pronunciations. “Fikr” is pronounced as “Fikkir.”

The radio script is a spoken word, not a written document meant to be read from a page. It has its own grammar, rhythm, cadence and nuances, and therefore demands a completely different approach to writing. A good radio script must sound natural to the ear, flow effortlessly when spoken and communicate its message with clarity and immediacy.

Unfortunately, the scripting of the present programme is ridiculously immature and, in many places, appears to be completely out of sync with the basic principles of radio writing. One has to be exceptionally careful while scripting for radio because the listener hears the words only once; there is no opportunity to go back and reread a sentence as one can with a newspaper or a book. I strongly believe that whoever is writing the script of the programme is not adequately versed in the craft of radio scripting or in the nuances of spoken language. The language often sounds laboured and written rather than spoken, lacking the natural flow, precision and conversational quality that good radio writing demands.

Radio writing is a specialized craft. It is not enough to know a language to write for radio; one must know how that language sounds when it is spoken. That distinction seems to have been completely overlooked in the present incarnation of the programme. When you are producing a sponsored programme for an institution that is the flagship of the state's economy, the entire exercise needs to be handled with the highest degree of professionalism. Unfortunately, the presentation of the programme is absolutely awful. A programme of this stature requires professional voices, voices that can bring life, clarity, authority, and credibility to the words. Instead, we hear voices that sound naive, lack proper accent and diction, and are often embarrassingly poor in pronunciation.

Even simple words are mispronounced. For instance, the word “aur” is pronounced as “oor.” If I were to list all the words that are mispronounced throughout the programme, this entire column would not be sufficient. Such errors are simply unacceptable in a professionally produced radio programme. What is even more concerning is that almost none of the presenters appear to understand how a radio script is meant to be presented. Radio is a specialized medium, and presenting a script requires voice modulation, correct pronunciation, appropriate pauses, emphasis, rhythm, and an understanding of the spoken word. It seems that presenters have been picked randomly, perhaps on the basis of proximity or favour, rather than on professional merit and aptitude. A sponsored programme representing a premier financial institution deserves far better. It needs trained, experienced, and professionally competent presenters who understand the nuances of radio and can-do justice to the institution they represent.

One of the most important elements of any sponsored programme is its packaging. Effective packaging not only enhances the presentation but also adds considerable value to the product or message being promoted. Unfortunately, when the content itself is weak and the presentation is so ordinary, no amount of packaging can compensate for its shortcomings. The problem becomes even more serious when those responsible for the programme do not understand what packaging actually means or appreciate its importance in broadcasting. When there is little understanding of the fundamentals of programme presentation and packaging, there is, unfortunately, not much one can expect.

The programme has also lost the segmentation it once had. Earlier, different segments were devoted to different aspects of banking, with each segment being short, precise, focused, and to the point. Today, however, what we often hear is unnecessary elaboration of news and events, without the support of short recordings, actualities, or brief interviews that could bring the content to life.

The result is dull, monotonous, and unnecessarily stretched content that hardly gives a listener any reason to stay tuned. A radio programme must respect the listener's time and attention; verbosity cannot substitute for engaging content. What is even more striking is the repeated mention of the names and designations of senior officers, whereas it would have been far more meaningful and professionally appropriate to include short interviews with them. Hearing their names mentioned repeatedly, without any substantive contribution from them, adds little to the programme.

One cannot help but wonder whether the officers themselves, upon hearing their names mentioned repeatedly, quietly chuckle under their sleeves and applaud the effort. If that is indeed the intention, then it is nothing but a classic example of sycophancy masquerading as professional broadcasting. Unprofessionalism often disguises itself as innovation. In an attempt to display their ignorance, unprofessional people sometimes try to impose their lack of expertise by changing the nomenclature and character of an established programme, only to ruin what had been built over the years. That, perhaps, is precisely what has happened to the J&K Bank Diary programme.

What else can one expect from a novice who has little understanding of professionalism and the nuances of broadcasting? When expertise is absent, mediocrity is often projected as a virtue and sold as a unique selling proposition. Unfortunately, instead of preserving and strengthening a programme with a legacy, such an approach only diminishes its quality, credibility, and professional character.

These may appear to be small details to an untrained ear, but in professional broadcasting, language, diction, pronunciation and sound identity are not minor matters. They are the very foundation of credibility. When these basic elements are compromised, the programme inevitably loses its dignity, identity and professional character.

Institutions evolve. Technology changes. Audiences change. But professionalism should never become obsolete. What, I wonder, is the purpose of continuing with such a programme in an age when technology has completely transformed the way people consume information and the traditional listenership of radio has declined so dramatically? As a sponsored programme of the region’s premier financial institution, JK Bank Diary ought to have evolved with the times.

There are several sponsored programmes being broadcast on A.I.R. today, and despite the changing media landscape, many of them retain a clear purpose, professional quality and relevance. Sadly, JK Bank Diary seems to have lost all three. Since the programme is produced entirely in-house, one would expect the Bank to have a professional who understands contemporary communication, content and creative presentation. The programme could have been imaginatively redesigned to suit today's audience, incorporating new ideas and creative elements while retaining its core objective of financial literacy.

Instead, what exists today is not even a shadow of what the programme once was. It is painful to see something that was once created with such passion, professionalism and purpose reduced to a mere formality, continuing perhaps because it has to, rather than because it still has something meaningful to say.

The author is ace broadcaster, writer and filmmaker.