Lady behind the guiding voice

KOCHI: Her voice calling out the departure and  arrival of trains had found audience at thousands of railway stations across Kerala. And thirteen years later, 36-year-old Bindu Mathew’s announcements still continue unchallenged. Interestingly, her voice which debuted at a local station in Palakkad district in 1999 also marked the beginningof the Railways’ first step to computerised  announcements in Kerala. She is the first computerised announcer in Kerala. In addition, she holds a record in the 100 metres and 200 metres set in 1988 at the State School Sports Meet. As she remembers that day in 1999,  when she made her debut announcement, the Piravom resident is all smiles.“There were four of us who were called to try our hands on announcement. I was abit shy but then I gave it my best. The next day, I learned that my voice had clicked. The railway officials informed me that my announcement in Malayalam would be played out at railway stations all over Kerala. I was young and proud to be with the Railways,” Bindu said. “Every station I went to, it was my voice calling out the passengers. I felt like I was an important part in their lives,” she added. To add a special flavour to her life, in 2002, she was offered to lend her voice in Sathyan Anthikad’s movie, ‘Yathrakarude Sradhaykku.’ However, after the initial days, the charm faded off. “I realised that for people I was just a voice. Nobody knew who the person behind the voice is,” she says. It was only over a decade later that she felt that thrill all over again. For a journey in the Shatabdi Express to Thrissur, she was appointed for the post of ticket examiner. “As part of my job,  I was examining tickets when a man in the general compartment asked me whether I  am the woman behind the voice that made the announcements. My heart skipped a beat when I felt the warmth extended by the passengers. Now, I am quite popular with them,” she laughs.Born into a family of sports players, Bindu says that she was always on the muscular side. With a build that belies the sweet soft voice making announcements at the Ernakulam Junction station, the mother of two, Bindu has  been working with the Railways for almost 19 years.