Mumbai: All India Radio`s Vividh Bharati Service completes 50 years on Wednesday.Despite the lack of hype around the event, the service, headquartered in Mumbai`s Gorai suburb, has chalked up elaborate plans for the year ahead to mark its golden jubilee. The service, brainchild of Pandit Narendra Sharma, which came into being on 3 October 1957, is one of the AIR`s few wings that`s available across platforms in the remotest corners of the country, has an enviable archive library and counts personalities like Lata Mangeshkar among its die hard fans.

Wednesday`s celebrations have already begun at the Service since 6 am, beginning a day of special programming.

Transmission has been divided into two hour long shows, each with two anchors and a special guest who has been connected with the Vividh Bharati some time during the last 50 years.

Senior announcer Mona Thakur who retired some years ago, has already been on air this morning and will be followed by Lokendra Sharma, a veteran producer who worked with the Vividh Bharati in the 1960s and was known for his show, Bioscope Ki Baatein.The service will also be employing its library, which boasts soundbytes from illustrious personalities like Sohrab Modi and Nargis to present day celebrities like Shahid Kapoor to Neha Dhupia. The bytes, coupled with their own memories of Vividh Bharati, have been condensed into three minute long capsules that will be aired throughout the day.Also included in the programming for today is an exclusive half hour interview with doyen Lata Mangeshkar and a special edition of the popular Jaimala show, to be presented by veteran broadcaster Ameen Sayani at 2.30 pm.

While assistant station director Mahendra Modi says plans for the year ahead are still being drawn up, there are plans to broadcast rare recordings of poets Makhanlal Chaturvedi and Dinkar as well as those by singers like Mukesh. A special theme song has been written and composed by the Vividh Bharati staff, which will be aired by the station today.

The Vividh Bharati service is currently available across the country on MW, as well as on short wave in the border areas of Jaisalmer and on FM throughout the country, as well as on the DTH platform.