Happy..listening to competition!

I know most of the people will think that I am happy listening to competition because may be they are doing things that are not that nice and in comparison I am feeling good about stuff I have been putting up.
But its something else, quite the opposite actually.

I just finished an overview of what the competition has been doing and was simply delighted. In terms of content, everyone is working on something different. Bringing the vibe of the city for your consumption in different ways. Someone is talking about how elder people should be familiarized with mobiles for their safety, someone is running into Sachin's house for a byte, someone is telling you how Ranbeer likes to show off that he shares his birthday with Lata Mangeshkar and bytes of her telling us why does not want to sing much now. There are richshaw-walas, bhikaris and prostitutes going on-air at the same time.

The only complain I that I have is from our Hindi Music Industry - please give us new and more importantly good music at regular intervals. Give it to me baby! aha..aha!

Ganapati, Navratri and now Diwali.. I hope the air-waves keep getting brighter for all of us.

One of the most interesting data I have come across in some time now.. is this chart telling us about the radio habits of people in different metros in India.
It is indeed an eye-opener for national planners.

The way, Bangalore seems to be consuming radio in the mornings and the way Kolkatta being the earliest riser of all is worth a thought. Not only that, Kolkatta also listens to radio a lot at night as well. Delhi and Mumbai are the lowest consumers overall which again is interesting.

Oh! I just so love radio :)

my LIVE medium

I've always said that I love radio the most because of its Live factor. Its as LIVE as live can get.
However, there are tools to use this extremely interactive medium. And lately, I have been feeling kind of jaded with how else can I explore and enjoy it.
So I was told today that Mallishka did something really exciting and I loved it - so much that I thought about blogging about it.
ChammakChhalo is the latest rage in the music circles these days - actually it was when it got 'leaked' - but now that its officially released - so Radio can go gaga about it only now. Ms. RJ went on-air and said I am playing it on my show today but if I get 100 msgs from my listeners (in some time span) - I will play it TWICE - back to back, first time ever on radio. and she DID!
To top it - she said I will play it once more in the next hour if I get a 100 more. and she DID!
That takes some guts and craziness to execute and what a way to feel the 'live' wire that radio is - and of course, what a way to tap into the vibe of the listeners' mind.

When did our working hours go up?

The last I remember, the typical Morning Show used to be a 7-11 am show.
Then Red started playing links from the previous day and calling them Best of Morning No.1 or something like that and you could listen to Mallishka from 6 to 11. In fact they included that time into the promo too.
Now Archana Jaani is also available with a Best Of version early in the morning.
Though this idea is highly debatable - who wants to listen to Shendi @ 6am and that kind of content early in the morning? But then Red is a 24/7 format station. They play Munni and Sheila @ 6 am - so lets just let them be.
Then Big began "Astro Hour" at 6 - followed by Radio One - exactly the same idea.
So now all promos shout out - Morning Show 6 to 11 am!

Do we really want the tune in time to be 6am? And has anyone realized its 5 hours?!?! God help Breakfast show hosts. Except Mallishka though - coz her show made us all wake up earlier, but now she does not appear on her show before 8 am! So I guess the joke's on us! :)

Mango shake!

Being a student a again..

It is indeed a great to be back to books.
I know lots of you will not agree at the first go but it is refreshing indeed. At first when I was taking a break f for my papers it was too much of an effort and first few days I must impossible to get to reading ..let alone remember stuff.
Then tomorrow is the last day and I somehow feel I will miss this.
Its not that thing they say...being nostalgic about school and college days...its just the feeling is that its such a simple life.
one does not have to think about what to do next in life ...which job offer to take...which emi to pay..ofice politics...the only thing that you care about..pass the next exam!!! Any how! :)
Exam sickness before exam might continue post this...but this time it would be more like you feel with home sickness ;)

A Day Off-Air

Sitting at home on a off-day (studying for an exam) felt weird. Specially in the morning.
The first realisation is that of time - 4 hours is indeed LONG :) you never realise it when you are on-air and in that chilled studio!

Also - what we assume is happening off-air when we are on-air might be very different from what we assume it to be. A constant check on that should be a must for every radio jockey.

Seeing the sunrise was my favourite moment of the morning and I hope everyone who gets to see it every morning - appreciates its value. Morning show jocks complete miss out on the city "waking up" .. apparently they are supposed to be doing it.. but then, a calm cup of tea sitting on a table and stomach full of breakfast when its actually supposed to be eaten... is something I wouldn't mind a few days of the week.

All of us miss it - to make the mornings better for the listeners.. hope its successful everytime we say "Good Morning!"

Do you always have to Happy?

So, whenever I tell someone I am a radio-jockey, one of the questions that comes out after the regular one or two - is "It must be difficult na - to be Happy ALL the time?!" :)

I like this question and I often question myself - am I really like that? Happy all the time? In fact, you would be amazed to know that I am one of those who is NOT from the 'happy-go-lucky' communities. Off-air I am always asked - why aren't you smiling? whats the matter? etc etc.. so for me to be asked the very opposite by people is often strange. And then its weirder coz I dont have an answer really..

Now I cant say about everyone (i.e. the jock community) - but I can figure out my answer may be.
First things first: I do not make any efforts to 'be happy'. I am if I am, and not if I am not.
And now to explore further:
Being On-Air is a high and somehow, now matter how I am feeling when I walk into the studio... it takes me just a song and a mike to get lost in a world that even I am unaware of. I will smile and I will talk... and I will love it when I connect. Connect with someone, somewhere. Somehow. And whenever I do - I know it. And when I know - I just start feeling happier. May be, when I send love and smiles out- I get some back (from someone, somewhere) and it keeps multiplying in me. Therefore, even if I do start the show on a low note, by the time I reach the middle, I could be jumping around in the studio!
So I guess I have my listeners to thank for the happiness I feel everyday. Wow! Thank you.

And yes, there are days when I am out of sorts, something goes wrong around you, you might be feeling angry, sad or lost - but those days you are on auto-pilot then. Mike On = Block everything else.

But sooner or later, I feel like someone's giving me a hug, or smiling at me, or sending love in the 'air' - and I can just feel the high and the 'kick' all over again!

Feed-back.

Yes it matters. Yes, its important. In fact, every artist thrives on it. Feed-back.

But I was wondering where this term came from and what it means.
Dictionary says: the process in which part of the output of a system is returned to its input in order to regulate its further output.
Also: Feedback is a series broadcast on BBC Radio 4, presented by Roger Bolton
Also: "Feedback" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson
Then I gave up on Google and Wiki :)

And got thinking - which most of us have forgotten to do - thanks to google... and just read the word again.. Feed - Back.
Its pretty simple - when I perform, please feed me back :)

I wanna be the Sunshine Girl..

This blog is dedicated to the maintenance guy in my office who claims to keep the studio temperature @22-23 degrees everyday - but obviously its anywhere below 10!

Every morning I begin with asking them to just shut the freaking AC before I begin the show since I know I cant handle it and then by 9 - I am stuttering into my links since the cold has by now gone and settled into my bones. (dont give me the obvious - oh why dont you wear a jacket? I DO!)

After another round of shouting and dhamkis (I once actually told them I will not do the show) - and then just rushing out at 11 after my last link - ASAP - I RUN outside the office to treat myself to some human conditions. Normal air - normal temperature and some sunshine!

I have in the process fallen in love with the sunshine. I think its got more than just Vitamin D to offer. Some of the things that I get treated to: warmth, love, that feeling of meeting a friend..sometimes feels like you are hugging someone and sometimes feels like someone just rescued you! Then sometimes it soothes your jammed nerves and sometimes just smiles at you. I know - this might mean nothing to people who live in cities like Dubai.. but believe me, try and spend some time with the sun alone on a random morning and it has so much to give you. Silence is beautiful, and with sunshine to go with - well, its just the frosting on the cake.

I do get it when the singer sings..'Ain't no sunshine when she's gone..' - I love that song.. Bill Withers. Do check it out if you havent yet.
And if ever someone says to me - you're my Sunshine Girl.. it would be the best compliment in my life :)

But still - can we please do something about the freaking temperature in the studio!!

@6:30 on Mumbai Roads!

A lot of people sympathise with jocks who do the morning show since they have to wake up at 5 am every morning and be at office @6am! My god!
But then they tell you- par achha hai na - no traffic at that time and while returning also - afternoon must be good.

Now - to clear all doubts - morning 6 am in Mumbai is also mad on the roads. Just think of a traffic scenario and pick the worst of the lot, the ingredients that make the traffic jams more irritating than they actually are: swinging Cycle walas, rash truck walas, dadagiri BEST buses, slow and BP raising autos!
Now put all of these together on my way to office - quite a hair-pulling experience I assure :)

Back On-Air!

Been so long since I last wrote since I was busy with quitting my job and then joining a new place and then obviously working in it!

So I am back to a radio station! And I am back on-air! Where? Well, that's not important. Really... it does not matter. Point being I am again a part of something I love so much. Radio.

The reasons for taking it up back are many but I do know one thing for sure, that it feels like home. And its not about being in a comfort zone, its about going back to something you love and something you know the workings of.

I often used to tell people that if I join radio again it would be like getting back with someone that I've broken up with. And it is exactly that. The expectations, the familiarity and yet the distance, the feeling of being sure and yet unsure. and also the 'I knew this would happen' moments are already arriving :)

But I realise that I can keep writing - now as a jock. So i'll close this chapter and begin a new one :)