While radio jockeying is one of the outcomes of doing a degree in mass communication, there are few Bengalureans who are defying that norm. Meet the engineer-turned-RJs from the city, who broke away from the mould for their first love, rather first two loves — talking and music.
Anil Machado, the national programme head for Radio One was once an aircraft maintenance engineer, who used to jock with All India Radio. The 36-year-old decided to stop checking the nuts and bolts of a plane and grab the mic. “I used to RJ in college and was fascinated by it. Back then, RJing wasn’t really a career option. It only fuelled the fire stirred by your hobby and, not the one that ran the house. After three years, I had enough and had to pick between aviation and radio and I picked the latter,” Anil states. Then there is Sunethra Nagaraj a.k.a RJ Nethra who hosts the mid morning segment called Chow Chow Bath on Radio City. She was a fresher who chanced upon RJing. “I had finished computer science engineering when I applied for a radio audition that I got through,” says the proud 27-year-old. Initially, she dreamt of doing her masters abroad but, the dynamics of the radio, changed her life. “Everyday there is something new happening and I enjoy the unpredictability,” she expresses.
Like Nethra, Mayur Raghavendra an RJ with Big FM, a regional channel also wanted to study further, but fate had another plans for this 28-year-old. “RJing happened due to recession,” says the former techie. “I needed a job that paid me for talking and radio did,” he explains. For those who thought that there is no money in the radio, RJ Nethra is happy to clear that misconception. “I draw far more than what my counterparts in the IT segment draw. Radio does pay, but you need to be good,” says the RJ.
Meanwhile, for RJ Shraddha who hosts the Mad Morning show on Fever FM, it was a conscious decision. “I have no idea why I took up electronic and communication engineering. In fact, half the engineers don’t know why they do engineering,” she chides. She worked as a hard core techie, coding for a couple of years and it was around that time that the radio industry boomed. “I was done with the monotonous lifestyle that the corporate had to offer,” she expresses.
