Unhate with passion

Hate is a strong word. While nobody can stand in judgement of whether or not you can feel it, why not take a step back and start a dialogue to see if it’s valid? Indigo 91.9, the radio station for a fun, young Bengaluru is all set to spread the message of ‘unhate’ through its latest initiative leading up to Independence Day. With the aim of providing freedom from hatred, the campaign focuses on a multitude of issues around us and hopes to offer a credible platform to help identify solutions!

Many a times RJ Michelle Patrao had been told that she dissed celebrities and politicians a little too much on her Morning Show. “It was all in good humour, but I realised that I was perpetuating hatred nevertheless. I didn’t want to be a part of the problem anymore. I have a platform, so what if I could give my listeners a reason to think?” she says, coming up with the concept.

All the RJs on the station, including Nathan, Lester D’Couto, Shagufta Ahmed and Melodee Austin have been inviting their listeners to be a part of the solution rather than the problem and take on issues like religious preferences, LGBT community, strays and the tussle between the locals  versus outsiders, head on.

Shagufta, for instance, believes that this discussion is prevalent and relevant to Bengaluru because, let’s face it, it’s a melting pot of cultures – ‘mini India’ as she calls it.

“I think a lot of this is already in people’s heads. There are a lot of things people think that they don’t actually say out loud. We spoke on topics that people hesitated to talk about and through the campaign, are encouraging people and giving them a platform to say things out loud,” says Shagufta.

According to Kiran Sreedhar, the programming head of the station, this campaign had one goal – “To stop people from hating for a better society and to enable everyone to have positivity towards issues that really don’t deserve the hatred.”

And it seems to be doing its job quite nicely. City folk finally seem to have a platform to voice their concerns and opinions while walking away with a little more awareness.

“It’s like an argument, but only here, you’ll actually listen. You don’t worry about winning or losing it. It’s so interesting to hear different points of view, some of which may never have occurred to you! For instance, I’m from the city – born and bred, I often get irked by ‘outsiders’ not cooperating when it comes to language, but I never thought that some of them were trying their best and being mocked for not being perfect or that they were simply bad at picking up a new language!” says Sandhya Shanmugam, an IT professional, who tunes into Lester’s show between 12 and 2 pm. Tolerance might just be the lesson to pick up as the nation hits 70. Don’t you think?