The voices close to our heart

HWhat would meeting a long-lost friend be like? We may not even bother exchanging conversational pleasantries to start with when things just pour forth — joy, surprise, follies, mistakes, achievements, regrets, fun and whatever happened in the years gone by. As the noughties neared to an end, such a long-lost friend made a comeback into the lives of Malayalis — FM Radio. The comeback was all the more stylish to suit the new gen vibe. The FM boom in Kerala is celebrating its first decade this week. Radio Jockeys, whom we affectionately call RJs, have in part and parcel become people close to us, sometimes, like a friend or family member. 

Many years ago, when he was addressing a gathering of college students in his early days in this career, popular RJ Kidilam Firoz was asked why he chose to be an RJ, pat came the reply laced with fun. “Nobody could see our faces.” The crowd instantly burst into laughter. Gone are those days. Now people know who is behind the sweet voice that soothes and caresses their minds on the other end of the radio. More than Facebook accounts and fan pages, the physical presence itself fills that void.

“FM radios emerged where our predecessor AM radio had very less accessibility. Better call this re-emerging a democratic-political revolution. The common man was waiting to be heard. They wanted to share with us their lifestyle, food, observations and many more. Starting with talking in society, we scaled up to thinking about what to do in society. Over time, we managed to reach to about six lakh audience in manifold ways. They feel free to discuss matters regarding their families, be it debates or updates,” says Firoz, head of Big FM.

At each anniversary, his FM station comes up with a campaign. At nine years, it was Pattiniyilla Pattanam (Hunger-free city) done with an intention to eradicate hunger in the city. The tenth anniversary comes with the watchword Prakasham Parakkatte (let’s spread light). “If anybody informs us about absence of light in their areas, we’d go there and offer the facility free of cost. All expenses to be borne by us,” he says. Firoz, the four-time Limca Book of Records holder, says, the biggest mission he had is to go on air from under the sea!

From his seven-year-long career, Sree Nath, who was formerly with Radio Mirchi, waxes eloquent about his ‘friends’, whom he do not wish to categorise as callers. “If there is a medium so intimate with the audience, it is radio. They adopt us as their sons, daughters, do offerings for us in temples or churches, find a match for their ‘daughters’ or ‘sisters’, the female RJs. While someone seen on television is looked upon as a celebrity and the one who writes in a medium is mostly treated with reverence, RJs are nothing short of family members,” says Sree, who has been a content creator, programme producer and RJ over the years. 

“I have heard a person has appended an RJ’s name to his own Facebook profile as a token of affection. From my experience with print and visual media, only on radio do we get the freedom to imagine. Like a Gandharvan (celestial singer) we could create rain or wind or whatever with less technical effort,” adds Sree.   

Chinju Madhusudhanan has switched jobs between two radio stations in her four years as an RJ. “I suffocated in the small time left between my job change. I cannot think of my days without talking to people,” she begins. That she gets identified is a big thing for her. “People could relate to my name when I address myself as RJ Chinju. They remember us for the moments we kept them entertained. People believe, if they disclose a problem on radio, it would be addressed. And it does. When television and cinema have restrictions to be mobile, radio travels everywhere and can be turned on at the time a listener want us to hear. We have a generation to support us,” says RJ Chinju of Red FM. 

One day, Chinju was taken by surprise. “A call came to me during one of my programmes. The sound was Vaikom Vijayalakshmi’s. It was quite unexpected. She was on her way to Thiruvananthapuram to perform and gladly exchanged her happiness and programme info with me. I am sure I don’t want to leave radio at all,” smiles Chinju. The feeling is palpable from the audience’s side too.