Radio still thriving in thanks to road traffic, say RJs

By India Today News Desk: Bengaluru’s famous radio jockeys said the medium’s longevity in the city can be credited to the city’s heavy traffic. Speaking at India Today’s Karnataka Roundtable 2023 on Saturday, Disha Oberoi, a radio jockey at Red FM said, “Radio is not just surviving, it’s thriving. It’s a great medium, entertaining and the only local dynamic medium in the world and absolutely free of cost. You just need a radio set, and you can tune into any channel. The medium is beautiful, nostalgic, emotional. Radio is here to stay, it’s going nowhere.”

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NOSTALGIA OF RADIO

Sarah Fazal, a radio jockey at Mirchi agreed, saying the unique way of storytelling is what keeps radio thriving. “Radio is very dynamic also because of its storytelling. The art of storytelling never dies. There is always someone out there who wants to listen to a good story being told to you in the most beautiful way possible. The best part about it is that radio leaves it to the listener’s imagination to take it the way they want to. Eliciting any emotion in your listener is an art in itself.”

Sunethra Nagara, a radio jockey at Radio city 91.1 said there is a lot of credibility and one-on-one connection between an RJ and their listeners. “With radio, there is a lot of one-on-one connections. So there is a lot of credibility, relativity with the RJs and the things we say. Along with music and entertainment, there is a lot of credibility and connection that a lot of people don’t realise.”

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‘BENGALURU ROADS COMMON COMPLAINT FROM CITIZENS’

With the Karnataka Assembly election just around the corner, the RJs said the state of roads in Bengaluru and the amount of traffic is the most common complaint from their listeners. Disha Oberoi said the city’s residents no longer have hope. “Every now and then, whichever government is in power comes out with reports that the roads will be fixed. But as the saying goes, ‘Once bitten, twice shy’, Bangaloreans are 100 times bitten, 300 times shy. Even when we announce it on the radio, people have no hope. If we have to look at a silver lining, the roads in Bengaluru have increased the tenacity of its people. Look at the fanbase for RCB. The team can do as badly, but the fanbase is strong.”

Answering a question about how they manage to stay positive despite the issues in Bengaluru like potholes on roads and the heavy traffic, Sunethra replied, “After a certain point, we sort of normalise it all. We know there is a pothole, we just steer clear. We know exactly what to do, where the pothole is, and how to maneuver through traffic.

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We sometimes wait three to four hours in traffic but we’re not complaining because we have normalised it. So when there is a public holiday and there is no traffic, we think ‘What has happened to Bengaluru?’. Less traffic is very dreamy for us, which it essentially should normally be.”

Sarah said that as an RJ, apart from just making anything in Bengaluru look positive, they try to make the listeners get into their feelings. “We go along with them. We are their voice with them. We try to make the listeners feel ‘I am where you are’. We try to make it relatable and make them know that as RJs, we go through the same thing. That’s the connection we build with our listeners,” she added.

Sunethra said the situation in Bengaluru is a combination of the residents’ apathy and “mismanagement” by the authorities. “Citizens apathy and mismanagement from the authorities both go in hand. As responsible citizens, sometimes we need to take cognizance of what is happening and question why it is happening. But we don’t bother,” she conceded.

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Disha Oberoi lists other issues that the citizens tell them on their shows. “Garbage disposal is an issue and waste management is also a concern, but it’s getting better. But a lot of people call on their way to work and say they can smell garbage being burnt.”

She added that water shortage, especially during summers, is another problem that the citizens face. She also said there is an issue of housing where the supply is not being able to meet the demand. “A lot of young people want to buy houses or rent houses and rents are off the roof,” said Disha.

Sarah said there is a “lot more work to be done in Bengaluru. The infrastructure is crumbling”. All the three radio jockeys agreed unanimously that the infrastructure is “not in sync with how the city is growing”. Sarah said the city’s development might have been swift but “at what cost? There is no green cover left, no environment left. Development came at the cost of cutting every natural resource”.

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‘YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD COME OUT AND VOTE’

Talking about the upcoming state Assembly elections, Disha said “People need to start voting. It’s good that they put it on a Wednesday (May 10) so people don’t take it as a chance to enjoy a long weekend.”

Sarah, speaking on urban apathy and the lack of young voters said, “In 2018, there was urban apathy. Even though we had the best turnout since 1952 of 76 percent, but it was not so when it came to the youth. A lot of youngsters were missing from that scenario. But from my view, If I am going to vote, what’s going to change?”

Sunethra said the reason that young people do not vote might be because “they do not relate to today’s politicians”. “The politicians are busy blaming each other, which probably forms a disconnect with the youngsters. That is the reason why they are not voting,” said the Radio City RJ.

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