Radio Jockeys and Rest of Us

While driving to office today, I was listening to a Radio Jockey(RJ) on a famous “hot” radio station. She was struggling with her voice, apparently due to health issues. Stream of thoughts came to my mind noticing that and started wondering about their job, their impact and place in our lives, which I thought sharing here on the blog.

Before advent of private radio stations in India, we had(and still have), All India Radio(AIR), and their local city stations, and Vividh Bharati stations wherein we listened to non-glamorous RJs(or announcers as they are called). One can see huge difference in those RJs and RJs on private radio stations in their presentation, approach. All of us have our own preferences on our favorite RJs based on our interest, and inclination. But one thing for sure, they all entertain us on their shows/programs on radio, while we are on the road, dealing with the city traffic, during lonely nights, wherever we are. They take us to different world, by their conversation “on air”. How often have we thought about them and realize their role in our lives?

Their role, place and relation with us a kind of virtual one as we know-we only hear them; we don’t get to see them. I remembered classic English movie ‘Play Misty For Me’ wherein Clint Eastwood played role of a RJ. That movie, which was a thriller, murder mystery, was portrayed the RJ, the radio, being all along there. More than that, how the life of a woman got interleaved with that RJ, turning virtual relationship into the real one, before it turned ugly. We also have seen Hindi movie ‘Munnabhai MBBS’ having RJ as one of the characters, where we can find similar concept being carried forward, and in that movie RJ had a bigger(and positive) role to play. I have had my share of relating these virtual RJs to real ones few times. I have had opportunity to attend live programs in the Pune All India Radio(Akashwani) auditorium few times, have heard familiar voices at the mics on the stage and related them to real faces. Like many of us, I also have grown hearing radio. The day would begin(and still begins) hearing RJs playing songs, announcing different things, reading news etc. Associating faces to voices we hear on radio was joy to me, and those faces come afore me whenever I hear their voices on radio.

This is how RJs have influenced our psyche, and is very interesting to know that, as we reflect upon, whom otherwise we listen and tend to forget until we hear them again.

I hope that RJ which was struggling in the morning got recovered, got her voice back, and is back at the job!

What are your thoughts?