Who is a RJ these days?

During my college days, one of the professions/hobbies that I wanted to pursue was that of becoming a RJ – Radio Jockey. There were a number of fantastic RJs in the country who were inspiring me to follow their path and I thought that I had the voice and the knack for something like this and hence I even went to a couple of studios. One of them asked me to come back after finishing my graduation as they did not hire undergraduates as a RJ (never understood how is a degree going to impact the delivery on radio), whereas the other studio told me that they do not have openings at the moment but they would be doing a RJ hunt which I could participate in.

By the time I was nearing the final year of my graduation, there were larger dreams and the goal of doing a MBA had taken over, pushing this desire to the back burner. Of course, over the years, since it was still an idea that had not left the head, I have always been a fan of the radio and I spend more time listening to the RJs talk rather than listening to the music being played. In fact, it would be no surprise to know that while others change channels to listen to their favourite tracks as soon as a RJ comes on air, I stick around and listen to their talk. 

But I am seeing a pattern emerge in the last few years that has left me feeling dismayed and is pushing me to change channels more frequently as soon as the RJ comes on air. So what has changed in the last few years?

To begin with, RJs now do not seem like Radio Jockeys but rather seem like ‘Rude Jockeys’. I know it is a bit unfair on my part to paint all of them under this title, but the truth is that most of the RJs these days across channels are obnoxious, loud, and disrespectful. The kind of language and words used are very casual and filled with slang. Most channels have certain prank calls lined up that are done by the RJs and these calls are filled with abusive language where neither there is humour and nor there is class and yet channel after channel is going after this kind of a format. 

What’s worse is the fact that these RJs seem to have become judges in their own right and they have started giving verdicts on matters and cases that are sub judice and where conclusions haven’t come, decisions haven’t been made and people haven’t been proven innocent or guilty. Most of these RJs do not even seem to have done their research before giving their opinion openly on air, forgetting the fact that as a voice on air, they have tremendous influence on their listeners and so they have a moral responsibility to not pass judgements till the case is complete. 

I think they need to remember that they are working at a radio station, where their job is to delight and entertain and not become the ‘Voice of God’ who seems to know all and who can get away by saying anything.

I am still a strong believer of the platform of Radio and there are still a few good men and women out there who are trying to withhold the respect and integrity of this profession. I hope to see many more like that coming back into the fold. 

Last but not the least, as far as my dream of being a RJ is concerned, I am extremely glad to let you all know, that despite what is happening on Radio all around, in 2015, I was able to carve out an opportunity of being a RJ for an afternoon show for an hour and that ensured that one of the items on my bucket list did get tick off!

Random Musings on a Sunny Sunday!

It has often been seen that once you are out of habit of something, when you get back to that act, it seems that you are starting from scratch again. All the momentum that had built up has gone. It takes considerable effort, discipline and consistency to come back to the same level.

Writing also follows a similar philosophy. Nowadays, when I pick up the pen and tend to write for a little more than a few paragraphs, my palm and fingers start aching as I have lost the practice of writing for hours and filling copious amounts of paper. The world of technology, where everything is on my fingertips has had such an effect that now the fingers that grip the pen ache whereas the fingers that tap the keys feel very normal about it. 

Now when I extrapolate and extend this philosophy to blogging, it seems very similar. Coming back to put down a blog after months and it seems like a tedious job. The mind doesn’t know what to write on, where to begin, how to keep the flow going, how to connect the various pieces. This is despite the fact that thoughts come to my mind at regular intervals of what can be the next interesting topic to blog on. The problem is that these thoughts do not come when I have the resources – my laptop and time for a blog, but rather they strike me at the most unexpected and unprepared places. These thoughts will occur to me when I am trying to concentrate on my run, or when I am trying to pay attention to the speaker in a meeting, or when I am enjoying the cold shower in the hot summer of Delhi or when I am counting the number of red lights that I am encountering on a day when I am supposed to be at a place at a certain time and I am already running late for that. It seems that these thoughts have an evil mind of their own and they just want to tease me and titillate me but they have no intentions to let me enjoy them when I am waiting for them! 

Maybe, here is an opportunity for some brave and bold entrepreneurs as well as scientists to work on a technology that allows thoughts to get converted into meaningful ideas or blogs as and when they strike us so that a lot that has popped in the head comes out in the open for the world to witness, see and read! If anyone puts up a technology like this on kickstarter, I will be one of the first ones to put my money behind their venture as I know that not only will it help me immensely, but it will also be a winner in this crazy, chaotic world.

If I have still been able to hold your attention and if you have reached till here in the blog expecting some more nuggets or gems from me, let me burst your bubble right here and tell you that this blog is nothing less than a random musing on a sunny Sunday, where just like the rains that are being a spoilsport by not making an appearance, a similar conspiracy has been hatched by my thoughts as well. 

So till the time my thoughts do not show some empathy and kindness towards me, you – my reader friend will have to do with this blog that just speculates of what could have been, had my thoughts not deserted me.