It's 8.30am and Aarthi Sw minathan is headed out for a long day at work. As she braces to navigate the traffic, she switches on the radio for her usual dose of Tamil melodies by A R Rahman. Rahman it is, but only in Hindi! Swaminathan does not mind. In fact she is happy that the airwaves in her city echo another Indian language. Less than a month ago, 94.3 Radio One decided to go for a makeover.
The radio channel which was earlier playing Tamil songs became a Bollywood channel playing Hindi tracks from 7am to 10pm an indication that political passions over Hindi may have cooled down substantially and also that there is a substantial population of Hindispeaking people such as homesick techies in the state.“Over the past decade Chennai has stepped out of its traditional mould to emerge as a cultural melting pot. As a tribute to the cosmopolitan city and its people we wanted to introduce Bollywood music,“ says John Justin, station head of Radio One.
The RJs speak in English but some interactions are conducted in Hindi, like the one where the RJ teaches basic Tamil words to Hindi listeners or learns Hindi words from callers. The response to the change has been surprisingly posit ive, s ay s R J Vikram, who feels the shift is organic and much needed as it gives listeners the freedom of choice.
“It is true some of the listeners have moved on but many of them have stayed back. On my show the other day an elderly Tamil woman called in to correct my diction when I was trying to spout the Hindi dialogues from the Tamil film `Indru Poi Naalai Vaa',“ he says. Apart from the music the content is Chennai-centric with many Tamil film stars and musicians sharing their stories of working in the Hindi film industry .
The Hindi radio channel may only be another stage in the cultural evolution of a city where many Hindi films are released on the same day as elsewhere and multiplexes report full houses. “Tamil Nadu has one of the largest migrant populations in the country . Urbanisation and demographic changes in society are a reality and it is good that the state is responding to the changing times,“ says social scientist Bernard D Sami.
For the Hindi-speaking Chennaiite, the change has made them feel a little more at home. “After the initial rush of excitement it sure feels great. I no longer have to worry about taking my pen drive to listen to Hindi music. It is a great initiative which makes outsiders feel included,“ says blogger
Sneha Bhattacharjee Sinha.
As Aarthi, a loyal liste ner from the days of the channel's Tamil format, puts it, “Change is always good, and this one has been able to capture the many shades of Chennai. The city is all embracing and not as conservative as most believe it to be.“
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