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Radio a rage, despite TV
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The Akhila Kerala Radio Listeners Association keenly listens. They tell K. PRADEEP that they closely track all the radio stations of the State and offer suggestions and criticism.
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Moideenkunju and Paulose Master, radio enthusiasts.
THEY WERE turning into a nuisance. Those letters. They kept coming in regularly. Some of them were quite strongly worded, others heaped praise, while a whole lot of them offered suggestions, but most of them pleaded to be read. The staff at the radio stations of All India Radio in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode, very soon came to know them by their names.
There were a few who would mail reviews or critical opinions of four different programmes aired by four different radio stations at the same time. They were branded as frauds. For, it was believed then that it was impossible for a person to listen to four different programmes at the same time. But the radio officials were in for a big surprise when they finally met Moideenkunju Thrikkakara and M. P. Paulose Master, two of these regular `letter writers.'
These two passionate radio listeners have around five radio sets at home and facilities for recording programmes on them. "On certain days, when there are good programmes at the same time on these four radio stations we select one of them and listen to it live. Simultaneously, we record the other programmes, which we listen to later," informs Mr. Moideenkunju, who works at an automobile workshop in the city.
Listeners unite
These two, along with a group of other enterprising listeners formed the Akhila Kerala Radio Listeners Association, giving their passion for radio, a specific purpose, and definite goals.
For both Mr. Moideenkunju and Mr. Paulose this began as a childhood fad. "That was nearly 30 years back. I must have been 10 or 12 years old then. We did not have a radio at home but there was one old valve-radio at my cousin's place. Every evening, after school, I used to be there to listen to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. The voices of Karunakaran and Sarojini Sivalingam became as familiar as some at home. By the time I reached high school I had begun writing letters on the programmes I had listened. More than anything else I think that this exercise helped in improving my general correspondence. Then this developed into sending letters in different languages, including Hindi and English," reveals Mr. Paulose, who teaches Hindi at the MSM Higher Secondary School, Pattimattom, near Kochi.
This habit gradually turned into ardour and despite the invasion of the electronic media these gentlemen have devotedly stuck to their favourite radio. "There is an inexplicable intimacy that you tend to develop with this medium... ." Mr. Paulose ponders, as Mr. Moideenkunju chips in, "Only the radio gives you education and entertainment. It is one medium that you can attend to even while you finish your daily chores. And most importantly it is still relevant."
TV not taboo
Television is not taboo to this group, but they choose their programmes. For instance they don't miss the news telecasts.
Very soon the idea of bringing the listeners together was born. They got a lot of encouragement from C. P. Rajasekharan, who was then programme executive at the Thrissur All India Radio. "He always wanted local people to be involved, participate and visit the studio. The first gathering of the listeners took place at the CMS School, Thrissur, in 1994. Around 100 people got together from various parts of the State. Then in 1996, the first conference was held at the Sahitya Akademi Hall, Thrissur. From then we worked on certain specific goals like starting a unit in every district, meetings of the office bearers once a month where programmes would be discussed, and to launch a bulletin. The association has no profit motive with the satisfaction of listening being the sole purpose," informs Mr. Moideenkunju.
Magazine launched
Initially the association planned to publish a directory of the listeners. Then came the idea of starting a monthly magazine that would carry reviews of programmes and also news from the world of radio. `Shravanam' as it was aptly called, was first published in black and white. "It was sent to all the radio stations and to many libraries. The feedback that we got was good. We were informed that this was the first of its kind in the country. It was then that we decided to improve on the quality, both in content and looks," says Mr. Moideenkunju.
The listeners do not restrict themselves to the radio stations in the country. They have been regularly interacting with the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation, BBC and even Deutsche Welle, the German Radio. "The German Radio provides tremendous encouragement to its listeners. They have radio clubs throughout the world and even some in India. This was part of their endeavour to change the bad image Germany had after World War II. They began broadcasts in various languages of the world, including Hindi. They are now celebrating the 40th year of their Hindi broadcast and we have been regularly in touch with them," says Mr. Paulose.
Radio activists too
The Association has been actively involved in the activities of the radio stations in the State. "When the Kochi FM Station stopped its morning broadcast service, we protested against this, held a dharna in front of the station and were able to convince the authorities the need to restart the service. Then when the Thrissur Station did not have a Director for a rather long period, we took up this issue with the authorities as we felt this had an adverse effect on the programmes that were aired during this period. And thankfully our memorandum was accepted and a director posted immediately," claimed Mr. Moideenkunju.
Recognition
The officials of the AIR stations have slowly begun to recognise the worth and importance of a strong, growing group of listeners. "They need to be encouraged no doubt. But then, they have to become more qualitative in their approach and views. It is observed that they are very conventional and do not easily accept changes. They must be more liberal, more open to new programmes," feels K. A. Muraleedharan, Deputy Director, Regional Training Institute, AIR, Thiruvananthapuram.
The fact is that nothing covers India better than AIR, not even water. With a strong, passionate association of listeners, the country will surely not run out of AIR.
Photo by H. Vibhu
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