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Catching up with the trend
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With a sudden two-pronged attack, from Radio Mirchi and Suryan, AIR cannot afford to sit back and watch its voice becoming meeker. A survey of the post-FM scenario.
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IT IS a typical case of the hare and the tortoise. It happened with Doordarshan earlier and now it is the turn of AIR. The Government's visual media was completely complacent till private channels swooped down and made mincemeat of it. At least All India Radio, its aural counterpart, has been trying out new things now and then, in its regular Tamil Medium Wave, Vividh Bharathi, FM Rainbow and FM Gold stations. Only that has not been enough.
"Education with Entertainment" is a laudable principle. But how you go about it matters a lot. When all of a sudden there is a two-pronged attack, from Radio Mirchi and Suryan FM, the Government media cannot afford to sit back and watch its voice becoming meeker by the day, if it intends to stay in the race. Because today the listener's options are many. Strangely it is not as though AIR's programmes are sub standard stuff. In fact, the calibre, most of the time, is quite impressive.
Despite the onslaught of television, the radio's regional broadcasts have their share of faithfuls who switch on to them first thing in the morning, beginning with "Vande Mataram" and "Mangala Isai" on Chennai A and Hindi devotionals on Vividh Bharathi even as they carry on their daily chores. Till a few years ago, AIR did not seem to feel the need to make any effort to introduce innovation in the format or the presentation.
To a certain extent, competition from its own two FM channels made the Medium Wave (Chennai A) folks try out new programmes. For instance, take its "Kaalai Malar" that begins at 7 a.m., which has several informative, humorous and thought-provoking sides to it. All items in the broadcast are of a very short duration and hence never boring. Beginning with a crisp thought for the day, you have a general knowledge query posed just before the news bulletin. The answer is announced after the news broadcast. Easy-to-make recipes are also part of the programme.
The AIR listener never misses "Indru Oru Thagaval," a part of "Kaalai Malar." After the retirement of Thenkachi Swaminathan, who made it so popular with his sense of humour, Ilasai Sundaram, whose wit and mastery of Tamil is well known, has taken over. That private channels have now grabbed Thenkachi and his astuteness is in full flow on Suryan FM is another story. "Sorkalum Suvaiyagum" is a memorable part of the morning broadcast. Till a few days ago, Sivaji Ganesan recounted (recorded of course) his various experiences in a cheerful and candid manner that had you floored. The nostalgic trip is just one example of AIR's excellent archival collection. These days it is music composer M. S. Viswanathan who shares anecdotes from his life with listeners. And interspersed with such variety are the film songs that listeners cannot do without.
You get to know more about the heritage buildings of the city, from "Chennai Paesugiradhu", where the presenter speaks in the first person as if the buildings themselves were talking to you. With informative inputs from people like S. Muthiah, who are in the know, it sustains your interest. Then there is "Dakshina Gana Surabhi", the monthly musical feature for the classically inclined, conceived by Sulochana Pattabhiraman and presented by her students.
Yet if you wonder where Suryan or Mirchi scores, just look around. Their marketing strategy is overwhelming. The feverish promotion campaign, the mobile ads on the beach and the huge hoardings all over the city tell you part of the tale. For the rest tune in to these two FM channels — the audio shows (even though they are mostly movie based) are listener-centric, ("Reel Podu", "Kadhal Kadhal", "Once More" "Super Star Contest", to name a few), the packaging is attractive and the anchors and DJs are absolutely casual. The last mentioned factor is very significant because most of the time the AIR anchor's attempt at a conversational tone is pathetic — neither practised nor natural. Two presenters come together in the mornings on Madras A. They are supposed to strike a chatty, friendly note. But they often end up sounding formal and awkward. Suryan and Mirchi have film reviews, devotionals, titbits, film gossip, a little of general knowledge, slapstick humour, talk shows with popular stars — mostly film oriented all right, but well publicised and interestingly presented. "Cinema Naeram" on AIR's FM, where most of the anchors are spontaneous, is on similar lines.
Getting back to the Government media, when they reign supreme, they have nothing to worry about. Now that they face competition, perhaps they should shed their complacence and add some spark to their fare and what is more make sure that it reaches the listeners. They should do this at least for the sake of some diehard fans who have grown up with AIR!
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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