Bangla FM Radio Revolution in Bangladesh

As ten year-old Ranjan runs to Khaleda Hossain with a pen and paper, there is an unmistaken spark in his eyes. He has been planning what to write all morning. ‘I am dedicating Habib’s Meye tumi to amar… to my little brother. It’s his birthday on Sunday,’ says Ranjan smiling. ‘He is back in Sylhet with my father and I hope this makes his day!’

Ranjan’s mother works in Khaleda’s house as a maid. It was Khaleda who introduced Radio FM to him and since then he has dedicated two songs. ‘I waited for my turn and I was so happy to hear my name. I also get to write about people I like and things I enjoy doing!’

A household name today, Radio FM has reached out to almost everywhere across the country- be it in the posh areas or remote villages, it’s everywhere and as time passes, these private radio stations are here to stay.

Although, FM has been immensely popular in a number of countries for more than a decade, Bangladesh was yet to take in this unique form of entertainment. Indeed, one may argue that radio stations did have their presence in Bangladesh for years, but rarely did it cater to the needs of the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the enthusiasts and the serious ones.

Over the last years, the FM stations have introduced a brand new life style for the city dwellers. ‘Gone are the days when a CD or cassette are the only means of entertainment, tune into the radio and you have it all,’ says eighteen-year-old Ramshad. The FM channels have certainly managed to capture the attention of the people all over and have certainly injected an element of thrill and excitement into their daily lives.

‘The concept of FM channels has always fascinated me. I always wondered why no one started a radio station. The FM stations are doing a great job in providing entertainment to the masses and it has certainly brought a change in my lifestyle’says Prio, a student of BBA in UIU.

‘Radio Today FM 89.6’ started its 24 hour broadcast on September 15 of 2006. The station turned out to be a massive success among people from all walks of life.

Radio Today started out with a motive of being able to act as a reliable friend for their listeners and satisfy them with programs that can entertain them during their highs and lows. The channel celebrated the second year of its broadcast recently and is considered the catalyst in bringing about the much talked about radio revolution in our country.

The station started out with a 70 member team operating with in a 100 km radius of Dhaka. According to a survey carried out by A.C. Nielson, a staggering 67 per cent of radio lovers listen to Radio Today. ‘I am absolutely delighted by the kind of popularity that we have gained in this short span of time, we have managed to abide by our vision of providing ‘infortainment’ to the masses and I do believe that a lot people would nod their heads and agree with me on that,’ says Shakil Monzur, the Executive Director and CEO of the station.

The people at radio today believe that their listeners are the real unsung heroes; they bestow their entire success upon their listeners.

‘We sincerely pray and hope that our listeners regard this station to be their station, we consider ourselves to be massively fortunate that people have accepted us as a part of their daily life and they interact with us in a manner which is great’, says Shakil.

People living in the urban areas now have a friend who is their constant companion. They can share their emotions and feelings, views and problems, with the new stars on the horizon, the RJ’s (radio jockeys).

‘The listeners have problems which they do not or cannot share even with family members. On such occasions, we the RJ’s, via the station, step up and try to come up with a solution,’ says RJ Kebria, one of the popular RJ’s in town.

Such elements were missing in our society. Live interaction is an underlining attribute of FM stations. Through radio, the listeners can express their state of mind or their suggestions in a blink of an eye, as the RJ’s are just a sms away from them.

‘A particular listener might have an opinion or a suggestion or for an instance might want to wish someone and dedicate a song to an individual, he or she can just sms the request and it is fulfilled at the cost of just two taka,’ says Rubel Quddus, a senior producer of Radio Today. If one walks across the streets of Dhaka or travels by a bus, he would easily notice that a substantial amount of the crowd have headphones in their ears.

‘I have seen many people tapping their feet and shaking their heads to the beats of music, almost every urbanite listens to radio today or any other radio station via their cell phones and mp3 players, it tends to recharge people and bring an element of rhythm with in them,’ says RJ Ruby of Radio Today. The youth of today have certainly fallen astray from Bengali music. The radio stations, including Radio Today, have promoted Bengali music and have managed to make it popular amongst the people of our country, especially the youth.

‘We, the team of Radio Today have tried to stop the invasion of music from other countries into our culture. People now tend to listen to Bengali songs more and a sense of patriotism has struck them,’ says Romim Rayhan, producer of Radio Today.

Radio Foorti 88.0 FM which began their transmission in September 21, 2006 has managed to affirm a strong foothold amongst the radio lovers. The aim of Radio Foorti is to entertain the listeners. ‘We just want to supply our listener’s foorti (fun),’ says Sabbir Ahmed, associate producer and an RJ of Radio Foorti. Foorti is especially popular amongst the people in the range 14-45 years, also amongst the cream of the society.

Foorti plays more contemporary music then the other stations and stands out amongst the midst of others, gracefully, through their RJ’s and unique style of presentation. Radio Foorti is trying to boost up the life of their listeners and animate them through their service and play list. ‘We are making people smarter in our own way, for instance, the traffic updates that we provide enable the listeners to be proactive and change their routes, thus avoiding traffic, which saves their time,’ says Sabbir a producer of Foorti. ‘We also provide our listeners a list of the ongoing events in Dhaka. This helps them to schedule their work and act according to it,’ he adds.

Nowadays, people are having fun through their radio- it is the best thing to have while you are on the move. If one is watching television one needs to devote his or her full attention towards it, but in the case of radio, it is totally different, you can just listen to the radio irrespective of what you are doing. ‘Radio stations add the much needed velocity into the listeners lives, it acts as a soothing agent and can change the mood of an individual who is feeling blue just via a song or a joke cracked by the RJ,’ says RJ Sadia of Radio Foorti. ‘On a personal note, I believe that it injects an element of much needed wit into our lives and is a medium through which one can relate with people,’ she adds.

The FM industry is growing at a rapid rate and by the looks of it seems that it is certainly here to stay. Stations such as Foorti and Today are stretching beyond the boundaries of the capital city and taking their broadcast to Chittagong. ‘We will also be successful in conquering the hearts of Chittagonians,’ says RJ Nilabro and RJ Mehran with beaming smiles.

Radio Foorti has also set their targets and they seem to be in the right path. For the radio lovers it is indisputably a great time.

Golam Ishfaque, newage

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