The Radio

Nikola Tesla's invention.

A device for transmitting signals wirelessly. A humble beginning. I am referring to the radio as a source of audio entertainment.

The Indian radio scene.

The All India Radio, formerly known as Indian Broadcasting Service, came into existence in the year 1927(so long ago??? i never knew this). It is one of the largest radio broadcasters in the world and is the largest radio broadcaster in the country.

but.......but.......

Somehow down the line, the advent of cable tv and other digital media like cd's, dvd's the radio lost its charm(atleast in the big cities). During the early 90's the radio was almost in extinction. No one i knew was into listening to the radio and to add to that was the poor reception of the AIR.

The mid-nineties saw the emergence of private FM channels. Superb quality audio, negligible distortion. The major metros got the first FM slots. And being a Bangalorean after all this talk i wil get back to the radio scene in my city.

Radio city was the first private FM channel to start operations in Bangalore in 2001. The superb audio quality, chic presentation of the "RJ's" and selection of popular songs catering to all classes made it an instant hit. I remember those days when there was a sudden surge in the sales of FM radio sets. It was a frenzy. Radios ranging from big music systems costing around 20-30 k to pocket radios costing less than Rs. 100 were selling like hot-cakes. I have spent so much on buying atleast 5-6 radios and made my parents buy a 22k SONY music system. Then as with anything thats succesful there was a surplus of radio stations, each catering and concentrating on different music genres, languages, etc.

The reason for this blog. The radio is such an awesome avenue for entertainment. Even if one has thousands of songs on the computer or ipods, the joy of listening to your favourite music without selecting them yourselves is altogether different. Office work is so boring and hectic and music keeps me relaxed. All these days i used to carry my ipod with me for entertainment. 30 gb of storage space. With that kind of storage space i could carry all my music with me. But then again i know every song that i have and i have listened to all of them. Now i listen to the radio on my phone. Half of everyday is spent listening to the radio.

I am really hooked onto Radio Fever. Music that i like, repeated many times a day. My savior all day. Keeps me going through the boring rigors of work.

Thank the radio.