Good Morning Bangalore!

I wake up in the morning and roll on the bed for a little while, trying to remember where I kept the remote control for my music system the previous night. The rays of the sun come streaming through the windows and make me squint a bit because they hit me straight on the face. God! I must remember to turn the bed the other way or at least draw the curtains when I go to bed at night. Finally, I find the remote somewhere between the sheets and turn the radio on, just in time to hear my all time favourite RJ Vasanthi say, "Good Morning Bangalore". That's the only thing that gets me out of bed on a weekday!

I send in messages, answer questions, sing along, and just enjoy my morning until its time to get to work. And when I leave for work, the Matinee show is on with Sindhu. She plays old hindi film music and I get transported to a different world. Its almost like I don't want the journey to end because once I'm inside the office, I can't listen to the radio. Sometimes when I leave work early, I listen to Darius and Sunaina on Route 91 and Top 8 at 8. But it's a rarity and I haven't caught these shows in a long time. I'm not even sure they're still on air.

I wanted to buy a phone with FM, but my friend conned me into buying a plain vanilla phone. I won an iPod last year and she told me that having an iPod is better than listening to the radio as I can at least choose my songs. I think not. I would rather have the suspense that radio offers. The thrill of not knowing what song is coming up next and then humming it along. Radio is addictive and I'm completely addicted to Radio City 91 FM. I connect with the shows, I connect with the RJs, I connect with the music. What more can one ask for?

Just when I thought I had it all, competition had to come in and play spoil sport. Enter Radio Mirchi. This is a channel that calls itself "Sakaath Hot Magaa". According to them, hot music is the latest Hindi film music. Their RJs do all the bak bak in Kannada. Not the elite, nice sounding Kannada, but the cheap version. I don't understand most of what they say, but I do know that its not pleasing to the ears.

Now whenever I get into the cab, the cabbie plays 93.3 and I think its because it appeals to him. Nothing on this new channel even remotely appeals to me. The RJs sound like wannabes, the fillers are terrible and the music is almost always Himesh Reshammiya's. (Can someone tell me how this man came to be India's hottest music directors and playback singers???) I have to request 91 and then as soon as I get a call, he switches to 93.3. My blood boils but there's nothing I can do. Just as I finish my call, I hear "Aap ki kashish" coming my way from every speaker in the car.

I think Radio City has a certain appeal. Maybe its not for everyone, maybe it is an elite channel, maybe my tastes are sophisticated. A friend in Hyderabad said to me once, "You live in Jubilee Hills, so you've become a snob". When I think about it, maybe I am one. But you know what, who cares? All I care about is that I can wake up every weekday morning and turn the radio on, and know that I will have a wonderful day ahead, just because I woke up in time to hear Vasanthi say, "Good Morning Bangalore!"