Its Lukewarm !!. Review on Radio Mirchi

''Its Hot'' goes the punchline. Lukewarm would be a better way to put it, I believe !! I am talking about Radio Mirchi, 93.9 FM. Now, that is the frequency that it operates on, in Pune. Now, why am I talkin' 'bout the Pune station ??? Simple...coz I live in Pune !!! ( Ha ha ha ...now, was THAT funny or what !! ).

Radio Mirchi did start out with quite a bang in Pune. As a matter of fact, its still the only private FM operator in Pune. Yup guys, we in Pune, are not so privileged to have so many FM stations like you metropolitans. Well, continuing...it did start out with quite a bang. The pre-launch promotion was quite excellent. There were hoardings all over the place. Lots of people were actually waiting for the launch day eagerly. The initial fare was quite good. In fact, most of the people who had permanently retired their transistor sets, took them out again. The street vendors selling china made pocket and pen shaped radios were doin' great business.Suddenly, listening to the radio was cool. Now, you didn't have to listen to stooopid laavnis and stuff in buses ( YUP !! some buses in Pune did have music systems....albeit for a few months only ). Also, you didn't have to buy a stack of music CDs ever so often to get in touch with the popular music. Before this, the radio generation had truly died...as it was once said ''video killed the radio star''. I admit that I never touched my transistor since I grew up. Its just that we used to listen to the radio only when the lights fizzed out, thanks to the ever so helpful MSEB.

One very important detail is that when Radio Mirchi was launched, there was this major major power crisis in Maharashtra and MP and stuff. So we had power cuts everday, sometimes lasting as long as 8 to 12 hours ( Oh yeah, even though its difficult to believe, I do live in the. city ). I really think tht hadn't it been for Radio Mirchi, I wouldn't have been alive (or in the right frame of mind) to be writing this review. So, you'all would've missed this extraordinary piece of pure literary genius. Thank RM for that !! One more thing is that runnin' a radio takes much less power than runnin' a tape. D'ya know what THAT means ??? A huge saving in my batteries that I use in my walkman while going to college. I like anything and everything that saves ma' moolah.

[;-)]-<--<

Whats the problem then ?? Well, for starters, theres no Sangram. if you do not already know him, he's the best RJ that they had. And it does appear, that he's also the most experienced. I mean, the guy's absolutely great in English, Hindi and Marathi too. I did stop listening to the radio so often after some time. but when I did restart, I noticed that Sangram's missing. I mean, the guy was so great at making people comfortable to the new concept of private FM. He was definitely the best. I guess RM oughtta bring him back if they want more listeners. Karma is decent, the female RJs like Gurpreet, Sonurita are good. Besides that, nothing much to brag home about. The new crop of RJs is really not in the same league. Some time ago...they had made a huge noise about totally revamping RM and things. But, it really turned out to be a big nothing. the only thing that they did was rename a few shows. A few new shows were introduced, but really, nothing groundbreaking. The new crop of RJs were pressed in ... and that about it.

They had this huge RJ hunt competition, but I really didn't hear any new RJs on air that might have come from this competition. Dunno...of course, the whole thing just couldn't be a hoax... or could it ?? How do I know...well, I might admit that I did happen to go there myself to try my luck. [:-()]-<--<

Dude, I gotta admit, I was a trifle embarassed, coz I'm not such a hot party animal, you know. But I did do my part pretty well. As a matter of fact, I actually thought that I might be considered, coz I do have a decenter voice than most and my diction is quite good ( though that one particular word in this sentence might make you believe otherwise ;-) ........). Ha ha ha...but just until one month or so. I guess it ain't so easy !!!

Well, the music on RM is quite decent. Most new hits, Hindi and English are played. But, I am a grave digger, meaning, I love most things retro. Music and my books. So, there used to be just one show dedicated to retro at late night. I dunno if its still there. I desperately wish theres more retro on air. Also, theres no rock for metalheads. Personally, for me, thats a good thing, coz I hate heavy metal. But there will be people who'd like a dose or two of that electric guitar. There are contests...my sis won one. She never got the two tickets that were promised !!!

All in all, a decent radio channel, but I do hope more players get int Pune coz competition can always make things better. Also, get back Sangram and kick those flirts out. Also, the ads have increased tremendously. Add to that being reminded every half minute that ''You're listenin' to Radio Mirchi, and itzz HOT !!''. Sorry dudes, thats just gotta go. Its ok if you get ads. But reduce the theme songs for the shows and these intermittent useles self-promotions.

P.S. :

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He he ha ha ha ha ho ho ho ho.

( I'm such a big fan of Ramanand Sagar !! )