LIFE EXPERIENCE, RADIO, LOVE
My Never-Ending Dream Date With Sound Waves — Yesterday, Tomorrow, Forever
World Radio Day- February 13
In its 36th conference, UNESCO announced the celebration of World Radio Day in the year 2011, and then the day was first observed the next year, i.e., in 2012.
I exactly don’t remember when in childhood I started crooning one of the popular chartbusters of all time, Carpenters’ Yesterday Once More.
When I was young I’d listen to the radio Waitin’ for my favorite songs When they played I’d sing along It made me smile.
Those were such happy times And not so long ago How I wondered where they’d gone But they’re back again Just like a long lost friend All the songs I loved so well.
Every Sha-la-la-la Every Wo-o-wo-o Still shines Every shing-a-ling-a-ling That they’re startin’ to sing’s So fine.
When they get to the part Where he’s breakin’ her heart It can really make me cry Just like before It’s yesterday once more.
Lookin’ back on how it was In years gone by And the good times that I had Makes today seem rather sad So much has changed.
It was songs of love that I would sing to then And I’d memorize each word Those old melodies Still sound so good to me As they melt the years away.
Every Sha-la-la-la Every Wo-o-wo-o Still shines Every shing-a-ling-a-ling That they’re startin’ to sing’s So fine.
All my best memories Come back clearly to me Some can even make me cry. Just like before It’s yesterday once more.
Source: Musixmatch
However, I do remember from which decade I have been listening to the radio. And I am in love with it, forever, unconditionally.
Unforgettable- like a song of love that clings to me…
And forevermore- that’s how it stays…
Unadulterated- No, never before has someone been before…
By the way, it’s Valentine’s Day eve and you and I celebrate World Radio Day today.
I fondly remember on a cold wintry no moon night, way back in the 1980s, (I was around 7 years) we sat for dinner and the power went off. It was drizzling too outside. The lantern and a few candles were lit.
My father used to religiously listen to Voice of America’s Bengali News transmission broadcast at 22 hours IST. Our transistor was so positioned that we could all listen to it properly.
Mother just served us piping hot eggplant fritters, masoor dal (red lentil), aloo petika (mashed potato mixed in mustard oil, onion julienne strips, green chili diced), and fish curry. And the opening montage of World News in Bangla broadcast from Voice of America (VOA) started…
“Biswa Sangbad porchi Ramen Paine…khobor sunchen Voice of America Washington Studio theke (This is Ramen Paine and you are listening to World News in Bengali broadcast from Voice of America Washington Studio)”.
Mr. Paine was one of the most respected voices of the Bengali Service of VOA.
The baritone of the news broadcaster, the light gleaming from the lantern and candles, the vapor generating from the boiled rice, piping hot fritters, and lentil evaporating in thin air wrapped with the cold chilly drizzling dark night were no less than a magic and cast a surreal spell on me. I couldn’t but did fall for the magic of radio and I didn't even realize that my neverending love for it had just begun.
How I wish I could have captured the moment…who knew that I would be sharing my experience here or else I would surely have :)!
My love for radio still continues and I do listen to it religiously every single day. My day starts with an hour-long Yoga session, and I tune into Akashvani.
I am a poetry enthusiast and loves to recite poems by famous poets. While reciting, you need to be mindful of the pronunciation apart from being conscious about the expression and other vital things.
Listening to the radio has imbibed in me the sense and importance of words being pronounced, voice modulation, and how you should do it. It also turns you into a better observer.
You can carry on with your other priorities of life while listening to the radio. It engages you, arrests your attention with responsibility yet you enjoy your freedom! And that's the best part of this medium.
After a Master's degree in Mass Communication, I worked for both print and audio-visual media for a few years but my love for radio never plummeted. I used to attend some talk shows often.
During difficult times, like you are facing during the COVID pandemic situation, the radio broadcasters are relentlessly doing a commendable job keeping the medium buzzing with innovative content full of positivity so that the listeners shouldn't get bogged down in these distressful and unprecedented times. Here is a B-I-G shoutout to each one of them.
Out of innumerable advantages of listening to the radio like news, views, music, information, mood regulation, reminiscence, creating an atmosphere, and free leisure activity, I have always felt that it has never ever let me down.
Like writing, I find it powerful, engaging, refreshing, energizing, educative, and therapeutic too.
Like every year, this year too, Radio Day has a theme. It is ‘Radio and Trust’ for 2022. The theme was proposed focusing on the credibility of the medium in disseminating news.
It is true that print and audio-visual media came and swept the world by storm. It is also true that radio today is no longer the dominant mass medium as compared to the past yet radio survives, and I believe it will survive.
It makes you feel as if the broadcaster is talking directly to you, and it allows you to listen to other people’s conversations.
Although it is one of many choices nowadays, radio has also adapted. It’s all part of adapting to a dynamic world.
You can listen to it in many ways —via an internet podcast, in the car, at home, on a traditional radio set, a portable set, using an app on your smartphone, etc.
So listen to the radio…What’s on my mind and not sound so plain to you, But you’ll realize if you close your eyes, The feelings my words can’t show, They’re playin’ on the radio…oh oh oh…!
Radio remains arguably the most intimate medium of communication. And it is here to stay for times to come.
How about you, buddies? Is there a radio in your life? How does it impact you? I would love to hear from you on this.
If you like the article, please drop a clap. And please feel free to comment, debate, agree/disagree, value-add. After all, we are in a symbiotic relationship and this is the way we learn. So, let’s learn and grow together.
Special thanks to Robert Ralph & team for consdering my write-up for the publication, New Writers Welcome.
Thanks for stopping by. Take care.
