RADIO

From Sampath's Desk:

 

RADIO

 World Radio Day (February 13)

Of all modern inventions, Radio - a piece of marvel - has always fascinated me. I swear it is still my favourite despite the myriad of mind-blowing forms of audio and visual devices flooding the market today. 

 

Listening to one’s voice at a long distance is a reality today which was only a pipedream and a 'castle in the air' earlier. The invention of radio in late 1800s by Guglielmo Marconi/Nikola Testa, among others, plunged the whole world into a dumb-stricken wonderland then.

 

Radio’s natural successor ‘portable Transistor set’, now a cheap item in different shapes and sizes, is now flooding the market at affordable prices, which has drastically changed the contours of the entertainment, information and knowledge world.  

 

What else could be the cheapest and dearest source of wholesome entertainment and information dissemination? Unlike hassle-laden TV viewing which requires continuous exertions to keep one's eyes glued to the set with resultant discomforts, you can enjoy all interesting radio programmes even while working or relaxing at home keeping it near or far as you deem fit without any physical strain. Incidentally, you will be spared from the spooky, terrifying, and scary background music if you were to view the TV which gives jarring and spine-chilling music for the 'news headlines' and also for what they call 'breaking news', sending us into a tizzy.

 

Decades back, whoever possessed a radio was considered a worthy person/family! In other words, it was a prestige symbol and a magic box! I just don’t exaggerate. It's not without reason Radio is ranked highly. Here, it is worthwhile recalling the recognition of Cantril and Allport the unifying role of radio in the following remark: “When a million or more people hear the same subject matter, the same arguments and appeals, the same music and humour, when their attention is held in the same way and at the same time to the same stimuli, it is psychologically inevitable that they should acquire in the same degree common interests, common tastes and common attitudes. In short, it seems to be the nature of radio to encourage people to think and feel alike, besides its entertainment value.” 

 

Radio, despite the superabundance of Internet-enabled social media networks of today, continues to gain popularity worldwide. Radio’s unique characteristics of having immediacy in content delivery and its capacity to break many communication barriers including illiteracy, economic status, age and gender make it a ‘versatile medium’ of mass communication, particularly in Third World Countries.

 

As a schoolboy during the 1960’s I used to visit Marina Beach (also called Radio Beach then) in Chennai (then Madras) to listen to the radio broadcasting for a few hours in the evening, as my family was living in the nearby Triplicane.

  

Decades back, invariably in hotels, restaurants, tea shops, etc., it was the caged Radio that was the cynosure for customers who would swell to listen to the radio, especially at time slots for film songs and news broadcasts. Since our family couldn’t afford one, I used to sit at my old-type house ‘Thinnai’ (an open elevated sit-out) in Triplicane and listened to film songs/news wafting through the air from the nearby teashop. And whenever the volume decreased, I quietly moved toward the teashop and stood nearby to listen. Such was my radio-listening craze then!

 

Radio is still a powerful medium and link to the outside world. The commercial world fully exploits it. I still remember the picture of the face of a 2-year cute child used for Murphy Radio advertisements then.

 

Once damn old, one knew not when it would or won’t work? It needed a punch, pinch, thump, pressure, and/or even a beating for a probable revival! My penchant for a Transistor never vanished even after the advent of mind-boggling Television sets and a plethora of other audio and visual systems that now rule the roost. I patronized Transistor set throughout and still continue to do so, especially at night times when it comes in handy for listening to some mind-pleasing music keeping it close to my ears at a mild volume.

 

Now many private FM Radio channels are available further expanding the radio network. Object-based Broadcasting and Personalized Responsive Radio dominate the latest trend.

 

No wonder, the radio/transistor set is still my ‘all-weather’ friend. 

  

R.SAMPATH