From Sounds Of India To Radio Music India

What motivated you to do a radio program ?

The opportunity came along as Harish Ji (Harish Dang) decided to retire and close his weekly radio program Sounds of India after forty years of wonderful service to our community.

When Harish ji told to me that he was planning to end his radio show, I mentioned to him that his legacy should be continued. So one motivation was to keep Harish and Binita Dang's legacy alive. Then we also thought the radio program would complement the work we are doing at LearnQuest Academy of Music, though there is no formal relationship between the radio program and LearnQuest.

Our core team members Sanjay Jain and Ali Rizvi are great music enthusiasts and have run successful cultural organizations in the past. We have great synergy and understanding amongst us. We plan to include in our team more like minded people as we go forward. Though we are stepping into uncharted waters, we hope our journey together will be pleasant and rewarding.

Sounds of India is a legend. How does it feel to be in their shoes?

You are absolutely right. We certainly have very large shoes to fill. Sounds of India with its exemplary service to the community over last 40 years has carved a name of distinction in the South Asian community.

Both Harish Ji and Binni Ji have such pleasing personalities, and their sense of responsibility, discipline and dedication to their radio program is unparalleled.

Several generations have enjoyed the radio program when there were very few options, and only a handful of South Asians lived in the area. We have now blossomed into a very vibrant community with large number of musical and cultural events.

However, Sanjay, Ali and I feel that with the with feedback from the community and support of listeners, and our collective passion for music, we will try to continue to bring quality programming and nurture the radio program further, so that it continues to enjoy the same following as it has for so many years. We feel lucky to have Harish Ji as our guide and mentor. He has been remarkably supportive and has encouraged us beyond words.

It is wonderful to hear that classical music will be a key part of the show. How do you plan to use the show to popularize classical music?

Classical music is the backbone of a lot of Indian music, and film music is no exception. Bollywood music is such a giant container of music that it contains songs inspired by almost every possible genre of Indian music one can think of. Be it classical music or folk music of a particular area, Ghazals, Bhajans or Thumari, Dadra, Tarana or dance music, Qawwali or Western music, one can find Bollywood songs based all these forms of music. While the format of the program will evolve, we plan to have a short segment of classical music, in which we will introduce a raga, and play different genres of music based on that raga, such as a classical composition, an instrumental piece, a film song and a ghazal. This part of the radio program will be new compared to the Sounds of India program. The remaining half of the program will feature Bollywood songs either based on a theme or based on listeners' requests. We will reach out to our audience and seek their input and bring other aspects of music that interest them or they are curious about.

What would the next 10 years at the Radio show look like?

This is a tough question to answer. Though we do have some ideas and plans, we don't have a crystal ball, and I am not sure if any of our team members have the required experience at the moment to give a thoughtful answer to this question. However, one thing is for sure, as everything else that we see around us is undergoing remarkable change, so it will also be with the Radio business. We hope to be able to accept these changes in a positive manner so that this medium is preserved and we continue to serve the community through this radio program.

How can the community help ?

We have a very dynamic and vibrant South Asian community in the New England Area. We have a large number of social, cultural and literary events, so much so that during most weekends, there are several shows/events happening that cater to diverse tastes.

First, we would like the community to support us by tuning in to their radios every Sunday from 11 am to 12 pm at 1330 AM dial or listen to the program on their computers or smart phones at http://1330wrca.com/listen-live/.

It would be very helpful to receive listeners' regular feedback. We would also like to hear their suggestions on the kind of contents they would like us to include in the radio program.

We can be reached by email at radiomusicindia@gmail.com.

Secondly, if the listeners like the radio program, we would request them to share the information with their friends encouraging them to listen to the program .

We will reach out to the business community within and outside our community to seek their advertisements and sponsorships. Without this important support, it will be very difficult to sustain the program.

Upon request, Radio MusicIndia will continue to serve the community by making public service announcements for various events in the area.

Anyone who is planning a public event and wishes to bring it to the notice of our listeners, please do connect with us.

Our website and social media profile is being developed. The website address will be: www.radioMusicIndia.com