Nestled amidst a street of IT goliaths and residential flats, resides a radio station with a purplish/bluish sign that dares to play ENGLISH MUSIC.
Sorry to startle you like that, but it’s true. Radio Indigo in Bangalore is the only radio station in the city and 1 of 3 in the country that plays 100% English music. Considering that this makes us niche, different, unusual, whatever you want to call us, the kind of mortals who work here also have to be of a different making and order, right? Well you can decide for yourself.
Nice legs, daisy dukes, slinky dresses, buns of steel, abs that make you go whistle whistle. No that’s not what you’re going to see here. Not exactly at least. Once you enter the modern yet corporately tasteful building that is home to our radio station, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the purple walls and the sound of the radio playing, you guessed it, English contemporary music. Walk in a little more and you’ll slowly take in the people who are hustling and bustling around trying to make do. You might be in a state of confusion because you’ll first see a whole cubicle of well dressed women bubbling in conversation over the phone or amongst themselves, then walk into bigger cubicles with serious yet mischievous looking men who are juggling between two phones with ringtones like â€?Sexy Chick’. You’ve just walked past our sales team, our marketing manager, our web designer and even our VP. As you traverse further into the Indigo abyss, the clothes get more casual and you realize that the voices you hear on air have a face. Welcome to the programming team, where the Radio jockeys reside, practice their vocal exercises and do whatever you think that RJs do.
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But we promise, it’s not as clear cut as that. For every vivacious girl in cropped pants and flip flops there is a man in slacks and a crisp white shirt. Still not following me? At 919, everyone is more than they appear to be. Don’t be fooled by designations like sales executive and on air talent. Being a niche station comes with its own quirks.
On several occasions you’ll find a sales exec who doubles up as a voice over artist, a producer who RJs his own show on air and an administration manager who is comic relief on occasion. Come Friday, you might even be lucky enough to see RJs delivering food to lucky listeners. Yes this is Radio Indigo.
Before you bring your hands up to your face and gasp in shock, let me break it down further. This radio station and the people who work here are extremely equipped and capable of multi tasking. If Radio Indigo as a radio station triples up as your source for music, as a forum for your thoughts and opinions and even acts as your invisible friend in times of need, it should come as no surprise that each and every individual at Radio Indigo prides themselves in being multi talented.
But the buck doesn’t stop there. Being a fun, lively and vivacious radio station literally means that the people who make it all work are exactly the same way. So after every official client call that goes well, you’ll find our sales execs doing a little jig. Or if an RJ had a fabulous day off air, he or she will be sure to share their happiness on air. Oh and when there is a birthday or any special occasion, you can expect about 30 mouths to feed.
When it all comes down to it, 700 words are not nearly enough to understand the world of Radio Indigo. A day in the life of a Radio Indigo employee is more complicated than meets the eyes. There are angry listeners who want to hear only Bryan Adams throughout the day, there are clients who don’t understand why we only speak in English, and there are of course the grinds of daily life like marriage, rent and autos to think about. Plus if we told you about the cold wars between sales and programming, the office romances or the official hush hush, then we would have to kill you. Oops. Did I say too much?
Well, all that and more comes alive at Radio Indigo. It remains to be said that while not everyone has the same taste in music, one common understanding is there. English music is a must and we all work together, every single day, Monday to Sunday to keep that thought alive. Everything else is secondary. And that my friends, is just a mile in Indigo shoes. For the full course, you best drop on by.
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Shweta Rao is Assistant Director Programming – Radio Indigo
