MUMBAI: Jaipur’s RJ Devangana is as sweet in person as her melodious voice. She is fun loving, bubbly girl who likes to explore new places.
On her recent visit to Mumbai, our team at Radioanadmusic.com caught up with the pretty RJ, who spoke about her journey, dreams and connection with radio.
Excerpts:
Related Post
Did you always want to be an RJ?
I had plans of doing B.com and then MBA. Radio was nowhere in the picture but my mom liked radio a lot. She used to listen to All India Radio (AIR) and during my 12th Boards, she took me to AIR auditions. I got selected and went on to train there for three months. So, my first freelancing job was with AIR.
My first full-fledged job was in Jaipur. I used to run a mid-morning band show ‘Meethi Choori’. This is also when radio became my life. However, in between AIR and ‘Meethi Choori,’ I worked as an event manager for a production company.
What are the things that you like about your job?
As RJs we are so passionate about our job that if we take leave for more than three days, we start missing our mike and console. Life does not seem fun without them. Basically an RJ likes everything about his/her job. I firmly believe that when your work is your passion, you do everything for it. I run the early morning show ‘Crispy Morning’ for ‘Tadka’ and show timings are 7 to 11 am. Hence, I leave home by 6:30 am because I have to be in time to wake up my listeners and also bring a smile on their faces.
So, I like everything about music and interacting with strangers. The most interesting part is interacting with people who are complete strangers to you. But, at the end of the call, they aren’t strangers anymore.
Have you ever come across ‘troublemaker’ or ‘weird’ callers?
Not on the show but I come across a lot of people like this on social media. I have a list of weird questions that I am asked too often – Are you really an RJ? What time does your show air? Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? These questions are unwanted, for example take the first question. I have most of my profile pictures with my mike. Doesn’t it answer the question even before it’s raised?
Do your fans recognise you in public?
We are just the voice that they listen to all the time but, people do recognise our voice at public places and connect. In fact, recently I was going to the airport in a taxi and was busy talking over the phone. When I ended the call the taxi driver turned to me and asked if I was ‘Devangana’. I was surprised that he recognised me. He was so happy to have met me that he did not even take the fare inspite of me insisting. All he asked for was my autograph.
You do have some special fans?
There is this one person who keeps sending me my sketch. He makes sketches out of my Facebook pictures. He is a real special fan.
Do you believe that a local RJ makes better connect with the listeners?
My hometown is Dehradun but I am an RJ in Jaipur and I feel like I belong to the city. When I came down to Jaipur I wanted to know it well. So, I explored it and I think the more you explore, the more you connect with the city. In fact even when I was in Lucknow I started saying ‘hum’ instead of ‘mein’ because everyone in Lucknow talks like that.
Any on-air moment that has brought tears to your eyes?
I received a call from a girl who had got married at 12 with a 30 year old. It was a random call and this girl started crying on-air. She spoke about what all had happened and that was a very touchy moment for me. In fact, post that we raised the issue of child marriage. We took it a bit further and even spoke about child labour. We went on to take up the chaiwala boys’ work for a day as they rested in our office.
Do you wish to be an RJ in a bigger city?
I do wish. In fact, I will grab the opportunity if I get it. At the same time I wouldn’t even mind working in Dehradun because it’s home. It does not matter if I am in a bigger place or a smaller place. I just feel one has to do good work and at last that is what counts. But, bigger cities give you more opportunity and a larger mass. Now, that’s where things differ, otherwise it’s all good.
What would have you been if not an RJ?
Doctor for sure. I love biology. I used to read everyone’s medical reports at my place. I wanted to be a caesarean. But, I couldn’t take science in college and went on to do B.com. But, I’ve completed my masters now and I will do Phd next. That will definitely fulfil my wish of being a doctor (smiles).
Is TV the next big thing for you?
I did a travel reality show but radio is always my first priority. Mike is a part of my life but at the same time I also like to travel. Yes, I would like to do more travel reality shows. Apart from that I would like to be on ‘Bigg Boss’ because I want to be a little disconnect from social media. I am on my phone 24×7 and I think ‘Bigg Boss’ will change that. In fact, we did something similar to this on our station’s last anniversary. We created a world record for 1000 hours of non-stop recording. So, we ate, spoke, danced and slept in the office for 45 days. We’ve sent the footage to Guinness and are yet to receive a heads-up from them.
