By IANS,
New Delhi : Twelve-year-old Aanaya, a student of The Riverside School in Ahmedabad, just can’t get over the feeling of being a radio jockey (RJ) for a day.
“Wearing the headphones, using the mike and the console…My experience was out of the world,” Aanaya said of her experience of being an RJ for a day through the “My Ka Laal” initiative launched by 94.3 My FM Dil Se!
“My Ka Laal” is an attempt to garner the raging interest of school-going children in smaller Indian cities like Chandigarh and Ahmedabad to become an RJ for a day. Parents and teachers feel that a show like this adds to a child’s personality.
“Apart from the child who becomes RJ, it benefits even fellow students who listen in. It also generates more confidence, more freedom and a feel-good factor as they become a star for a day,” Dhara Parmar, a teacher at Som Lalit School in Chandigarh, told IANS over telephone.
The show, which began in April, airs every Sunday and has already started in Indore, Amritsar and Jalandhar as well. 94.3 My FM Dil Se! is a venture of Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd.
“This show not only provides innovative entertainment, it also gives a speaking platform to young kids,” said Harrish M. Bhatia, business head of Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd.
“We wanted to cultivate a competitive spirit in children so that they feel challenged enough to venture into radio and make the most of their hidden talent,” he said, explaining the motive of the show.
The students are selected through auditions in schools and are provided basic training to help them evolve their own style and content.
“Basics of radio handling are taught along with nuances of speaking on radio. The executive producers and programming heads train the kids and it takes around four to six hours to help them write the script, edit it, rehearse it and then record it,” Bhatia said.
According to him, children love to talk about themselves, their achievements, their interests, movies, sports, and at times topical issues as well.
“Ideas like cleanliness, civic sense, traffic, and sometimes even serious issues are picked up. Picking topics and ideas for the show is mostly their own prerogative,” he said.
“‘My Ka Laal’ is a wonderful platform for kids to express their thoughts. They get more exposure and they are also encouraged to talk about their problems,” said Sandip Pandya, principal, ASIA English School – Secondary, Ahmedabad.
Jayanti Banerjee, senior counsellor at St. John’s School in Chandigarh, says the show is a beneficial experience for her students.
“The show allows them to talk on important social issues that are close to their heart. It also ensures commitment as children love to live up to the public image that they build of being heard on this programme,” she said.