My first memory of a radio set goes back to the time of our liberation war. Our elders were always secretly glued to the radio transmissions of Akaash Bani and BBC. The radio sets were bigger at that time, and it was also difficult to listen to the broadcasts secretively. The radio was the only means of communication that I was ever oriented with.
My parents had lost everything during the war, but the radio was still there after the war. It was one of the few things they didn’t lose during the war. I remember that after the war, my mother used to tune in to Bangladesh Betar, and she used to listen to it almost all day.
We grew up listening to songs in the morning, cinema commercials at noon, and dramas in the evening. The newspapers used to reach the place where we lived in the afternoon. So, our father encouraged us to listen to the radio news. We didn’t have a TV set, and that is why we always depended on the radio, and there were many like us.
In 1978, I went to a boarding school. For us – the students, the radio was the only means for listening to live sports commentaries. We were immensely dependent on radios as far as the current affairs were concerned. At the university, I participated in several educational programs on Bangladesh Betar, and I loved to be on air.
Later on in my professional life, I was quite fortunate to have worked in BBC Radio, and I learnt a lot about radio there. So, when I look back, I find the presence of radio in my life almost always. However, we saw that local radio stations had almost disappeared from people’s lives during the 80s and 90s.
The audience had turned to BBC and Voice of America at that time. And when private TV channels came forth, everyone forgot about radios in this country. To our great surprise, private entrepreneurs started to launch private FM radio stations and attracted a huge audience. The history of radio in Bangladesh began to change.
In the beginning, almost all the FM radio stations were heavily dependent on music. They started immensely contributing to our music industry, and they also started to promote our musicians. In effect, the FM radios became a platform for music in Bangladesh.
Many analysts and critics had negative views about the FM broadcasts. But at the end of the day, these radio stations became successful in drawing young audience through their infotainment programs. A new breed of broadcasters was created who came to be known as Radio Jockeys (RJs). “RJ-ing” as a profession also became a very sought-after one. RJs successfully became media icons.
Along with them came a bunch of radio professionals who started experimenting with new programs. The music-dependent programs started to take a new flight when one of the radio stations successfully introduced a suspense program titled Bhoot FM.
The show evoked quite a lot of interest among the audience, and it became a leading show in the Bangladeshi radio scenario. Many others followed the same path. That’s how other programs like Kuasha, Thursday Night Saga, Paap, and Chhaya began. Before Bhoot FM, a program titled Poka had also become popular.
Then some new programs such as Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo, Jiboner Golpo, Love Guru, Premrog etc started to experiment with new ideas. Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo, and Jiboner Golpo successfully involved the audience directly to the program, as these two programs aimed to get closer to the hearts of the people.
In Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo, the audience come to the show and confess their guilt. In Jiboner Golpo, the audience tell the stories of their lives. There were times when programs like these had greatly contributed to social issues. They have successfully contributed in changing people’s lives. These are not infotainment, but still they have the largest audience on radio.
Love and romance-related programs naturally draw the attention of the audience. Premrog and Love Guru are great examples of this fact. These have been making the fun-starved Bangladeshis laugh. And on the other hand, some stations have successfully started airing problem-solving shows by involving the listeners directly. They have been broadcasting relationship programs that are helping a huge number of people across the country.
This is how Bangladesh’s FM radio industry is changing with an intention to get closer to the people’s lives. Well, of course, music would remain as one of the prime element on these radios, but music would find its place in specialised slots. The radio stations are likely to experiment with more serious and interesting programs. So stay tuned!