FM Radio -- the only saving grace of Mumbai. Minus that, the 30 min commute in the crawling traffic, amidst the early morning smog, would be a major pain in the ass!
And the crown jewel, of the eight or so channels my borrowed T.Sonic 610 receieves, is the unheard of government operated channel called Rainbow FM. Seriously! The best collection of music (the early morning english show, late afternoon ghazals, evening english show, etc.); the hourly news round ups in Hindi, which remind you of medium wave radio; sensible RJs; and lack of advertisements.
While Rainbow FM is busy concentrating on music, other channels are busy putting up posters in the Mumbai local trains, coming up with funky radio ads, and playing "Crazy Kiya Re" for the three-millionth-twenty-two-thousandth-three hunderedth-seventy-second time!
The only thing that I'm afraid of is Rainbow FM "going the Go FM way." I hope not! But the lack of advertisements means that it's inevitable. Unless the government keeps subsidising the channel to preserve the "culture of good music." Seriously, if the government can dole out subsidies for Haj pilgrims, this is a much better thing to subsidise IMHO!
If you're in Mumbai give Rainbow FM (107.1 MHz) a shot -- you'll love it!
I want my T.Sonic back!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of times FM that used to come way long back - maybe 8-10 years in delhi. THAT was the best ever FM channel. Having the best collection of music (mostly english if I remember correctly.).
ReplyDeleteHow about updating your profile ?
ReplyDeleteStill says location as Goa!! :-)
You can also listen to FM 104.00 MHz. Worth Listening!
ReplyDeletefm rainbow is the same as times rainbow ... just the name change. .. same rj's , same frequencies, same music taste, .. many shows at the same time ..
ReplyDeletethe thing that changed is the name, after private channels were given entry since 2002 (if i recollect well). .. also, i believe the times group isn't associated with it anymore (or maybe has a lesser stake now) and AIR is having it run ..
All else are NOISE to the ears ... fm rainbow is the only music around ..
107 perhaps has the best line up of English music, be it New / Old/ Rock, anything they are excellent.
ReplyDeleteOnly some of the RJ's SUCK big time, one is Ranuq on Sundays! He talks too much and is a bit turn off...
Rainbow is excellent station, keep it great by throwing out RJ's like Ranuq etc.