I have described how a FM radio programming is conducted and how non-music programs gained momentum. Case studies of different programs have been done to emphasize on the popularity.

1. universityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcutt
auniversityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcu
ttauniversityofcalcuttauniversityofcalc
uttauniversityofcalcuttauniversityofca
lcuttauniversityofcalcuttauniversityofc
alcuttauniversityofcalcuttauniversityo
fcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttauniversity
ofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttauniversit
yofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttaunivers
ityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttaunive
rsityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttauniv
ersityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttauni
versityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcuttau
niversityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcutta
universityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcutt
auniversityofcalcuttauniversityofcalcu
NON-MUSIC PROGRAMS
OF RADIO
SHASWATA MUKHERJEE
2014 – 2015 107-1121-0114-14
7/17/2015
Dissertation submitted for the fulfillment of Post Graduate
Diploma in Media Management (Specialization – Television
Management) of University of Calcutta.

2. I am thrilled to have to work on such a good topic of
project such as this. This project helped me to overcome my fear and
guided me to evolve as a person with the fantastic mentors I had
came up front with. I am feeling proud to thank both my institutes
for this opportunity viz., Indian Institute of Social Welfare and
Management, and Calcutta Media Institute.
I am very grateful to my professors to have taught me to
implement such knowledge into practical work field. I convey my
gratitude to Dr. Sudeepa Banerjee, Mr. Malay Dasgupta, Mr. Jimmy
Tangree, Ms. Debika Mukherjee, and Ms. Pamela Mitra et al.
I also convey my gratitude to all the members of 92.7 BIG
FM and Friends FM 91.1 with whom I have learned many small nitty
gritties of work performed there.

3. Radio Drama is a very popular genre in radio industry.
Drama, as the name suggests, has to create an effect on the mind of
its recipient which enables them to decipher the intricate message a
drama holds in its bosom. Creating dramatic effects is an aesthetic
art which has been perfected by radio and spread throughout its
reach. Some people like but some don’t prefer to listen drama.
Listening to a full drama in its full glory or story-telling, the
submissive cousin of drama, helps creating a picture as per
individual choice. Drama plays a very crucial role in radio’s
popularity. Many youngsters find interest in radio drama because of
the adventure it poses in their mind. Matured folks find it relaxing
after their hectic schedule at their respective workplace. Older
people could connect to their roots and also recollect their
childhood memories.
Many Indian Radio stations have taken up radio drama as
their one of the major programs.

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i
ABSTRACT ii
RADIO AS MEDIUM 1
RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA 3
RADIO IN 21ST
CENTURY 5
RADIO PROGRAMMING 6
DRAMA 9
TYPES OF DRAMA 10
EVOLUTION OF DRAMA 11
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 14
DRAMA TIMELINE – INDIA 16
DRAMA IN RADIO 18
INTERNATIONAL RADIO DRAMA 20
RADIO DRAMA IN INDIA 21
EARLY SHOWS OF AIR (BENGALI) 23
SHOWS OF THIS ERA 25
NATIONAL SHOW – YKIB 27
REGIONAL SHOE – DELHI
KYA WHO SACH THA
29
REGIONAL SHOE – KOLKATA
EKTAR NATOK
30
REGIONAL SHOE – KOLKATA
SUNDAY SUSPENSE
34
INTERVIEW WITH MR. JIMMY TANGREE 35
INTERVIEW WITH MS. DEBIKA MUKHERJEE 36
RADIO LISTENERSHIP SURVEY 38
CONCLUSION 41
BIBLIOGRAPHY 42
ANNEXURE 43

5. Radio is a popular media when it comes to consumption
of media. The consumers can be reached through radio on a national
level, as the private radio sector in India reaches more than 200
million aged over 9 years. On an average day the radio is listened to
for more than three hours. The main places people listen to the
radio are at home, at work and in the car. The consumers in India
have today more than 20 different channels available.
The FM world has become the part and partial of lives of
people especially in the metro cities. People in the rural areas have a
special attraction for the FM radio and it a source of information
related to release of new songs and latest information related to
lifestyle. The FM channels today is a favorite place for corporate to
advertise and inform people about their existing and new upcoming
products. FM is also a favorite place for the entertainment industry
to promote their movies and songs. Even the Movie stars come and
talk about their new movies and urge the audience to watch it once.
The FM channels also provide platforms for the corporate
and well as stars to promote their project. To make this more
comfortable the FM today is available on the internet where
listeners and contact and even listen to their programs and also
corporate and advertise.
The FM radio use hording and banners to advertise about
their RJs and programs. The FM has shows in which they distribute
gifts to listeners by having then participated in the program. The FM
radios are today organizing and supporting many even and show
such as singing competition, fashion shows in colleges, and
marathons to make their presence felt.

6. The early history of radio is the history of technology that
produced radio instruments that use radio waves. Within the
timeline of radio, many people contributed theory and inventions in
what became radio. Radio development began as "wireless
telegraphy".
Later radio history increasingly involves matters of
programming and content. Nikola Tesla experimentally
demonstrated the transmission and radiation of radio frequency
energy in1892 and 1893 proposing that it might be used for the
telecommunication of information.
Around the start of the 20th century, the Slaby Arco
wireless system was developed by Adolf Slaby and George von Arco.
In 1900, Reginald Fessenden made a weak transmission of voice
over the airwaves.
In 1901, Marconi conducted the first successful trans-
Atlantic experimental radio communications. FM broadcasting is a
broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong
which uses frequency modulation (FM) to provide high fidelity
sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the
"frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting". This term is
slightly misleading, since it equates a modulation method with a
range of frequencies.

7. Radio broadcasting in India started in British India in
1923 with the Radio Club of Bombay. All India Radio (AIR) was
established in 1936 which is one of the largest radio networks in the
world including the AIRFM. AM, FM and even Satellite Radio have
made a huge impact on the Industry in India. Most of the media
houses either already have a presence in the industry or are looking
to get a license in the next round. Famous stations are Radio Mirchi
(of the Times Group) has maintained a lead position in most cities it
operates in and other channels like Radio City, Red FM, Big FM,
Fever, Radio One have also been able to get significant traction. Till
1990 Indian economy was closed, no private player was allowed to
enter and Akashwani has the sole responsibility to cater to the wide
and culturally diverse Indian consumer base. By the end of the 2014,
India had a market size of INR 17.2 billion. It registered a cumulative
growth rate of 14.5 percent from 2010 to 2014. The industry is
projected to grow at a CAGR of 18.1 percent over 2014-2019 and is
expected to be INR 39.5 billion in terms of revenue. Phase III
privatization of the radio FM is expected to add 839 new radio
stations in 294 cities.
It is ironical that while India has the second highest
penetration of C & S homes in the world, radio has suffered from
shunted growth. This can be attributed to misdirected policies by
government, which did not give enough prominence to radio as a
rich medium for entertainment and also for community
development. Going by the International benchmark, even 150
stations across India is a sustainable proposition. There are more
than 6000 radio stations in US and even a developing country like
Nigeria has 18 FM stations.

8. FM broadcasting began on 23 July 1977 in Chennai, then
Madras, and was expanded during the 1990s, nearly after 50 years
FM has mushroomed in US. In the mid-nineties, when India first
experimented with private FM broadcasts, the small tourist
destination of Goa was the fifth place in this country of one billion
where private players got FM slots. The other four centre were the
big metro cities: Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. These were
followed by stations in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Lucknow.
Times FM (now Radio Mirchi) began operations in 1993 in
Ahmedabad. Radio City Bangalore is India's first private FM radio
station.

9. Radio is important in the 21st century because it provides
an opportunity for people who cannot access television and cannot
read to keep up-to-date on the news and trends. According to an
American Media Services survey, 78 percent of individuals listen to
radio in the car, thus it provides entertainment to many.
The radio is important in both developing and fully
developed countries for information provision. It is able to function
when television stations are not and is more easily accessed than
the newspaper is. The information that is given over the radio is
able to be broadcast to a large number of listeners and provides
them with instantaneous information.
The radio is important for already developed countries
because it not only provides news information, but it also provides
entertainment. Despite the onslaught of digital music, radio stations
still play the top hits in various music genres. Radio stations give
listeners new music to listen to while also offering a variety of music
options. The radio also allows people to keep up-to-date with the
latest trends in popular culture.

10. Mood mapping is a methodology used in radio
programming. It basically specifies what type of content to program
for a given time of day. The listeners, weather, jock-talk topic and
time of the day are considered and only then the content is set i.e.
songs are set.
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a
limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel.
However, they are not completely shuffled, so as to avoid playing the
same song again too long or short apart.
Stations playing new music typically have a short
rotation, while stations playing "classics" may go as long as eight
hours. Sometimes the deal with the music company restricts the no
of times a song can be played. The individual radio stations also
decide on the rotation of songs as per their mood mapping and
target audience.
Broadcast automation systems handle a limited
rotation quite well, in turn making voice tracking easy. Even if a live
person is present, the automation system at commercial stations
usually picks the music ahead of time out of the current rotation.

11. Of very many of them, NexGen and RCS (Radio
Computing Software) are used by 92.7 Big FM and Friends FM 91.1
respectively. The audio is categorized by the assigned id no to the
songs in NexGen, whereas RCS enable categorization by the era of
the songs.
Heavy rotation or power rotation is a term that applies
to a list of songs that get the most airplay on a radio station. A song
placed in "lunar rotation" is one that is only played in off-peak
hours, usually late at night. A song placed in recurrent
rotation continues to be played on a radio station long after it has
left the current charts. A spin is a single play of a song. A song
in light rotation is typically aired 5–15 times per week, while
a medium rotation tune goes over the airwaves 10-25 times per
week. Favored songs in heavy rotation start at 20 or more spins
each week, perhaps reaching to 50 and beyond. Most new songs
start in the heavy rotation category, but as the song gets older it is
eventually downgraded from heavy to medium, then to light, then to
retirement in the library.

12. A youth-oriented targeting a teen-to-24 year old audience
Current Music station often has only five rotation Categories.
1) Heavy Current, the biggest hits of the moment.
2) Medium Current comprised of newer songs that are gaining
in popularity and songs that were in Heavy rotation and are
now beginning to fade.
3) Light Current, the newest songs just added to the station's
playlist.
4) Recurrent and
5) Gold
A station that is targeting an all adult-audience, the 25+
demographics may use only two Current rotation groups, Heavy and
Medium and then extra categories of recent and older Gold.

13. Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in
performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning action,
which is derived from the verb meaning to do or to act. The
enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage
before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production
and a collective form of reception.
The two masks associated with drama represent the
traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. They are
symbols of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene. Thalia
was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was
the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face).

14. OPERA
Western opera is a dramatic art form, which arose during
the Renaissance in an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama
tradition in which both music and theatre were combined.
PANTOMIME
These stories follow in the tradition of fables and folk
tales. Usually there is a lesson learned, and with some help from the
audience, the hero/heroine saves the day. This kind of play uses
stock characters seen in masque and again Commedia Dell'arte,
these characters include the villain, the clown/servant, the lovers
etc. These plays usually have an emphasis on moral dilemmas, and
good always triumphs over evil, this kind of play is also very
entertaining making it a very effective way of reaching many people.
CREATIVE DRAMA
Creative drama includes dramatic activities and games
used primarily in educational settings with children. Its roots in the
United States began in the early 1900s

15. CLASSICAL GREEK DRAMA
Western drama originates in classical Greece. The
theatrical culture of the city-state of Athens produced three genres
of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Their origins remain
obscure, though by the 5th century BC they were institutionalized in
competitions held as part of festivities celebrating the god Dionysus.
CLASSICAL ROMAN DRAMA
Following the expansion of the Roman Republic (509–27
BC) into several Greek territories between 270–240 BC, Rome
encountered Greek drama. From the later years of the republic and
by means of the Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD), theatre spread west
across Europe, around the Mediterranean and reached England;
Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than
that of any culture before it.

16. MEDIEVAL
In the Middle Ages, drama in the vernacular languages of
Europe may have emerged from religious enactments of the liturgy.
Mystery plays were presented on the porch of the cathedrals or by
strolling players on feast days. Miracle and mystery plays, along
with moralities and interludes, later evolved into more elaborate
forms of drama, such as was seen on the Elizabethan stages.
ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN
One of the great flowerings of drama in England occurred
in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these plays were written in
verse, particularly iambic pentameter. In addition to Shakespeare,
such authors as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, and Ben
Jonson were prominent playwrights during this period. As in the
medieval period, historical plays celebrated the lives of past kings,
enhancing the image of the Tudor monarchy. Authors of this period
drew some of their storylines from Greek mythology and Roman
mythology or from the plays of eminent Roman playwrights such as
Plautus and Terence.

17. MODERN AND POST-MODERN
The pivotal and innovative contributions of the 19th-
century Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen and the 20th-century
German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht dominate modern
drama; each inspired a tradition of imitators, which include many of
the greatest playwrights of the modern era. The works of both
playwrights are, in their different ways, both modernist and realist,
incorporating formal experimentation, meta-theatricality, and social
critique. In terms of the traditional theoretical discourse of genre,
Ibsen's work has been described as the culmination of "liberal
tragedy", while Brecht's has been aligned with a historicized
comedy.

18. William Shakespeare, (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23
April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely
regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the
world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national
poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some
collaboration, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long
narrative poems, and a few other verses, of which the authorship of
some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major
living language and are performed more often than those of any
other playwright.

19. CONTRIBUTION TO DRAMA
William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being
among the greatest in the English language and in Western
literature. Traditionally, the plays are divided into the genres of
tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every
major living language, in addition to being continually performed all
around the world.

20. SANSKRIT THEATRE
The earliest form of Indian drama was the Sanskrit drama
that is said to have its framework directly given by Lord Shiva who
used these techniques to pray to Lord Vishnu.
The earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date
from the 1st century AD. The ancient Vedas contain no hint of it
(although a small number are composed in a form of dialogue) and
the rituals of the Vedic period do not appear to have developed into
theatre. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference
to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on
grammar from 140 BC provides a feasible date for the beginnings of
theatre in India.
MODERN INDIAN DRAMA
Rabindranath Tagore was a pioneering modern
playwright who wrote plays noted for their exploration and
questioning of nationalism, identity, and spiritualism and material
greed. His plays are written in Bengali and include Chitra
(Chitrangada, 1892), The King of the Dark Chamber (Raja, 1910),
The Post Office (Dakghar, 1913), and Red Oleander (Raktakarabi,
1924).
Girish Karnad is a noted playwright, who has written a
number of plays that use history and mythology, to critique and
problematize ideas and ideals that are of contemporary relevance.
Karnad's numerous plays such as Tughlaq, Hayavadana, Taledanda
and Naga-Mandala are significant contributions to Indian drama.

21. Vijay Tendulkar and Mahesh Dattani are amongst the
major Indian playwrights of the 20th century.
BENGALI CONTEXT
Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in
the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West
Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi
theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people.
Bengali theatre has its origins in British rule. It began as
private entertainment in the early 19th century. In the pre-
independence period, Bengali theatres played a pivotal role in
manifesting dislike of the British Raj. After the independence of
India in 1947, leftist movements in West Bengal used theatre as a
tool for social awareness. This added some unique characteristics to
the art form that still have strong effects. These groups differentiate
themselves ideologically from commercial Bengali theatre.

22. Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic
performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such
as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on
dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the
characters and story: “It is auditory in the physical dimension but
equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension.”
Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a
decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a
leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of
television in the 1950s, however, radio drama lost some of its
popularity, and in some countries has never regained large
audiences. However, recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive
today in the audio archives of collectors and museums, as well as
several online sites such as Internet Archive.
1880–1930: EARLY YEARS
Radio drama traces its roots back to the 1880s: “In 1881
French engineer Clement Ader had filed a patent for ‘improvements
of Telephone Equipment in Theatres’”. English-language radio
drama seems to have started in the United States. A Rural Line on
Education, a brief sketch specifically written for radio, aired on
Pittsburgh's KDKA in 1921, according to historian Bill Jaker. An
important turning point in radio drama came when Schenectady,
New York's WGY, after a successful tryout on August 3, 1922, began
weekly studio broadcasts of full-length stage plays in September
1922, using music, sound effects and a regular troupe of actors, The
WGY Players.

23. 1930–1960s: WIDESPREAD POPULARITY
Perhaps America's most famous radio drama broadcast is
Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds, a 1938 version of the H. G.
Wells novel, which convinced large numbers of listeners that an
actual invasion from Mars was taking place. By the late 1930s, radio
drama was widely popular in the United States (and also in other
parts of the world). There were dozens of programs in many
different genres, from mysteries and thrillers, to soap operas and
comedies. Among American playwrights, screenwriters and
novelists who got their start in radio drama are Rod Serling and
Irwin Shaw.
1960–2000: DECLINE IN THE UNITED STATES
After the advent of television, radio drama never
recovered its popularity in the United States. Most remaining CBS
and NBC radio dramas were cancelled in 1960. The last network
radio dramas to originate during American radio′s “Golden Age”,
Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, ended on September 30,
1962.

24. The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York
City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997,
the organization presents storytelling events across the United
States and abroad, often featuring prominent literary and cultural
personalities.
The Moth offers a weekly podcast and in 2009 launched a
national public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, which won a
2010 Peabody Award. In the fall of 2009 The Moth Radio Hour was
licensed by more than 200 public radio stations.
On September 3, 2013 Hyperion Books published The
Moth: 50 True Stories, a collection of stories from the group's
performance history. In December 2013 it reached #22 on The New
York Times Paperback Nonfiction Best-Seller List.
As of the end of 2013, over 10,000 stories have been told
at The Moth.

25. The radio play in India is an exclusively twentieth-
century phenomenon. It mainly exists because of the need of a new
medium of communication. Its form and structure were determined
by the constraints of that medium. In the 1940s, dramatic
presentations were seriously considered as important components
of radio entertainment programs, and the proper history of the
radio play in India began. Professional playwrights did not realize its
potential, nor was it visualized by drama critics of that time. Writers
were closely associated with the government-owned All India Radio
(AIR). Some of them highly gifted litterateurs were the first to
experiment. Predictably, uncertainties and imperfections marked
the first phase of radio drama. It took time to acquire the necessary
techniques to exploit intelligently the medium of sound and silence,
to compensate for the absence of the visual aspect. Quite often, early
producers used existing plays with necessary emendations to meet
the requirements, with considerable success
Radio drama made a significant impact on Indian popular
culture. In the 1960s, AIR's commercial channel Vividh Bharati
broadcast a short play in Hindi every day. This acquired a huge
audience. Some scripts also outlived their immediate utility and left
a lasting impression. AIR requires nearly 4000 dramatic scripts
annually as its major stations each broadcast about sixteen plays a
month. In 1987, it introduced a national competition to encourage
radiogenic scripts. By 1996, the competition was open to nineteen
languages and awards were given in two categories. The categories
were general and humorous.
AIR's Central Drama Unit is responsible for the national
broadcast of plays. Playwrights and producers such as Chiranjeet,
Satyendra Sharat, Nirmala Agarwal and Danish Iqbal have been

26. associated with the department. Plays produced by the CDU are
translated and produced by regional stations. Since its inception in
the 1960s the unit has produced more than 1,500 plays, and the
CDU is a repository of old scripts and productions. The National
Programme of Plays is broadcast by the CDU of AIR the fourth
Thursday of each month at 9.30 pm. On the National Programme of
Plays, the same play is produced in 22 Indian languages and
broadcast at the same time by all regional and national network
stations. The CDU also produces Chain Plays, half-hour dramas
broadcast in succession by a chain of stations.

27. Mahisasuramardini (The Annihilator of the Buffalo
Demon) is a widely popular early radio programme that has been
broadcast since 1931 on All India Radio (AIR). It is a one and half-
hour audio montage of Chandipath (chanting from Chandi)
recitation from the scriptural verses of Sri Sri Chandi. Bengali
devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama.
The program has been translated into Hindi set to similar
orchestration and is broadcast at the same time for a pan-Indian
audience. This programme is aired every year at day-break on
Mahalaya. The programme, which started off as a live-performance,
has been broadcast in its pre-recorded format since 1958. However,
its great popularity remains undiminished even today over 80 years
later.

28. Birendra Krishna Bhadra
Birendra Krishna Bhadra, who will always be
remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all, is the
magical voice behind the “Mahisasura Mardini.” The legendary
narrator recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of
Durga to earth. It was on the day of Mahalaya, the beginning of
"devipaksha” that the Gods and Goddesses woke up to prepare
themselves for Durga Puja. In 1931, Mahalaya was first broadcast
over the radio in Akashvani, Calcutta. The programme was
organised by Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra,
Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhya and Raichand Boral.
Musical Composition
Though the theme is mythological and the mantras Vedic,
this program is a landmark composition. It is scripted by Bani
Kumar, and narrated by Birendra Krishna Bhadra while Dwijen
Mukhopadhyay (Jago Durga Jago Doshoprohoronodharini),
Manabendra Mukhopadhyay (Tabo Achinta), Sandhya
Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukhopadhya, Utpala Sen, Shyamal Mitra and
Supriti Ghosh (Bajlo tomar alor benu) sang in their melodious
voices. The enchanting music is composed by Pankaj Mullick, and
the songs are rendered by famous singer Arati Mukherji. As the
recital begins, the serene morning air resonates with the long drawn
sound of the sacred conch shell, immediately followed by a chorus of
invocation, melodiously setting the stage for the recitation of the
Chandipath.

29. SUNDAY SUSPENSE
Sunday Suspense started in June, 2009 with the intention
to read-out Bengali Suspense stories to the listeners with various
audio-effects so as to make the recitation more attractive. It started
with the stories written by Satyajit Ray, but gradually stories by
other eminent Bengali authors were also aired. Bengali versions of a
few English stories were occasionally broadcast. The show soon
gained popularity among the listeners and it's still running.
YAADON KA IDIOT BOX WITH NEELESH MISRA
Radio's best innovation in recent times, Yaadon Ka Idiot
Box is a unique amalgamation of storytelling and music which aims
to reignite the joy of storytelling to the current generation. The
show has won multiple accolades including the Indian Radio Forum
2012 award for best Hindi Show broadcast after 11 AM & Radio
Mikes 2011's - most unique programming idea.

30. EKTAR NATOK (AJKER NATOK)
Ektak Natok (Ajker Natok) is a Bengali full on drama on radio airs in
Kolkata (and Asansol). Both stations play the same content on a
given date but airs at different time band. This show mainly aims to
provide good quality drama in radio. Eternal stories of Sarat
Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore etc. are taken and
dramatised by expert dramatists of this time and made into a
beautiful drama.
KYA WOH SACH THA
The radio drama is inspired by real life stories that are possibly the
most eerie, spine-chilling supernatural stories. Dr Nagar, para-
psychologist, narrates stories he comes across in his daily life.

31. 92.7 BIG FM India's No 1 Radio Network and winner of
Broadcaster of the year award at the Golden Mikes, airs the award-
winning, much talked about story telling show Yaadon Ka Idiot Box
with Neelesh Misra, in which the storyteller narrates stories related
to an imaginary city he has created, called Yaad Sheher.
After garnering phenomenal and unprecedented success
in its first season, the show came back offering more entertainment
for all its listeners across the major 35 Hindi Speaking Markets of
the network. On popular demand the show was a two hour show on
air every Monday to Friday. Currently, the show is running its fourth
season.
In Kolkata, this show is very popular among youth even
the station being RETRO. The Asansol counterpart is CHR but has
equally high proportion of YKIB audience. Kolkata station aired the
show from midnight 12 to 2am, and in Asansol it aired 9pm to
11pm. Recently, the time band have been shortened to one hour.
Sunday special YKIB airs regularly. The stories told
during the week are repeated in a special packaged format on
Sundays.

32. NEELESH MISRA
Neelesh Misra is an award winning journalist, Bollywood
lyrics and script writer, author, radio storyteller and photographer.
As a journalist, he has covered some of the biggest stories
out of South Asia. He has written four best-selling books.
He also writes Bollywood scripts and is the creative
director and lyricist of Band Called Nine, India’s first writer-led
band.

33. Fever 104 FM, which has been redefining the radio
listening experience, for the first time is bringing horror series on
air with ‘Kya Who Sach Tha’. The radio drama is inspired by real life
stories and is a collection of possibly the most eerie, spine-chilling
extraordinary supernatural stories of the ‘unseen’.
The story line revolves around the main character, Dr
Nagar, who is a Para-psychologist by profession and a fan of the
human mind and stories he comes across in his daily life. The radio
series has him take listeners through one unique story every day.
The launch episode story was “A Mumbai-based boy, Anuj
Joshi, who never believed in supernatural powers, till he experienced
an incident on the Mumbai - Pune highway. His car ran out of fuel in
heavy rains on the lonely highway and he met an old man who offered
him a lift till the nearest petrol station. The story later tells how Anuj
finds out that the old man was dead four years back and his spirit
connected with Anuj to take forward a message to a loved one.”

34. Ektar Natok is running for nearly three years now and is
quite hugely popular. RJ Pamela has been intertwined with this
show since inception. During its starting phase the stories of famous
writers were being used as the plot and script was developed to suit
the plot. The performers’ opinion is also taken into consideration to
better the script and screenplay.
Previously, drama based on a story was aired in a date.
Now, series format have been introduced which gained equal
popularity as the suspense element lingers on which tends to bind
audience wanting for more. RJs Pamela, Mahuya and Sumanta are
active performers of this show. RJ Nilanjan, sometimes, takes part in
drama.
92.7 BIG FM Kolkata got overwhelming response from
this show. Owing to this popularity, repeats on Sundays have been
arranged for on audience request. This marathon Ektar Natok runs
from 2pm to 5pm for the last three months.

35. December 2014 was celebrated as Celebrity month.
Drama was also performed by many celebrities of Bengali Television
and Film Industry. The popularity was also seen to be more than
what it used to be on any normal occasion.
The scripts are developed by Akashvani empanelled
scriptwriters. They also perform as artists on some occasion. To
name them these two names are worth mentioning Mr. Nirup Mitra
and Ms. Chokita Chattapadhyay. Ms. Chokita has developed the
script of Devdas and also performed the character of Parboti. Mr.
Nirup developed the script of Chhuti Nei and performed as Baliram.
Regular performances are being given by RJs Pamela,
Sumanta, Mahuya, Nilanjan, Kaushik and Sougato. Mr. Swagato
packages the drama and provides for its air. Some performers
outside the purview of 92.7 BIG FM are Saurav Sen, Abhijit Mondal,
Krishnanjana Mitra, Debanjana Mukherjee, Koyel Saha etc. Some
mentionable child artistes are Abir Das, Srijita Mondal and Apurba
Mukherjee.

36. This show has bent the rules of traditional drama to make
one of kind episodes. The Robi Ghosh starrer classic Golpo Holeo
Shotti have made into a radio drama and aired through 92.7 BIG FM
only on Ektar Natok. This is first where a mainstream film has been
made into a radio drama.

37. Owing to the popularity of the show, 92.7 BIG FM
organised an audio drama with RJs Sumanta, Nilanjan and Mahuya
at 39th Kolkata International Book Fair 2015, where BIG FM was
official radio partner. This outdoor performance was also a feather
in the cap of Ektar Natok.

38. Sunday Suspense is a radio show, aired on Radio Mirchi
(Kolkata). It is performed by Mir Afsar Ali, Deep (RJ), Indrani,
Richard (DJ) and various others artists. This show is basically a
storytelling show. Proper sound effects are given to it to make it
more realistic. As the name suggests, suspense is the recurrent
theme of the show.
Several stories by several writers are performed in this
show. Such as Professor Shonku, Feluda, Tarini Khuro, Byomkesh
Bakshi, Sherlock Holmes have been aired.
Many Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi stories by Satyajit Ray,
Saradindu Bandopadhyay, Arthur Conan Doyle and many more
writers.

39. The dialogue with Mr. Jimmy Tangree brought out many
facts about non-music programs.
He agrees that non-music programs have a good potential
in radio industry. The program has to be packaged according to the
want of the audience. Thus, a lot depends upon the audience
targeting.
The timing of the show, the core target group and their
mood is the integral part of the show being a success. Audience
mapping and mood mapping must be specific and reliable.
The Station Head of 91.1 Friends FM (Ananda Offset Pvt.
Ltd.), Kolkata also mentions that the city where the show is to be
conducted plays a key role. The pulse of the city, the culture, the
geographic background and the history of the city must reflect
through the show to have the instant connect with the audience.
The non-music programs are not always non-music, says
Mr. Tagree. These shows are to be packaged with music elements to
create the ambience.

40. The Programming Head of 92.7 BIG FM (Reliance Broadcast Pvt.
Ltd.) answers some core questions.
Q. As Programming Head of a FM channel, what do you think of
Kolkata market?
A. Kolkata being a unique market has 9 FM (including two retro
music stations, one Hindi-Radio One & another Bengali-BIG FM)
channels excluding All India Radio. Most channels play day-part
music i.e. certain music in certain hour. The other stations are CHR
i.e. they play relatively new music. But, also they play old music
which has been marked as evergreen music. The mass is appealed
through melody music but still dance numbers are also played.
Q. Your channel broadcasts one drama and one story telling show,
what is the need of such show?
A. As the proverb goes morning shows the day, similarly here the All
India Radio Bengali is the forerunner of drama in radio space.
Bengali as a race have a very strong notions for literature, they have
the tendency of story reading, telling/listening. We have inherited
this culture of listening stories from our grandparents. We have the
story telling slot, though in Hindi, is seemingly popular in this
market. This show has provided very good ratings in terms of TSL as
well as Cumes. The radio drama also delivers.

41. Q. How do these programs do in Kolkata?
A. Both the shows are giving ratings as TSL is concerned. This shows
that people are not prone to switch channel in between the show.
The quality of the shows can be measured through audience
perception. As against TSL, Reach is not delivering as it should be.
The reasons are manifold. The shows are Time Spent leaders as well
as Share leaders.
Q. Does the audience revert for feedback?
A. We cater for the audience and want valuable feedback from them.
Accordingly, we strategize, new concept planned and tested etc. In
case our show is lacking in any aspect, the audience is very upfront
and always gives the best possible feedback.

42. A survey was conducted to understand the listening
habits of people of Kolkata.
Equal number of males and females were chosen to
represent an equal representation. A good response has been
garnered through this survey. From the humongous total of 286
survey sheets equal number of males and females has been chosen
to represent the complete data basis their age bracket.
0
50
100
150
MALE FEMALE
DAYPART LISTENERSHIP
MORNING AFTERNOON NIGHT
0
50
100
150
FEMALE MALE
LISTENERSHIP
LISTENER NON-LISTENER

43. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
MALE FEMALE
NON-MUSIC PROGRAM
LIKES DISLIKES
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
MALE FEMALE
SHOW-WISE LISTENERSHIP
SUNDAY SUSPENSE YKIB EKTAR NATOK

44. In Kolkata market clearly Sunday Suspense is most
popular among non-music shows. Literature is vey integral in the
minds of Bengali people. The show which has the Bengali connect
connects with the audience here. Radio drama Ektar Natok proves a
equal number of listener in the male female segmentation. Among
females Sunday Suspense is more popular whereas males prefer to
listen YKIB.
The overall listenership shows a higher male audience
tuning in to radio. Among the female listeners, most prefer music
over non-music programs. The males like to listen the non-music
shows more.
Day-part listenership has some new revelation. Women
listen mostly in night but not non-music. The most female listener is
found to be from afternoon for non-music shows. The males, on the
other hand, listen music in the morning and non-music in the night
slots of the radio.

45. Indian population had used radio as a medium of
entertainment even before television came into operation. TV made
radio look small but could not subdue radio with all the grandeur.
This makes radio even more strong. Before TV came into being radio
only meant Akashvani but now many private operators have came
up in the business which makes the gloomy radio look lucrative and
vibrant.
Drama in radio was the most avid form of entertainment
of Akashvani. Drama had three parts mainly story, sound effects and
actors. As time moved on, drama included storytelling in its
purview. Sunday Suspense, Kya Woh Sach Tha and Yaadon ka Idiot
Box with Neelesh Misra are story-telling shows. Here, sound effects
are used to the fullest and an impactful story is also present but no
actors perform. Only, the story-teller reads out the story and helps
build a word picture of the story. Ektar Natok is a full-fledged drama
in radio has all the elements of drama needed in a radio program.
FM is useful in entertainment industry. TV makes
stagnant as one has to sit and watch programs. But FM is available
on the go. Anybody can tune into radio anywhere as he pleases. New
talents are recognised more often than in television industry. Radio
being free to all makes people from all walks of life use radio and get
entertained. Some remote villages of India still does not get TV
signal; radio is a boon to them. Radio is an interactive medium
where both way interactions are possible and quite normal.

46. WEBSITES:
 www.92.7bigfm.com
 www.allindiaradio.gov.in
 www.reliancebroadcast.com/ourbusiness/big_92.7fm
 www.google.co.in (Images)
 www.utkarshnaithani.com
 www.gomusic1.com
 www.theseus.fi
 https://etd.ohiolink.edu
REPORTS:
 FICCI-KPMG Report 2014
 FICCI-KPMG Report 2015
COMPANY:
 92.7 BIG FM
 FRIENDS FM 91.9

47. NAME:
SEX:
AGE:
DO YOU LISTEN TO RADIO?
YES NO
IF YES, WHERE DO YOU LISTEN?
HOME TRAVELLING GYMMING OTHERS______________
WHEN DO YOU LISTEN MOST?
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING NIGHT LATE NIGHT
IN WHICH DEVICE DO YOU PREFER LISTENING TO?
HOME RADIO PORTABLE RADIO CAR MOBILE PHONE
WHY DO YOU LISTEN?
MUSIC RJ TALK INFO SHOW NON-MUSIC
WHICH NON-MUSIC SHOW DO YOU LISTEN?
YKIB SUNDAY SUSPENSE EKTAR NATOK
This precise survey was conducted to conclude on the
dissertation topic for Kolkata market only.