The first broadcast in the country was aired on July 23, 1927 from Mumbai. Then the airwaves cracked again a month later on August 26, in Kolkata and ever since All India Radio went from strength to strength.

AIR today has a network of 208 broadcasting centres with 150 medium frequency (MW), 48 high frequency (SW) and 128 FM transmitters.

FM, first made its presence felt in the year 1993 when the Central Government introduced FM channels in metros such as Delhi and Bombay. Pessimists raised their eyebrows and wondered if this move had any relevance in the present scenario where cable television had captured all eyes. But they were to be proved wrong pretty soon.

So what is FM? It is not the name of a radio or a type of programme, it is a transmission of radio waves i.e. frequency modulation which gives a crystal-clear reception and is not susceptible to weather changes. Actually these two letters did for radio what the cable revolution did to TV. Till recently, people had been associating themselves with radio only as a means of listening to the cricket commentary when electricity went off.

Times FM, Mid-Day and Inter-card were some of the earliest players on the Indian FM scene and once they went on air the listeners couldn't believe then ears. They could hear their favorite celebrities being interviewed on the shows, get the latest traffic updates, weather reports, talk shows, music countdowns and of course the immensely popular dial-in-shows.

It was nothing short of a mini-revolution. Listeners could request their favorite songs and listen to them too. The demand was such that from thrice a week, the request shows were made a daily feature. For the ecstatic listeners, all that couldn't have come in at a better time. Shows like Rock around the clock, Sargam, Sangeet toppers, Bulls'n Bears and music specials had the listeners hooked. Radio had finally come out of the shadow of television—the big brother.

"The FM channel has resurrected the radio clientele. We can once again have music reverberating within the walls of our homes all hours of the day as in years gone by plus the advantage of interactivity", remarks Colonel James Hattar, a renowned voice media personality.

FM as a technology was there for quite a while, but Chandigarhians were feeling the pain of not having real FM-type programmes in the City Beautiful.

Already, people were coming back from Mumbai and Delhi with stories of AIR FM, Radio Mirchi, Radio City or Win FM ruling the airwaves. "It was a real put off and we used to sit and wonder as to what 'crime' have we done that we don't have Delhi-type programmes here", smiles Inder Mohan Singh Oberoi, a bank executive.

Chandigarh had its first taste of this different style of programming on November 10, when Radio Buzz set the air waves crackling in a 55-minute show of great music, fun and variety. Youngsters and old alike took out there dusty FM radios, and waited expectantly to Catch the Buzz literally.

The show appropriately kicked off with the Queen's famous anthem Radio Ga-Ga.

"A growing city like Chandigarh needed radio programming that was in tune with its lifestyle. We give the listeners what they want and our distinct presentation and slick production captured their imagination", says an ecstatic Charanjit Singh, a director of Radio Buzz.

"We are trying to be listener friendly, the listeners are our masters and they respond immediately if there's good or bad programming, "says K.C. Dubey, Station Director, AIR, Chandigarh.

Today, media planners are looking at radio to build incremental reach over TV, especially because of the fragmentation of TV audience owing to mushrooming of channels and stretching the advertising rupee by choosing the right media mix is the only option to increase reach.

"Given appropriate marketing and awareness efforts, radio has the potential to capture the public (urban and rural) imagination", says Jasdeepak Singh, a media planner.

Though no elaborate study on radio's reach in available in the country, one can fairly draw parallels from results of an extensive study commissioned by Radio Advertising Bureau, UK in October, 1999 till April, 2000 which found that radio in isolation was measured to be three-fifth as effective as TV at raising advertising awareness.

The study also revealed that if 10 per cent of a given TV budget is redeployed into radio the efficiency of the campaign in building brand awareness increases on an average by 15 per cent. Currently, radio has just two per cent of the Rs. 6000-crore Indian advertising industry.

"Interactivity and infotainment is our hallmark. We revolutionised the local radio scene. Our aim is to reach out to all segments of society with our innovative style of programming and now even advertisers are forthcoming", remarks Charanjit Singh.

In today's scenario, the power of radio is to transform listener's lives and that is what it is trying to and has even achieved it to a certain extent.

Listeners in the metros don't leave for the airports till they have checked the flight departures on their radio sets and Delhiites on their way to office tune in to their car radios and come to know as to how long will it take to reach from the traffic mess at Dhaulakuan to Connaught Place.

I personally experienced the power of radio on my visit to the USA last year. It was just a 45-minute drive from the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001 to New Jersey. As the news of the tragedy spread, expectantly tempers and hatred rose to never-seen-before levels. And during those ill-fated days, I witnessed the real power of radio as a 'healer' from very close quarters.

The local radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM opened their phone lines to people to vent out their anger to the radio jockeys. This went on 24 hours, for days on end. People called up to discuss their fears, apprehensions and the feeling of mistrust towards the people of Asian and Middle-Eastern descent.

And hats off to the radio jockeys who acted very responsibly and didn't shy away from calling a spade a space. Calls laced with racism, hate and bigotry were severely reprimanded. It was a big sigh of relief for someone like me. It was radio at its very best. The same station also requested the listeners to turn on their car lights for freedom during the daytime and you bet there was no car on the streets with its lights switched off.

The myth of the radio being a poor cousin of TV has been shattered. Radio has clearly emerged as an alternate medium as it offers more value for money. The rates are much lower than traditional media like print or television. It is the most effective medium when the time period for various schemes or promotions is short like in the case of mutual funds.

In the City Beautiful, Radio Buzz's innovative programming has reached out to a large segment of the population in and around the city which has access to FM Radio, but were not listening to it. For instance, the large population of cars with 80 per cent having FM radio sets is the potential segment, which every advertiser would be immensely happy to reach out to and also the large number of two in-ones available in city homes.

Says Devinder Sandhu, Senior Director of WWICS who were one of the first ones in the city to go in for radio sponsorships, "There has been a very good response to our sponsored programme The Worldwide Show from the city as well as abroad. The show is acting as a bridge between the people living abroad and their relatives living in and around the city".

With the advent of FM, the radio jockeys became celebrities in their own right.

Brian Tellis, Hrishkesh Kannan, Ronnie and Shamshir became big names and were mobbed for autographs whenever they went to local college and universities to do any special programmes.

While abroad the radio jockeys graduated from being called DJs to on-air personalities. Some of the biggest names like the legendary Casey Kasem, Rick Dees, Shadoe Stevens, Howard Stern, Ed McMahon, Mark Elliot, Bill Singer and David 'Kid' Jensen command as much respect as any big Hollywood star.

The power of radio in foreign lands, especially in the USA is such that it can literally make or break stars, however big or small, they might be. If they don't get any airplay they can't make it.

Timmy T. was an unknown name in the world of pop music till he personally delivered CDs of his new single One more try, strapped on his bike to nearly all big US radio stations in the dead of winter.

His song rocketed all the way to the Top 10. Roxette was an unknown entity in America till a student on an exchange programme from Sweden picked up the single The Look, and told his friend at a local radio station to play the CD and as they say the rest is history.

Roxette became one of the most successful Swedish exports after Abba.

On the Indian radio front who can forget the excitement of Jasdev Singh's hockey commentary and his Aur yeh goal...hote hote bach gaya, the news by Melville de Mello and of course the Binaca Geetmala which was launched towards the end of 1952 on what was then called Radio Ceylon, and soon became the most popular radio programme in India.

Ameen Sayani, the man with the gravelly voice and stylised drawl, counted the songs and became a household name.

Today, the Government too is trying to reinvent radio and a proposal is under effect to bring FM to the grassroots level, which is a welcome sign and full of promise.

"Radio is like your faithful wife and not like your jealous mistress", sums up Dubey.

Radio is back and that too with a bang.

Radio Buzz RADIO BUZZ went on air on November 10, 2002 and became really very popular with the residents of Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula. The 'good-radio' hungry city populace lapped up its innovative presentation style and slick production. Radio Buzz received 18 requests on the first day of broadcast and by the seventh broadcast they had received more than a hundred requests on the day of broadcast. One more phone number was added to handle the heavy rush of calls. It started with a one-hour programme on the first broadcast and within three weeks the time had to be increased to two hours due to heavy public demand. Callers ranged from doctors, to teachers, industrialists, businessmen, professionals, defence personnel, and of course, a vast majority of youngsters from 10 years old to collegiates and university students. "And when people call up and say that Radio Buzz brightens up our Sunday mornings, our day is made", say the ecstatic Radio Buzz promoters. *** The internet has become a haven for broadcasters who can broadcast their choice of music with just a click of a button. Today, the World Wide Web is the fastest and easiest way to access thousands of radio stations around the globe with crystal clear reception quality. A leading provider of internet-based audio streaming solutions has more than 15000 radio stations broadcasting (for a fee) in more than 100 genres ranging from the contemporary to garage and from Indi-rock to comedy. *** Today, there are nearly 12,000 radio stations in the United States programming approximately 80 distinct formats. Car radio reaches every four adults of five every week. FM is now the dominant entertainment medium, although AM continues to be a primary outlet for news and information. The business is healthy and looking forward to a future of innovative formats and new technology says the Billboard magazine.