Blame it on the barber!

I had to blame someone and the butler has already taken too many blames in all the murder mysteries.

Well, this thought was triggered during my recent visit to the barber for a haircut.

I guess it was there even earlier, but I noticed it more only this time. There was a small TV showing endless repeats of clips from the Indian Twenty20 victory. nothing strange in itself, but it was just that I used to associate saloons with radio.

during school time, i remember listening to Vivid Bharati blaring at full blast in almost all the saloons.

I also have a special affinity towards the radio. from school days, i had to have some sounds in the background while studying and that was the radio.

starting with an old valve radio at home that my grandfather used to listen to, i moved to transistors and more fancy world receivers. at one time, I had more than a dozen radios in my collection.

one of them, that i still have - is a philips transistor, that i bought out of my saved pocket money, originally meant for my german language class fees.

for a few years, i was a serious SWL - short wave listener - as i could not make the time to become a full fledged HAM - radio amateur. that exposed me to not only many countries and cultures, but also some interesting events and friendship, including a tapespondent friend in Austria.

getting back to the main topic - with TV, i feel bad that the radio is not getting its proper attention.

Of course the FM stations have revived some interest and since many of us have to spend long hours on the road - in traffic jams, this helps.

i have been one of the early subscribers to worldspacce, backwhen it was still free! now, they have already announced an increase in the subscription fees for next year. but, i think i will continue to subscribe.

I like the variety and the quality of transmission. there is still a lot more to be done in terms of the programming quality, but gives me the variety and the channel that unobtrusively stays in the background, while i can do something else also in the background.

all said and done, i would still like to have the radio back in the barber shop! at least it would not make me strain my neck to watch what is playing on TV, while i get my hair cut. and maybe, who knows, it might interest you too to start listening more to the radio!!