For many of us, radio brings to mind film songs and singsong RJs. But for media expert and community radio practitioner R Sreedher, radio is a tool that holds a higher purpose. He has spent 47 years in the field, using audio to teach people science. His shows, including the popular Yaen (‘Why’ in Tamil) in which people could send in questions that were answered by experts, took science to the masses.
“Although I started in Tamil, my programmes ran in 18 languages across India,” says Sreedher, whose biography in Tamil, titled Oodaga Theni by Rani Maindhan (meaning ‘Media honeybee’) was released recently as part of Radio Day celebrations. The book talks about Sreedher’s days in Tamil Nadu.
Sreedher’s life has revolved around the audio medium. During his initial days in the field, Sreedher was a reporter with the science unit of All India Radio. “My first radio programme was in 1970,” he says, “It was on AIR, the only radio channel back then.” Sreedher came up with innovative ways to use audio as an educational tool. “As part of my show, I once did a tele-conference with people on the move,” he says. This was much before the days of mobile phones. Sreedher used quiz, drama, and music to make science interesting.
In 2004, he developed India’s first community radio at Anna University. The 71-year-old has seen radio evolve. “The valve radio had to be hit on the head in order to get it to work,” he remembers. “Then there was the shortwave radio, followed by the transistor.”
During a recent survey, he found that 94% of the people he spoke to didn’t know what a radio actually was. “To them, radio simply meant FM, an application that was available on their phones,” he says. Very few had actually seen a physical radio.
In the 1970s and 80s, however, it was a precious thing to own and thousands of people tuned-in to shows that they waited all day for — programmes, that were sometimes just 45 minutes-long, meant a big deal. Sreedher feels that radio, as a physical entity had come to an end. “That life is over. It is just an exhibition piece,” he feels. He, however, doesn’t get nostalgic about it. “Radio is reinventing itself in the digital platform. It now needn’t be owned by anyone, and can be crowd-sourced,” he says.
“But audio will remain as long as humanity exists,” he adds. This is one medium that has plenty of potential. Imagine listening to a speech delivered by a voice that stirs, with your eyes closed — now compare that to video. The former will have a much deeper effect on the audience.
He hopes that more people will explore the audio medium. Explains Sreedhar, “Audio will make people think, rather than force a visual into their minds.”