It was love at first sight for Shabbeer Ahmed when he came to Bengaluru on a visit in 1994. Fresh out of school then, the young Ahmed — who had already displayed a knack for radio by winning a programme conducted by All India Radio (AIR) in his hometown Chennai — wanted nothing more than to move to this city, with its stone pavements and Gulmohar trees. Now known for his successful stint as a radio jockey and master of ceremonies, besides running a couple of successful companies focused on team-building activities, Ahmed is comfortably settled in Bengaluru, and has a wealth of information to share on the city, its music culture, and his own career evolution.
“I moved to Bengaluru for college and went for auditions at AIR in 1998, and subsequently started on a show called Tuesday Tunes, a live phone-in programme. There was a romance to radio then, people used to call from far away and write letters. It was also more technical, as we used LPs with fader controls which required the RJ to place a needle and count slots in the time while a song played, and then later tape decks that required us to rewind and forward to the right location. CDs made things easier, and when workstations came along everything changed again. I have watched radio zip by before my eyes.”
Ahmed admits that radio has lost the reverence it once enjoyed, when people used to look forward to a radio show, thanks to easy access to music nowadays. “This is to be expected,” he says, adding, “The same thing is happening to TV as well, it is part of a natural evolution.” He does, however, maintain that the city has one of the most diverse cultures and varied music tastes he has witnessed. “This is a new city, people from all over come here and make a space for themselves with their own hard work. Even with music, you find many connoisseurs and groups who follow certain kinds of music, and can actually give me trivia about the songs I play. Modern radio stations also realise this, and target certain kinds of listeners with their programming.” Right from his early days, Ahmed was also invited to host events, something he thoroughly enjoys doing. “I remember my very first event was a total disaster, where I invited someone on stage by the wrong name. But since then I have done over 1,500 shows, and while there have been goof-ups now and then, the joy of doing a live show is addictive. The audience tends to judge you for the first couple of minutes, but then merges into one being, so if one person boos or cheers, the whole audience will do the same. It is a fickle mistress.”
He says there are a lot of youngsters trying to get into emceeing because they consider it easy money, but according to him, the craft runs deeper than that. "The reason emcees are paid as they are is because they are exposed. An artiste can hide behind their art, and people clap for that art, but when you are an emcee, your education, how well read you are, everything becomes apparent, and it is all about your interactions. So you can only truly succeed at it if you are willing to put your life into it."
Another avenue Ahmed started dabbling in a was team-building activities, a commonality among many of the city's IT companies. “The problem is, our education system teaches us to be individually brilliant, but when you get a job and have to work with others, it is not the same.” The issue Ahmed saw was, the way companies tried to break the ice at these events was often childish or boring, leading people to skip them. So he set up a couple of companies, Vertis & Barrow and Batoota Games, which aim to make such events fun for corporates and consumers. "We have a team of 15 people and have created large-scale games, which require participants to make a boat and row across a pool, or jump over icebergs on a giant ship while others try to take them out. The idea is to have people come and participate, and create memories to bond over the next day."
Ahmed has now dedicated himself to running his companies and hosting shows, and no longer appears on radio. “I'm also working on a book on innovation, called Thirsty Crows and am planning to put some effort into making videos for YouTube. I also have a rap song coming out, called ‘Kaamwali Bai’,” he says.
Shabbeer Ahmed has, by his own admission, got his fingers in many pies, and while his voice does not resonate over the airwaves on the radio anymore, he is far from done with the limelight.