SHE PLAYS MUSIC, CHATS WITH FANS, IN SANTHALI
was terribly nervous. But as soon as the show began, off I went with the name of God on my lips, welcoming everyone to my show, Johar Jhargram (Greetings Jhargram),” says Shikha Mandi, remembering her first broadcast as an RJ, in November.
Mandi had reason to be nervous. She is the first radio jockey to host a show in Santhali, the language spoken by the Santhal tribals of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Tripura.
That’s over 58 lakh people, but it’s not often that you hear Santhali on TV or radio, even in these regions.
Mandi, for instance, grew up listening to the daily show on All India Radio Kolkata that featured Santhal songs and music.
But she loved her mother tongue, and would sing the songs she heard on that show, and write poetry in Santhali in her free time.
It needed that effort to stay in touch with the language, because Mandi — the daughter of small farmers from West Midnapore — grew up in her uncle’s home in Kolkata, where she had been sent at the age of three so she could get a good education.
She graduated from an Industrial Training Institute and was set to take an apprenticeship exam at a shipbuilding and engineering company on the same day as her interview for the position of RJ.
“My parents were hoping I would get the apprenticeship,” says the 24-year-old, laughing. “I too was very tense about trying something new but I wanted to give it a shot. I had a feeling I could do it.”
That feeling was based on years of pretend news anchoring when no one was watching. “Since childhood I had always fancied speaking on the mic,” Mandi says. “After the interview I realised just how much I love doing what I am doing now. Most of all, it was hard to believe I was speaking in Santhali on the radio!”
Mandi’s show is beamed by Radio Milan 90.4, in the Jhargram and West Midnapore districts of West Bengal — which also broadcasts in Bengali, Hindi and English. The Santhali show has become so popular that its duration was extended from one hour to two in February.
“We wanted to hire a fresher and Shikha was just right. She is fluent in the lan-
MEET SHIKHA MANDI, THE FIRST RJ TO HOST A SHOW IN HER TRIBAL TONGUE
people aware of the distinctions between our spring festival and Holi or Dol Jatra in West Bengal, as they often get confused even within the community,” she says.
Three broadcasts that got the most responses were discussions on the theme of waiting, on the year-end festival of Poush Sankranti, and on the joys of spring.
“I thought waiting was an interesting and universal theme. From childhood you wait to grow up and when you grow up you wait for other things to happen,” says Mandi.
One call she remembers fondly from that day was from a man who waited many years for his lover but could not get married. He told her how they met recently and discussed their now married life.
Her father Dayal, 50, is also now a fan. “I am really proud that she does a radio show in her mother tongue. The radio at our home is not working right now so we listen to her show at our neighbour’s house. On most days, many of our neighbours gather to listen too,” he says.
Mandi is hoping the show will make Santhals proud of their language and culture. “In Kolkata, some young Santhals don’t even want to admit they know the language,” she says.
She also wants to perfect her Santhali pronunciation. “Living in Kolkata and speaking in Bengali most of the time has influenced my diction a bit,” Mandi says. “I am determined to make it pitch perfect with practice.” For more snapshots of life at the Veerni Institute, go to hindustantimes. com / lifestyle