FM fine-tunes Aligarh's sensibility

ON A SONG: 21-yr-old RJ Zainab says had it not been for FM, she would have been married.

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As Uttar Pradesh goes to polls, CNN-IBN examines the lives and expectations of a group that has the most at stake from the future of the state - the youth. In a special series, we meet the Young And Restless In Uttar Pradesh.

Aligarh (UP): Known for its famous university and a flourishing lock industry, the sleepy Muslim town of Aligarh is slowly but surely learning to ride high on airwaves.

The entry of a private FM player - the second of its kind in UP - has made the youth of Aligarh sit up, take notice and sway to music.

Ever since Big FM 92.7 crackled on Aligarh’s airwaves four months ago, it turned many young guns of the town into local rockstars and celebs.

For the likes of Zainab, a 21-year-old radio jockey, the radio station has brought a reason to cheer and make a living.

“Whenever I go out, I meet people who tell me ‘Oh you are Zainab zara sambhalke! (Watch out!), because that’s my tagline on the show,” says Zainab.

Zainab’s fan following is increasing by the day. “I love Zainab, she is just too good,” says a radio listener, Aashna.

Says another young listener Saksham, “I like Joyez bhai, he has a great voice.”

Youngsters like Zainab deliver hit Hindi music, throw in a few Bhojpuri popular numbers and catch the collective imagination of not just Aligarh, but even surrounding villages.

But even as Aligarh residents enjoy their daily dose of filmy music, they've also had to tone down the content on the channel. In a conservative town, radio shows like "spouse arousal" have managed to raise hackles and had to be scrapped.

“The girls would come to our studio and talk about their problems without any issues. But people in Aligarh had issues,” says Zainab.

But what would Zainab be doing if FM hadn't come to Aligarh?

“I would complete masters and just get married that's all,” she says.

Zainab isn't the only one in UP who considers herself rescued by the microphone.

In a state reeling under large-scale unemployment, FM has provided a job avenue to a handful and has somewhat stalled the brain-drain amongst the state’s educated lot.

For the programming head at this station, Yasir, fan mails haven’t stopped pouring.

But few of his fans know that Yasir was, in fact, educated in madrassa in a village near Bahiyun and that he left UP to find his fortunes in Mumbai before Big FM came calling.

Yasir is one of the few among the educated Gen-Next in UP - happy with the current administration and the lucky break it has given him.

He's eager to do his bit for the coming elections, in the only way he knows.

“Voter turnout in Aligarh has always be very low. We're going to run a campaign on air, asking people in Aligarh to go out there and cast their vote and choose their own leader,” he says.