Women Lines

Necessity is the mother of invention and it holds true for our entrepreneur of the month, Renuka Arora Bhagat, who co-established our ONLY Hindi radio station Masti 96.3 FM in Singapore!    

Renuka is a Delhiite and she’s always loved music. When she moved to Singapore she really missed her radio channels back home. She took a step and started exploring the media world around. That’s when Renuka was introduced to Rafiqul Haque,  who after successfully running 8 radio stations back in Bangladesh, was pursuing his interest in expanding his radio business in Spore. Together, they worked towards the establishment of Masti 96.3 FM, on AIR from 28 Nov 2009. Masti 96.3FM, the ONLY Bollywood radio station in Spore, broadcasts Hindi programmes LIVE daily from 5pm to 8pm.  A variety of programmes  catering to all age and interest groups, regular updates on weather in Singapore and the main cities of India, traffic, business, sports, all within the blanket of not only the latest bollywood music but also the golden music from yesteryears! Radio Masti 96.3FM has LIVE streaming (www.xfm963.sg) too. It is available on iPhone and selected HTC phones too, under the umbrella of the MeRadio app.

Like most other entrepreneurial ventures, Radio Masti also faced the initial challenges of establishing themselves and creating a “brand”. However, with focus, hard work and dedication of the team, things have certainly started working positively for them. Today, advertisers are happy to endorse for using Radio Masti as the medium to reach out to the large number of target audience out there. MediaCorp estimates Radio Masti’s listeners’ base to be approx 1.4mil, which includes not only the expat Indians but also a percentage of Sri-Lankans, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Malays, and local Singaporeans – all with a common passion for Bollywood music. 

The partners, Renuka and Rafiqul complement each other in many ways – be it managerial, technical, production, sales, strategy and much more! Of course, the team consisting of RJ Mehak, production lead, Dewan Hasan along with others – continue to be strong pillars in their own areas as well!  

Hats off to Renuka’s multi-faceted, entrepreneurship and hands-on managerial skills. Mind you, she is a high profile corporate lady, really proud of her current global position at a large MNC where she manages multi-million projects. A Business management degree from Delhi and an SAP certification to her credit, Renuka loves the voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the king of Sufi!  

Renuka loves challenges and aims to come out of them successfully with her sheer dedication, focus and determination to succeed…Masti is her foray into the media world and not only does she work hard towards managing the station but also towards establishing herself as an RJ! Her weekend program Hafta Wasool is quite popular with the listeners too!

While answering to the question of requirements to be a good RJ, Renuka answered: “Voice is no more the triumph card for winning listeners on radio”. The job of a radio jockey involves much more today. Ready wit, smiling voice, extempore ability, humor, knowledge, and, of all things, a genuine effort to closely associate yourself with the listeners – all this put together help play the perfect tune for radio jockeying. “Your personality must be portrayed through radio”.

Being the only Hindi radio station in Spore, theres a lot of personal touch and openness to interaction with the audience in each program. RJs become a part of many listeners’ lives and there is an unspoken emotional bond that binds audience with the RJs. 

Her corporate life satiates her intellectual competence and her media life helps in building social capital as she loves music. Being an HR professional, Renuka loves to interact with people too! 

Sky is the limit when you are determined, committed and have the support of your family! Who says it’s difficult to pursue your passion with your profession? Here is Renuka, who is successfully pursuing both – besides of course the personal commitments and challenges all women have! After all, she is a true face of an Indian woman, a successful multi tasker! Cheers for Indian superwomen!

I always felt that its so boring always to be strict to your kids and act like a policeman to them. Always we are asking to them that have you brushed your teeth properly, have you finished your homework, when you will get up, etc.Kids will be so bored always seeing mummy placing order for something or the other. I can understand that how important it is to raise kids in certain disciplined way but we should not forget the importance of fun element in life. Here are some ways in which you can spend some fun moments with your kids-      

1. Play indoor picnic with your kids. You can properly plan your menu with your kids help and then have fun the way you have in outdoor picnic.

2, Share your childhood stories with your kid. I just love doing this. Share the way you were scolded by your parents, how you spent your holidays,how you played with your friends, there are so many things to share , you know better, right?:)

3. Wrestle with your kids, have pillow fights, do lots of cuddling and jump together.

4.Play boardgames and card games and let them win few time.

5. Sing songs together and sing loudly.

                                                                         (contd)

1. Share

Share your past. Kids love to hear stories about when their parents were little.

11. Wrestle on the floor with them. Be gentle.

12. Ride bikes and take walks. Share nature.

13. Build a fort or treehouse.

14. Dance to their favorite music with them.

Its sounds strange that why I am announcing to whole world that I am a Vegetarian and Non-Alcoholic person!  

“Oh you don’t take alcohol, you don’t eat meat…aye how you survive in this world la!” ….these reactions have become part of my life now, particularly while I am staying in Singapore-the world’s most happening place known for its seafood and nightlife.  I am so happy that people around me have started accepting that it is possible to survive in this world without eating meat and without taking a drop of alcohol. I don’t want to sound like a preacher who talks about the harms which we do to our body while practicing those habits. I just want to share with all my readers that it’s fantastic to be a vegetarian and non alcoholic person. I really mean it, it feels great and I feel so nice about it.

After being questioned every time I thought of knowing why the prevalence of intake of alcohol is rising among females. I asked my Google uncle and he reported that-

Alcohol is a depressant drug-not a stimulant as many people think. Alcohol slows down activity in the central nervous system, which means it slows down the messages going between the brain and the body.

In small quantities, depressants such as alcohol cause people to become relaxed and lower their inhibitions. They feel more confident and often act in a more extroverted manner. It is the latest thing in town – to chill out after work in the pub. Many young women in have picked up on this new way to socialize. Kept in control, the occasional alcoholic drink will not hurt. But, the unfortunate thing is that alcohol is addictive and, many young women indulge in frequent bouts of binge drinking to keep up with their peers, just to fit in with the crowd or drown away their fears and sorrows.

In nutshell women drink to show that they are part of the crowd and also to forget their sorrows. As when they intake alcohol they feel relaxed and confident. I question that why we don’t emphasize in searching other options to enhance our confidence and feel relaxed. I don’t have to elaborate on the harm to our health done after intake of alcohol. I suggest that it’s a beautiful life given to us by God and why we spoil it by intake of alcohol. I consider soul as a temple and if I intake something which makes me forget who am I, I am certainly not interested to intake. We should strive for that confidence and happiness with all our  sorrows and bad experiences without intake of single drop of alcohol.

To drink or not to drink, choice is yours….but why not we make such choice which helps us improving upon us for we love our family, or not?