Indo American News

A reprint from the issue dated February 05, 2010 | Vol. 29, No. 6
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Still Reaching Out After All These Years
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: A couple of years
back, many of the local desi radio
shows got caught up in a musical
chair shuffle, and some programs that
had been with a particular frequency
for a decade or more moved to another portion of the AM dial.
Among the old diehards, Gitanjali
Radio Show, starring the effervescent on-air personality, Shoba Joshi,
moved to KXYZ, 1320 AM and went
from once a week on Saturday to
Sunday also (the reigning queen of
the desi radio scene, the popular and
much-loved Meena Datt, also moved
her shows to the same dial). Joshi took
the plunge after seeing how other
programs had grown and hearing her
listener’s demand.
Now in her 16th year on-air, Joshi
started her first ever fund-raising
weekend last year. “The costs have
gone up so much,” she lamented as
she sat in her studio between songs,
“that I thought this may be a way to
get listener’s support directly.” And
the competition between the nearly
15 desi radio programs for advertising dollar is also intense.
This past weekend, Joshi was going through her second fundraiser.
Bal and Kamana Sharma, whom
Joshi credits as being her mentors,
were taking the calls from listeners who were calling in with donations. “Thank you, thank you!” Joshi
chirped into the mic in her characteristic way, breaking into Hindi and
Shoba Joshi, with her son Hiren at the KXYZ studios on the West Belt near
Hammerly, at her fundraiser last weekend.
Shoba Joshi, with Kamana Sharma, who often helps answering the phone
during the program.
Sindhi to show her appreciation.
Gitanjali Radio Show comes on every Saturday and Sunday
from 2pm to 6pm on KXYZ, 1320 AM and streaming audio at
www.shobajoshi.com.
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