Ria had the voice that brought a smile on millions of faces. Millions - wait a second, an FM station's reach could at most have lakhs of listeners? Well, there were overseas listeners too when she used to anchor shows for the web radio. She earnestly waited for that 4-hour slot everyday when she could share and touch other lives. Even her listeners waited for that time of the day when they could hear their favourite RJ's chirpy, bubbly pep talk in between the numerous hit songs she played. One of her listeners had confessed that he had become a teetotaller ever since she started hosting that evening drivetime show - not a drop till 9 every evening and after that he didn't ever feel like having it. Such heartfelt confessions made her day, encouraged her even more to bring about more hope, and she would set herself to prepare for what she was gonna talk about next in her show. Being a radio host, it was her way 'to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight'.
She stumbled upon radio jockeying as a career option when one fine day she saw an ad and in response went for an audition. That simple, studious girl, considered an 'introvert' by her friends, who stayed quiet most of the time, yapped and yapped during the audition and how! The voice - mostly rested till that day, the million observations of human nature, the listening all these years (songs and others) landed her a radio jockey's job overseas and there she was soaring on the air-waves, literally! Since then, each day had been a new day full of new surprises, new challenges and new memories at work. What fun! You express yourself and so many others at the same time, adding hope, joy, putting in whole lot of creativity and get paid too for that - she cherished every bit of it and felt content to live her entire life this way.
But that was not meant to be. Over years as her popularity soared, her voice started getting affected due to some severe infection in her ENT. The studio, which once used to be her most-cherished 'den' would worsen her condition because of the low temperatures there. She tried all the treatments she could to make things better. Those 4 hrs would be a pain at times, but she did everything in her might to sound right for her listeners. Things kept deteriorating though and one day she lost her job, one she so loved and was passionate for. The occupation status changed. She had to undergo surgery to correct her ailment. Once she was alright, other chapters in life opened, however, she didn't get her cherished job despite almost a decade of experience. She started staying at home, taking care of her home and family. It was a full-time job, and one that needed constant preparation. She did it all with elan. The heartfelt confesions of how she touched other lives now were hard and rare to come by, but that didn't deter her spirit. The voice still brought a smile, dealing as she was mostly with family members, maids. She hums the songs she used to play and shares the PJs she used to say on air. Her smart, efficient, bubbly self takes everything in her stride lending her beauty that just doesn't flow through her voice, but shows itself in everything she is, she does.
In the end, to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, “No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” Her dedication, multi-tasking, her work-life balance will make her as beautiful as her work just like Megha in this MIA ad.
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This post is part of ‘As Beautiful As Your Work‘ Contest hosted by Women’s Web and sponsored by ‘Mia by Tanishq‘ - As Beautiful As Your Work.
Images courtesy : Google images
Images courtesy : Google images
