Through the good times and, yes, the bad times, Brentwood-based Bollywood radio has a positive impact | Brentwood HomePage

When Aniruddha (Andy) Sathe and Shalini Dixit (Shaiely) co-founded a live radio station in Williamson County just over two years ago, they had no idea what significant impact it would ultimately have on its listeners in the Nashville metropolitan area and, in fact, around the world.

Andy and Shaiely moved from their home country, India, to Brentwood in 2001 and 2008, respectively, and then met in a mutual friends’ house. It was there that they discovered a common passion for music and, in particular, felt the void for an entity they cherished in India, Bollywood radio.

In India and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, said friends, Bollywood music is as stimulating for its listeners as it is entertaining.

It’s like an integral part of your daily life, said Shaiely a few days afterShuddh Desi Radio celebrated its second anniversary on March 3. The radio should be playing in the background. When we came here, and like so many Indians and people from Southeast Asia came here, we all lacked radio experience.

After moving to Nashville, Andy added, I think one of the important things we were missing, like just about every Indian who moved here, was the music from the radio experience that we had grown up. When we study or do something like cook or entertain or just relax, we have the radio as our companion. It should always be in the background.

And now, shortly after Andy and Shaiely celebrated their second birthday with their radio jockeys (RJ) and a growing community of friends, supporters and listeners, their radio station Shuddh Desi is in the foreground. The COVID-19 pandemic has given their station a whole new dimension.

Whether on air through radio streaming or online through its website and various social mediaaccounts, Shuddh Desi Radio provides an essential service to its audience. Bollywood music from popular Bollywood cinema in India is a soothing distraction in these difficult times with its vivid and melodic sounds. It can act as a balm for the daily discomfort of the news of the coronavirus epidemic.

But the concept of Bollywood radio is also in its role to keep listeners informed on a variety of topics, both global and regional news as well as those relevant to culture and entertainment.

Our first aspect was to recover the radio experience here in the United States, explained Shaiely. The second part was, it’s not just about music. We wanted to focus on other important topics and information, such as health and wellness, politics, fashion, education, finance. We focus on all of these aspects. “

This includes, of course, the subject of COVID-19. Shuddh Desi Radio addressed this issue via its Facebook page with interviews with doctors, live sessions with musicians and even yoga classes. Its RJs also frequently interact with listeners.

Shuddh Desi Radio has evolved considerably since its launch two years ago. In addition to his studio in Williamson County, he has one in Atlanta and is looking to add more locations.

In addition, he covered events that interest his listeners. Last year, for example, station journalists attended the Howdi Modi event in Houston, where nearly 52,000 people showed up to attend a meeting between President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

Shuddh Desi Radio provided listeners with live updates, videos and interviews.

In December, the station was invited to cover the Miss Universe competition held in Atlanta.

It was a proud moment for our radio station to present these two events to our listeners, said Andy.

The station has listeners in India, where its language changes every 80 km, as well as in the rest of the world. Andy saidShuddh Desi Radio recognizes the fact that India’s centuries-old musical and cultural heritage must be presented in different languages, and the station is broadcast in six different Indian regional languages, including Hindi.

Resort audiences in the Greater Nashville area also continue to grow. Andy and Shaiely aren’t surprised by this; they knew there were many others who shared their passion.

Being in Nashville, you have a little bit of everything, said Andy. You have country music, rock and roll, jazz, others. The missing part was the Bollywood music, those fast and catchy tunes.

We are proud to say that we give music from Bollywood to Music City.