Ohio Gozaimasu!! You are listening to Bharat Ki Dhadkan!!

I do not understand how Amitabh Bachchan handles his celebrity status.

I, clearly am having trouble!

;-)

The other day one of my colleagues sent me a mail saying, "D, maybe a silly question but I just saw a book in the Shell shop with the author's name exactly same as yours, do you have something to do with it?"

My fingers typed " That's actually ME" . 

I had warm air coming out of my ears while I typed. 

I also noticed that I was smiling even though it was only me and my computer.

I also deleted and rewrote the above three words three times before I could press the send button.

Clearly the situation is out of my control!!

;-)

In another incident, a 12- yr old smart boy R, the son of a very close friend, took my book (The Gift Of Life) to school (in Delhi) and successfully sold it to his English teacher. I was surprised and impressed. I was already his fan...now became even more. Not because he sold a book of mine but to think of the kind of speech that he must have used to convince his teacher !! Amazing, isn't it? I have asked for a copy of that sales speech..Really!

Again, the situation is beyond my imagination.

These incidents actually took me back in time. The time when I almost became a bit of a celebrity ....ok ok...a bit....but still......Celebrity with a Japanese connection....

Haha!

Once upon a time I used to live in Japan. 

Those days I used to have a small Sony CD-player-cum radio. Every morning as soon as I opened my eyes, my hands sleepily searched for that ON button and the radio used to start....

"Ohio gozaimasu [Good Morning]" boomed the voice of a man who was the RJ (Radio jockey) of an Indian program called "Bharat ki Dhadkan"!!FM COCOLO from Osaka!

With limited access to Indian music in Japan, this daily program of 30 mins really used to wake me up! The RJ  "S" did a wonderful job too...I felt happy and homesick at the same time and that is surely a compliment for him.

After a while, I started sending in my song requests too. I also started thinking of new ideas that can make the program more interesting. I wrote a letter to S , expressing my interest and ideas.

Within a few days, he read one of my letters on the radio. I was super happy the moment he said " Dayeeta from Kobe wants to listen to the beautiful song Pal pal dil ke pas......". 

As the timeless melody filled up my tiny room, my phone started ringing. It was him!! He wanted to know if I was interested to come to their recording studio. I could not believe my ears. I fixed a quick appointment and met up at the studios. For me it was the first time inside a proper studio..an amazing feeling. S was recording something for the program. He asked me to sit down beside him, put on the headphone and read a line from the back of a cassette cover. The famous lyricist Anjaan had just passed away and S was playing "Muqaddar ka sikander" songs. He also asked me say "Bharat ki dhadkan" few times in different ways on the microphone. It was fun. After that we chatted for a while over music in general..he showed me around the studio...we had coffee and I came back home very happy.

Next morning. My eyes opened, I sleepily switched on the radio.

"GOOOOOOD MOOORNING!! Aap sun rahe hai Bharat ki Dhadkan"......

It was MY voice on the radio!!! A few paralyzed moments ...I can still 'feel' it now.
It was being recorded the day before!!!

Long story short, S called me later in the day to ask if I would be interested in becoming his co-RJ! I blabbered something in excitement and said I need to ask my Sensei..

Being a student, I was always on the lookout for part time jobs. The scholarship was good but still an extra few bucks was always welcome!

Plus this was like a"dream" job! I did not have to think twice!

Quickly I asked permission from my professor . He agreed. I joined the radio station FM COCOLO  for a few hours per week.

Every Tuesday, I used to leave for the studio early in the morning. We recorded a weeks program together on the Tuesdays. I loved it. 

The fan mails started coming. Lot of Japanese fan mails too.

"Dayeeta-san totemo sutekina koe desu ne" [Dayeeta-san, very nice voice]

Loved the job and loved the extra Yen that poured in......and of course loved those mails.

Life continued. I woke up to my own voice everyday.....

"Ohio gozaimasu....Good morning.....you are listening to Bharat ki Dhadkan"

Few months later.

Some friends were visiting me. I took them to visit Kyoto ( my most favourite city in Japan).

We decided to have lunch at an Indian restaurant [forgot the name ;-(]. Must be 'India palace' or  ' Maharaja'.

I placed the order. We chatted away happily as we waited for the food.

Suddenly  the manager of the restaurant came by and said "Dayeeta, we have lassi for you and your friends..on the house"

[Lassi : Indian Yogurt drink]

I smiled and thanked him. Then suddenly it hit me . DAYEETA?

I asked him. "How do you know my name?"

He replied, "aapki awaaz kaun nahi pehechanta? Aap hain Bharat ki Dhadkan!"
[ Who does'nt recognize your voice?, you are Bharat ki Dhadkan!]

I do not remember how exactly I reacted. I am sure it was difficult to handle.

I am sure I had warm air coming out of my ears.....

;-)))

....so coming back to my question,

How does HE really handle it???

;-))