MUMBAI: Destiny played a big role in getting RJ Mirchi Sam aka Samiksha on the radio. The young RJ has been in the radio industry for a year and she hosts the morning show Wassup Amritsar? for Mirchi Amritsar.

“I never wanted to be an RJ. I graduated in Journalism and Mass Communication, not by choice but destiny. I had to take admission in this department as other seats were packed,” said RJ Sam.

This 'no option' career choice led to her interning at a radio station. “During my 40-day internship with a radio station, I actually got to know what RJing is and how radio stations work. After learning about the functioning of a radio station I decided to not go ahead in radio because I found it difficult,” narrated the RJ who next chose to intern in the event management sector for a year and a half.

But, radio seemed to be her fate as she received an interview call last year from Mirchi. However, she had to face rejection in the first interview round as she couldn’t speak Punjabi.  A few more rounds of interviews did get her in.

“Event management is a difficult job along with a spirit of hard work. Also, in Amritsar, there is less scope for event management. So, when I got a call from Radio Mirchi I went for the interview to give myself another try,” said the RJ.

Sam joined the station on 27 February this year and was sent to New Delhi and Chandigarh for training. As speaking in Punjabi is a necessity for any RJ in Amritsar. “I faced a lot of difficulties while learning Punjabi, but my friends and teachers helped me with various books. I also started watching Punjabi movies and listening to Punjabi song,” stated Sam.

The RJs show finally went on air on 3 July. It airs from 7-11 am daily and is commonly known as ‘Amritsar Ki Google’, the show is a talk based show that has an interactive session with the listeners. It also has a few fun elements like on-air games. There are also discussions on current topics of the city/country along with an expert.

“In spite of me not being ‘perfect’ and ‘fresh’ to the industry, the Mirchi team has helped me. Special credits go to my programming head Pervez Bhateja who has been a great mentor, cluster head Bhanu Pratap Singh and cluster programming head Nitin Gupta helped me a lot,” said Sam who is honoured to have a supportive team.

One of the best radio moments for Sam so far has been the Radio Mirchi Jammu station launch. She got the opportunity to host the launch with Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. “During the launch, the CM said, ‘One day I just want to become an RJ like her’. It was a very big achievement for me,” ended the RJ.

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