Brookside Part – Part 5

*** Read part 4 here. ***

“So, radio jockey eh?”

“Well yeah, that’s one aspect of it”

The first time that Gul had heard RJ Arkaya was two months back. She had been having a rough week and had tuned in to the radio, early in the morning, hoping to listen to some nice melodies that could put her to sleep after failing to do so for five hours straight. The ongoing midterms and subsequent caffeine overdose weren’t really helping either.

Arkaya or Aria always had some rather different and often quirky solutions to life’s problems. She had a dedicated hotline on her show where she would answer queries and play music based on the mood of the caller. Music therapy, she called it.

“More like last-resort go-to Agony aunt for insomniacs”, Aria clarified.

“Seems like you really love your job”.

“I actually do something else for a living. This is more of a thing that I do to give back to the society a little. But yeah, I do enjoy it, in all honesty!”

“So, if I may ask you, how did RJ Arkaya come into being?”

The two girls walked towards the studio, as they engaged in what seemed like the first normal conversation between them. This was Aria in her natural state. The shields were going down.

“I guess it started with the notion that being on radio implies that you get heard a lot. At some point, I felt like the people around me weren’t listening to what I was trying to tell them. And I had a LOT to say.”

“So, what’s your story?”, asked Gul, intrigued.

“Like everyone else out there does, I have one too. And it’s appropriately consequential to what I do. But that’s not the point. You get to a stage, where after you’re done being heard, you realize that there are thousands out there waiting to be heard themselves, and you don’t really hold the authority to seek that privilege just for yourself. So you let others speak.”

“But doesn’t that get tiring too? Just listening?”

“Yes it does. That’s what conversations exist for. When you speak in front of an audience so big, you open yourself to criticism from all around. There’s no point in just stating opinions. There needs to be someone who can counter your weaker opinions. Critique them and break them down. And there is no harm in owning up to these either. Just makes you have better opinions in the long run.”

“Must be a different feeling, sitting behind the broadcast console. Being heard but not being seen. A perfect introvert’s stage.”

“Well the stage has been set up and the audience is waiting. We go live in five. You’re welcome to join me!”

“This should be fun!”.

***Read part 6 here.***