|
||||||
Four 'light years' for Hiru FM By Chamintha Thilakarathna Four years ago, a young radio station called out to the nation in sounds of 'Hiru FM'. Today, they are a blooming and popular channel whose vibrations spread to each end of Sri Lanka giving novelty to ear drums. Sudeva Hettiarachchi,
Assistant Programme Manager at Hiru FM says that it was a tough
road but they travelled smooth. "We started as a Colombo based
radio station but later we managed to attract listeners from around
the island as we expanded," he said. Launched on
the first of July 1998, anyone who asks what their motto is from
the staff, the answer would always be, "stay young at heart".
This they say is what drives and inspires them. "Our station
is not for the young, but for the young at heart, just like all
the staff we have here. Being able to think young, is an important
component for creativity," Sudeva said. The twenty-four
hour service however, does comprise of a young team of twenty two
members. The TV Times
managed to catch up with a couple of busy disc jockeys in between
their programmes. It has been
two and a half years since Samanthi Edirisinghe (23), who is our
cover girl this week, joined Hiru unexpectedly. Her experience she
says has been fulfilling and fun. "I enjoy my work here and
we always try to give something new and fresh to the listeners and
that keeps me occupied most of the day," she said. If you want
to catch her live tune into Hiru on Saturdays for the Top forty
from 2-5 p.m. and on weekdays from 4-6 p.m on the evening request
show. Nuwan Liyanage
(28) is another aspiring young disc jockey who has been there since
the inception of the station. Better known on air as "pattara
malli" he gives a glimpse into world of news every morning
at 7.35 a.m. Among the panel
of DJs Chandima Darshanath (25), Sajith Ratnayaka (25)along with
Nuwan they say were the first to introduce the night club disco
music format in Sinhala medium where non-stop music is played back
to back. The rest of the staff who join in celebrating their fourth birthday are Aravinda Lokuge, Teja Perera, Krishantha Dayananda, Chanuka Samarakoon, Malki Perera, Rajini Jaliyagoda, Yohan Liyanage, Chamila Galewala, Dinusha Priya-darshana, Sumedha Amara-singhe, Vindana Prasad, Devika Gunesekara, Para Nelipta, Nuganthi Vathuhena, Lasantha Wijeywickrema and Chamila Prasad and Gayan Chanaka. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
