You know it’s morning when you can’t seem to get your eyes open, nevermind the ‘office blues’ haven’t even sunk in yet, and the maid is at the door- finger pressed on the doorbell, but  Vasanthi’s chirpy voice is booming on the radio assuring you that everything’s going to be just fine.

“It’s a breakfast show and I believe that it should hold the power of the positive. You’re switching on to my show in the morning and I should give you the best of things to fill your mind with,” says the upbeat RJ.

Excerpts from a chat with Vasanthi Hariprakash who is still on a high from having won the ‘Best RJ in English Award’ (India Radio Forum 2007) and Radio City’s CEO Excellence Award that will take her to London mid August:

What was it like winning the Best RJ in English Award?

How did it feel? Disbelief! I miss not having reacted the way a Miss Universe would (laughs)! I didn’t think that someone out there could be recognising what I was doing sitting in a little studio in Bangalore. So it feels very nice! Even better when one’s own listeners say, “You know what, you deserved it!”

You have worked as a journalist. How do you manage to bring that side into your show?

Being a journalist for seven long years has really stood me in good stead because you learn to see through the upper layer and delve deep into an issue.

In a segment of mine called Bangalore Inspires, I was told to bring in everyday stories of Bangaloreans who are making a difference to people around them. So, anytime I see someone or hear about them from someone else, my antenna catches it and I tell myself, “There lies a story!”

You’re well known for “drawing out and presenting the other side of celebrities”.

When a guest enters my studio, I feel that I have the responsibility to put that person at ease. Once that is done, they come to realise that the idea is to not to dig out gossip from them and that I am here to present their best side to the people.

With Asha Bhonsle or Manna da who are legends in their own fields, there was an apprehension on their part that here I was, a chit of a girl interviewing them. That is when research helps. When you know your stuff, it makes the other person relax instantly.

Sometimes it may just be data, but when you put a little more into it, it makes all the difference. I remember, when I asked Asha Bhonse about her experience in Bangalore, she mentioned being disappointed that there wasn’t much fish available here. It struck me that I could ask her about food and that’s how the Kannada line was picked up by her: "Naanu Asha Bhonsle. Nanage adige madodu ishta!".

What according to you is the future of radio?

There is a lot of experimenting going on in radio. But we’ve not even touched the tip of the potential of radio.
I dream of the day that there’ll be ‘Talk Radio’ in India like there is in the US, and we can tackle more social issues.

Was being an RJ always part of your plan?

I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid; then a journalist, Chitra Subramaniam being my role model. Then I got to live that dream of being a journalist. Radio was no where on my radar.

As a journalist and a co-ordinator for Network of Women in Media, Bangalore (NWMB), I got called to Radio City as a guest. Then I was offered the job of being on the other side of the mike.

I’m a spiritual person and believe that I’m being hand held and led into situations. I’ve never had to try too hard for anything. People have believed more in me than I have in myself. When radioperson Suresh Venkat put the idea of radio in my head, I wasn’t confident enough, but his faith in me carried me through.

I also owe my entry into radio to AIR official Milansar Ahmed who has always believed in me and given me great guidelines.

Are there any interesting anecdotes that you’d like to share with us?

My first interview with Amitabh Bachchan. He just had to say "Namaskar!" and I was completely bowled over. Even when I was sitting beside Asha Bhonsle, I was too distracted by what I’ve known, seen, read about her to be asking her any questions.

Also, the midnight interview with A R Rahman. I didn’t delete the SMS that he sent me for a very long time and lost it only when I lost my cell phone (laughs).

The impact of radio, till date, amazes me. On an impulse, I invited a bright student from a government school to my studio. He didn’t have the money to go ahead with his studies.

When I announced on radio that people could contribute as much as they can to him, an industrialist came to the studio and signed a bond which funds the boy’s education uptil M.B.B.S.

An RJ’s job is not just about playing music and moving on, or about contests and games.

At the end of the day, if I can succeed in putting even one fraction of a thought in you that sticks somewhere, it just could mean so many more things.

Does your son Anirudh get excited on hearing your voice on radio each time?

Ten year olds can be wise in a way that adults can’t. Free, frank, forthright! If Anirudh doesn’t like anything I’ve said on radio, it’ll be there for me to hear! But I’m very conscious of the fact that my popularity shouldn't get to him in any which way.

How easy is it to leave your personal issues behind and sound chirpy for the rest of the world?

Leaving one’s personal issues behind is something that has to be done consciously. It’s easier in my case since my Mom Vaidehi and husband Hari take care of many things.

Is television an option?

If radio has happened, TV can’t be too far behind. But there’s so much to be done in radio right now, especially after the award.