Jimmy Tangree rides the BESC airwaves

Society Hall. December 12th , 2019. Jimmy Tangree needs no introduction, either in the world of radio or in the city of Kolkata. He is the City of Joys oldest, most joyous, most consistent and definitely the most loved radio jockey – someone, who has not only defined the art of Radio Jockeying but has also played a stellar role behind FM Radio enjoying the kind of popularity that it currently relishes. Yes, it will not be out of context to mention here that at a time when the Radio was consigned to the dustbin as a has been, it was Jimmy Tangree’s baritone (not to mention his God gifted ability of playing the “right” music consistently and with unfailing reliability) that had led the resistance.

Jimmy Tangree is no stranger either to the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) or its students – his celebrity status precedes him – and the BESC makes it a point to have him as a cherished guest to grace many campus occasions almost round the year. “But this visit is different” said Prof Dilip Shah, the Dean of Student Affairs of the BESC, “this time, Jimmy is here to share the secrets that have made him one of Kolkata’s biggest celebrities and perhaps the most recognised voice on air. He is here to share with the students of the BESC his recipe of success, of teaching you the art of engaging people in conversations, help you imbibe the ability to talk one’s way to success … and stardom”.

The hundred and fifty plus students who had crowded the Society Hall could wait no further and Jimmy Tangree proceeded to do what he does best, take the microphone. How time flew thereafter is anybody’s guess, but seasoned teachers vow that they have never seen a BESC audience with its collective jaws agape as Jimmy Tangree spun his mesmerising words around them.

It was, as one student aptly described after the event, “a show and tell” – he showed us what to tell, and told us how to conduct a show, bingo! Informal and laid back, it was vintage Jimmy Tangree and the students who have grown up just hearing him, were obviously at awe seeing him create the narrative, even as he hand held the audience, interacted with them and showed them around the excitement called Radio-Jockeying. An interesting bit of trivia – Jimmy has been in the business of Deejay-ing (he started off by playing cassettes in one of the city’s premier clubs) from a time before most of the people in his audience were even born!

He talked at length about anchoring, highlighting the characteristics needed – stressing repeatedly that all were acquired traits, thereby making success a highly achievable proposition – and showing the path that led to the stairway to … stardom. He peppered his talk with interesting anecdotes and dipped into the treasure trove of his experience to highlight the different points that he wanted to underscore. Naturally, the students lapped it all up.

Towards the end of the engrossing session, he opened it to the floor and was immediately inundated with a barrage of questions from the audience. True to his ever-affable self, he took the questions in stride individually addressing every query to the full satisfaction of the one asking the question and also to that of the audience. There was a lesson to be learnt here as well – Jimmy Tangree showed in real time, the art of taking questions and turning them on their head to underscore the points that are sought to be communicated, all the while remaining true to the letter and the spirit of the question as originally raised.

“It is such a pleasure being here in the BESC” he said “this campus just bubbles with youthful zest and I am thankful to the teachers and the management for inviting me over and giving me a chance to reconnect with the pulse of Kolkata’s youth. BESC Rocks!”

(This report has been filed by Nikita Mittal with camera person Rohit Ghosh of the Expressions collective of the BESC. Raksha Mishra was the coordinator of the event).