Once ruling Srinagar’s bandwidth, now serving cafe culture

By Sukant Deepak New Delhi, Oct 25 : The year was 2006, and Srinagar was set to have its own Big FM Channel. A 21-year-old young woman, armed with a degree in Business Administration appeared to audition for the position of a Radio Jockey (RJ). One of the valleys first female radio jockeys, Wafa Vakil, who is also the co-founder of ‘Cafe Liberty which has two branches in Srinagar now, looks back with content.
“It was in fact my parents who encouraged me to give it a shot. My father, who was alive then, would always be pleased seeing young women break the glass ceiling in the media and many other professions which at one time were dominated by men.” Part of the station’s launch team, Vakil, who had thought of enrolling in a MBA programme before joining the station, remembers that though the job had little to do with what she had studied academically, the whole experience was unforgettable.
“After all, as a RJ, one is expected to talk about music, Bollywood, actors, and make content around it. All that was new, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.” Stressing on the fact that the connect with an infinite number of people through the medium can itself be empowering, Vakil says that the feeling that one can be an example for giving hope to many is unparalled. “If one has managed to encouraged even a small number of women to have the courage to turn their dreams into reality, it just can’t really get better.” Adding that contrary to popular perception, Kashmiris have always been very open to witnessing women in diverse professional roles, she says, “After all, so many Kashmiri women have actively been part of the media, judiciary and bureaucracy for a very long time now.”