Broadcasting in Tamil on
Perth’s World Radio 95.3FM:
Tamil Cholai

Under the aegis of the TamilAssociation of Western Australia, Perth’s Tamil speaking listeners fromdifferent parts of the world (mainly, South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia)and others have been enjoying, for a long time now, the joyful sounds of Tamilmusic and other forms of entertainment via the State’s leading ethnic broadcastingstation, World Radio 6EBA – 95.3FM.

As soon as Tamil Association ofWestern Australia was established, Perth’sfirst Tamil radio show entitled “Tamil Oli”, which was produced and presentedin Tamil, hit the airwaves in 1981. It made its debut via the then RadioBroadcasting Authority - 6NR.

Although “Tamil Oli” was being airedfor only half hour on Thursdays, it brought a sense of pride and joy in thelives of many Tamils in Perth.With the strong support of the Tamil community and the Tamil Association ofWestern Australia, “Tamil Oli’s” broadcast continued successfully for ten yearsuntil 1990. Towards the end of 1990, the then broadcasting authority (6NR) closedits operations, and as such “Tamil Oli” came to a sad end.

Fortunately, this sadness didnot linger for too long. In 1993, 6-Ethnic Broadcasting Authority (EBA) WorldRadio came into operation and it is through this broadcasting authority that“Tamil Oli” experienced a re-birth and made a come-back on the air-waves. Overthe last 14 years, “Tamil Oli” has established a special place on the air-wavesof 6EBA – 95.3FM. A variety of program is being hosted on “Tamil Oli” onMondays from 7.30pm to 8.00pm. It is a radio show that has exposed varioushidden talents of various individuals within the Tamil Community.

“Tamil Oli” literally means theenriching sounds of Tamil. Since its inception, “Tamil Oli” has been givingparticular importance to the promotion of language and culture in itsprogramming. However, this has taken a new shape in recent times in that theprogramming of “Tamil Oli”, while maintaining its fundamental objectives, hasbeen also fine-tuned to cater to different target audience and tastes. Thus,this has resulted in changes to presentation styles. Today, “Tamil Oli” isbeing projected through the voices of presenters who are of different agegroups with different levels of imagination and creativity. While the showexposes new talents and depth, the golden treasures of “Tamil Oli” is beingcontinuously unearthed to enrich the lives of many Tamils living here in Perth.

Rekindled by the passions forfurther contributing towards the growth of Tamil language and culture and bythe growing success of “Tamil Oli”, efforts were taken by a few broadcasters toseek more air-time.  This resulted in theestablishment and official launch of “Tamil Cholai” on Friday, 11 October 1996.This was a moment of great pride for the Tamil Association of Western Australiawhich was commended for successfully catering to the expanded needs of its community.

The popularity of “TamilCholai”, measured by the immense support from both its sponsors and the TamilCommunity, was so great that it experienced an increase in air-time from beinga one-hour programme to a90-minute program within six months of its official launch. Although “TamilCholai” has gone through various phases of change since its inception in 1996,it remains as a radio show that continues to shine with a new spirit ofvitality and youthfulness.

Indeed, “Tamil Cholai” throughits brilliant creativity and, professional and enchanting presentation stylehas brought great variety, vigor and excitement to its listeners. It was at itsheight of achievement in 1998, when “Tamil Cholai” hosted the first CulturalStage show at the Methodist Ladies College,Perth. It was astage show that not only showcased the various talents in Perth but also featured numerous overseasartistes. An event that is remembered by many fans of “Tamil Cholai” eventoday!

The incredible growth of “TamilCholai” can also be seen in the area of establishing networks with other radiostations across the borders. One such experience relates to its jointproduction of numerous shows and programming capsules with the Singapore-basedradio broadcasting authority – Oli 96.8FM.

Like being in a garden wherethe air is filled with the scent of different flowers, “Tamil Cholai” providesvariety in its programming to its audience. With youth and the youngergeneration being the main target audience, “Tamil Cholai’s” programming isinjected with an assortment of  capsulesthat feature on the Indian arts, science, culture, the nuances of speaking inthe native language, poetry, movie clippings, kollywood gossips, words ofwisdom, cooking tips, current trends, and literary appreciation. While “TamilCholai” continues to provide this variety, it has in recent years moved to astyle of presentation that is less structured than what it used to be before.Sprinkled with music from eras ranging from the 50s to the present times, this90-minute show is a live wire that guarantees to bring a spirit of vitality andjoy to its audience.

“Tamil Oli” and “Tamil Cholai” not only havean amazing history but they have been an integral part of providing informationand entertainment to the Tamil community of Western Australia. While the two programmeshave made huge contributions to our Tamil Community, Tamil Oli and Tamil Cholaiwere merged in June 2008 in the interest of broadening and lengthening theduration of the Tamil broadcast through 6EBA. Today, the tamil broadcast in theTamil Cholai, which is proudly brought to you by the Tamil Association ofWestern Australia, is aired continuously for 2hours from 9:30pm to 11:30pm.This is a remarkable achievement in terms of the extension of the duration ofbroadcast and the idea of having a single and continuous mode of broadcast.

The passions and motivations ofthe two producers (Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy and Mr Paul Bangar) to keep the“Tamil Cholai” and “Tamil Oli” alive, the strong support of the TamilAssociation of WA and the Tamil Community are undoubtedly the key ingredients tothe growing success of Perth’s most treasured radio shows.

 TheTamil Cholai Team

Mr Paul Bangar (standing) & Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy
Producers and Presenters of Tamil Cholai
Tamil Cholai on
Fridays, from 9.30pm