The week gone by was hectic, with 91.9 Friends FM partnering a number of associations, from SHABD, an inter-school celebration of words and ideas at Mahadevi Birla World Academy, to The Bengal Chamber’s Rural Marketing Conclave with eminent marketing and brand professionals. On Friday, we had Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif talking about their release Phantom on Box Office with Smriti.

It’s been exactly 62 weeks since Direct Dilse went on air on 91.9  Friends FM and there have been some beautiful  moments on the show. The journey has been great, with people sharing their thoughts and coming forward to make a difference. The warmth is clearly evident in our city. There are so many stories to share.

Last year in June I received a call from a gentleman who truly moved me with what he had to say. In his locality a boy had got  through his medical exams but could not afford the fees to go to college. The entire locality came  together and contributed but were falling short of a couple of thousand rupees. In the same locality a poor man who used to beg for his living came forward and contributed all his savings, which amounted to a couple of thousands in coins, which was more than enough to cover the shortage of funds. Unexpected but truly dil se!

The show is going to complete 19 years in the third week of September and through the show 12 unknown people have  proposed to each other on air, and nine of them are married and three couples are engaged to get married. Last year a Calcutta gentleman called me on the show from Riyadh. Way back in 2012  he had proposed to his girlfriend in Kashmir on Dilse from Calcutta. I had connected him live to her over phone. Today he is happily married and settled in Riyadh. Words make so  much of a difference.

On Valentine’s Day we connected a mother to her daughter in the US live via phone, a lady from Calcutta to her fiance in Singapore and so much more.

Recently the city came together by way of Direct Dilse to rally behind and make a difference in the life of Darshika, a child suffering from cancer of the retina. The initiative was driven by Geeta Gopalakrishnan, honorary director, donor relationships, Tata Medical Center.