The radio show that enriched my life!
- Published in Wave Magazine. Talking to thousands of listeners all over the world, interviewing Rajesh Hamal and creating heated discussions… there was never a dull moment as a Yuva Vibes presenter. Then all the excitement was over. Have you ever had to stop doing something you love? Emotions fluctuated as pursuing after my degree meant to stop presenting Yuva Vibes.
For the ones who are unaware Yuva Vibes is fortnightly zoo format radio show. It is hosted by young Nepalese youths from BFBS Gurkha radio studio at Folkestone UK every Friday from 6 to 7pm(UK time).
My Yuva Vives journey commenced when the offer of starting a youth radio show came along. I was ecstatic. Always seize every opportunity that’s comes by and oh boy I did! I was over the moon. I was 16, had just finished school and had nothing better to do. Therefore starting a youth show (never done on BFBS) with eight other fresher’s was just my cup of tea. It was exciting but we were all very clueless.
If I recall the first episode of Yuva Vibes on 1st June 2010 I was very anxious. I even had a script of exactly what I wanted to say on air. On finishing the show, the sense of relief had turned into a nervous anticipation as we all waited for the verdict from the listeners. The vive was electric but with every good there is bad so how can I forget the black and white criticism we received.
Rajesh Hamal on Yuva Vibes - BFBS
We all seem to love to tear things apart, rip them to shreds or any other analogies you want to throw into the mix. Well that’s what it felt like when letters faultfinding about our appalling knowledge of ‘Nepali language’ came through. What the haters didn’t understand was nothing is amazing the first time around.
The negative comments shook our confidence but as a team we were determined not to quit because of some moaners. Instead we wanted to embrace the lovely opportunity and fight back. Not literally punching and kicking. By not letting the negatives get to you and in contrast focusing on the positive aura. I was able to celebrate two years of presenting Yuva Vibes.
In the fabulous two years I grew and learnt as a presenter and met some fantastic people along the way. Interviewing the legend Rajesh Hamal has to be the highlight. I was a nervous wreck on the day of the interview but the genuineness of the great actor came as a pleasant surprise. For someone who is so influential and a massive household icon he was so down to earth.
The show required me to be very creative and work as a part of a team presenting information and entertainment in an attractive way. Our weekly guests from the likes of LexLimbu, Rapoholic, Kranti Ale, Sagar Moktan gave Yuva Vibes an exciting flavour to tune into every week. Through Yuva Vibes I was able to explore different issues concerning the Nepalese youths here in the UK.
Sometimes the topics were challenging. Talking about now all too common drug use, racism, unemployment and niggling crime by Nepalese youth was never light. However by bringing together views from the distinctive age range of listeners the results were always enlightening. I remember one show specifically when a listener called in and started questioning my guest DJ Raju about his “jaat” (really we are still concerning about jaat?) the conservative thinking shocked me.
The effects of Yuva Vibes begin to show: comments started popping up on social media and listeners started to get involved. For me personally people started labeling me as the “BFBS girl”, which was always interesting.
As an army kid I grew up listening to BFBS and to able to present on the station was a dream come true. I always wanted to be one of the sweet talking aunties I remember speaking on the station back in Brunei. Their job seemed so easy to me. It was waffle and having a conversation, which we all love and do naturally but on air. That’s how radio turned into my fascination.
Unfortunately everything comes to an end and I became an ex presenter. If I cast my mind back to the time I didn’t want to leave at all. For me Yuva vibes was more than just an hour-long radio show on the oldies favorite BFBS. It was the love of my life, call me bunkers but there was a bond between Yuva Vibes and myself. I used to feel the bubbling excitement at the thought of going live on the radio. I loved speaking on air every week. I am thrilled and excited when using a microphone.
Yuva Vibes will remain as a preliminary involvement for me. I left with a success story and I believe that with experience comes confidence. I still carry an enormous sense of pride to have been part of BFBS history.
Laxcha Bantawa on Yuva Vibes - BFBS

Still shot from music video of 'Falling for you'
The UK based artist came to the UK when he was ten and currently lives in Derby. James was raised by two supportive parents. He has an elder brother who plays a special role in motivating him to create the best, by criticising his demos. My brother commenting 'its crap' makes James stay up all night sipping sugarcoated coffee to create a fresh taste of melodies for his listeners.
