Town & Country

6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018 T H O M P S O N Two months into his new job as host of CBC Radio One's North Country, and just three months since he moved to Thompson, Sharvendiran is already connecting with the community and his listening audience, and he hopes the show will become an on-air venue where northerners feel a deeper connection to one another. "I think that's something that would be really great, to have that kind of solidarity on the airwaves for even an hour in the morning," he says. North Country airs weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., reaching 28 communities in the catchment area. It was off the air for more than a year after former host Mark Szyszlo retired in 2017, ending a three-decade run. Just 31 himself, the new kid on the block says there have been a few on-air "hiccups," and he's still finding his footing, but he's encouraged by the warm reception he's had in the community, and by the response from listeners who are excited the show is back. "The moment I got here, I had people sending me messages even before I was on the air — 'Hey, you should come check this out,' " he says. "I think a lot of people missed having … just feeling like they could listen to their own stories again." So far, there's been no shortage of stories, and he's been focused on recreating a space for northern voices to tell them. "I just want to continue that momentum and find a rhythm that works because we're constantly learning and we're constantly changing and evolving the program, so I think I want to hopefully find that groove in the next little while," he says. "And then I think it's also just about expanding the reach of the program, because there was a gap for a little over a year and I think some people might not know the program or maybe younger generations felt out of touch with it prior or didn't realize it was there." A Sri Lankan Tamil, born and raised in Toronto, Sharvendiran says he's been pleasantly surprised by the level of community engagement in Thompson — whether people are coming out for a hockey game, festival or art show, it tends to be an all-ages crowd of kids, teens and adults. "When there's a community event, they kind of all turn up, which is something I'm not used to because usually when I see community events in other cities or even in Winnipeg you usually get people in a particular demographic, whether it's a cultural group, an age group, a particular interest. Here it's just kind of a mix of everyone," he says. "And it's a really big cross section of people. That's the other thing in Thompson that's really surprised me is the level of diversity up here is huge." And, he adds, the culture is a lot warmer. Folks have been happy to show him around, taking him to hiking trails that are off the beaten path, stopping to chat during a shopping trip to Walmart, urging him to check out curling games and other events and keeping close tabs on him as he adapts to the northern climate. "It's -41 C in the morning already and everyone keeps checking in on me like I'm going to run away," he laughs. Sharvendiran previously worked in public health, as well as hosting and producing radio programs over several years for stations at York and Ryerson universities and Humber College, including an LGBTQ* program called Queer Currents, a music show called Morning Mixtape, a weekly current affairs program and a newscast. He joined CBC in Toronto in 2017 and made the move to Thompson just ahead of the Labour Day weekend. While his show is focused on the North, it's also a conduit for sharing information with the rest of the province, since he files interviews and notes to CBC Manitoba in Winnipeg. "I can feel this potential up here, especially in just the people and their resilience and what makes them tick, what makes them stay up here, and I'm really hoping that this program is a vehicle for that kind of message, that kind of sentiment to connect. But also to connect folks outside of here to those stories," he says. "I'm really hoping that other people can see what's happening up here and see that just because you don't hear from the North very much or you haven't in the best of light, that doesn't mean that there's not a lot of really great things happening here." Listeners can connect with Sharvendiran on Facebook (@RamraajhCBC) or Twitter (@ Ramraajh), or leave news tips on the North Country listener line at 1-833-788-3932. PHOTO COURTESY OF CBC CBC Radio One's Ramraajh Sharvendiran has had a warm reception from the community as the new host of weekday morning show North Country. VOICES of the NORTH New CBC Radio host fosters community connections By Pat St. Germain "I can feel this potential up here, especially in just the people and their resilience and what makes them tick, what makes them stay up here, and I'm really hoping that this program is a vehicle for that kind of message, that kind of sentiment to connect. But also to connect folks outside of here to those stories," Like any good host, Raamraajh Sharvendiran wants to create a welcoming atmosphere; a place where guests share a sense of fellowship and everyone is invited into the conversation.

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