Dear TORi listener,

First of all, Happy New Year and thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given to me while I was heading TORi.

I owe you an explanation.

As I have recently stated publicly, due to certain developments I had to part with TORi. It will be unprofessional to divulge all the details and the circumstances that led to my departure. However, at the heart of the issue are a) my desire to expand to other languages, b) install professional management and make the radio grow and be self-sustainable, and c) as in Apple’s vision – ‘make a ding in the universe’

These ideas led to the new concept Tharanga, where the very name itself is not pigeonholing the entity to a single language. (More details on Tharanga in another post). Nevertheless, my passion for Telugu – the language, the culture and the people – remains the same. The baby of the house becomes the kid of the neighborhood, and then in its natural progression becomes the citizen of the village, state, country and then eventually the citizen of the world. That’s why, Tharanga is the logical next step to TORi.

Tharanga venture has been in the works for a few months with TORi as a part. I waited nearly a year to work things out to make this happen. Things didn’t go as hoped. Suffice it to say that the decision to part with TORi is difficult but not emotional. It has been thoroughly vetted and there are no second thoughts about the decision. As I have been publicly stating, I have feelings for people, but not for inanimate objects or abstract concepts like TORi. I want to maintain those positive relationships I nurtured while I was spearheading TORi.

I felt that this is the right time to reach out to you, thank you for all the support you have given me in the past, seek your support and understanding going forward. Tharanga is going to be unveiled on January 14th at 6:30 PM in Hyderabad, at small gathering of family and friends and few loyal listeners. My sincere apologies for keeping all of you in the dark about these development. It is a business decision and had to be treated as such and therefore the secrecy. I wish I can reach out to you individually over phone and talk.

Tharanga is the logical next step to TORi. It may be confusing to you for some time. It may be new name, new roof, new team but the same soul and same spirit as TORi: “One family.”

In any event, I hope you will support Tharanga with the same enthusiasm as you supported TORi. Remember, I may be walking away from TORi, but I am taking the spirit of TORi with me.

Warm regards,

Mohan Venigalla
http://tharangamedia.com