Rana the Lionheart

*Trigger Warning: Talking about Suicide*

After my time on AsianFX, I decided to move back to San Francisco, only to move to San Jose a few months later, which was kind of crazy. Since I never had any desire to move to the South Bay.

Mandee told me about this new radio station, KLOK 1170am. I thought oh! That’s interesting. I was out of work, looking for a job. Mandee and I had great on air chemistry with our banter and working together. And Urban Desi Radio was launched. (Well that’s the short version of the story) I will save the longer version for another blog.

The only catch about KLOK 1170am, they didn’t pay radio personalities, the radio personalities had to pay them. That money came from the ads you would get for the show, it’s a brokerage radio format mostly used amongst community radio stations across the US.

But I got hired on as a board operator, which I think made other hosts a little bit nervous because everyone was SO overprotective about who was sponsoring their show. Which led to people selling their ads so dirt cheap, it became nearly impossible for anyone to “make it” I don’t know if 1170am is still using that system. It’s all about $$$$ vs. producing a quality show.

But I was on FB, my friend Happy (Happz) posted a post of a very handsome young man, Jagmeet (Rana) Sidhu, who went missing, I didn’t know him, I thought maybe I might’ve saw him at a party or two, since it seemed like we had mutual friends in common.

I reached out to Jagmeet’s brother Jasmeet, offering him my support and even tried reaching out to some folks at Wild 94.9, it was his favourite radio station, but I didn’t have much luck.

I really wanted to help, even though at times my manager Brad when it came to ads — all he saw were $$$$ signs. I convinced him to let me produce a PSA and he let me run it for free, which I was grateful for. At the same time I was doing a late night show, which was great because I had a lot of taxi drivers/truck drivers listening to me, and every time Jagmeet’s PSA would play, I would recap and strongly encourage the audience to keep an eye out for him.

It was around late January, I was getting ready for my show. I lived close to the Radio station, walking to and from work was a breeze. And all of the sudden I got this FB message letting me know Jagmeet had sadly passed away and had taken his own life. I was devastated, my heart sank.

I really felt for his parents, Jasmeet, friends and just his whole family. It was a real community effort trying to find him.

I remember playing MJ’s song gone too soon, which was unusual for KLOK 1170am at the time to play English songs, but when it was my show, I would mix it up a bit. I went on the air to break the news and apologise ahead of time with the listeners for not being my fun loving self.

To my surprise, I got a handful of calls from some people who knew his lovely parents. I took some of them off air and put some of them on. But as I mentioned it was a community effort, I wanted to dedicate the show to him and gave the platform to the listeners who were emotionally invested in finding him. Or those who knew him or knew his family.

Radio is such a powerful medium, it’s evolved in podcasts, but I don’t think it will ever go away. But it brings people together, especially in times like Rana’s passing.

I was invited to his funeral, which I did go to, although because I didn’t know him or know his family. I felt like it was their time to grieve and be around people who they already had a connection with. The funeral was an emotional and lovely tribute to Rana. I just stood in the background at the Chimes. We formed a single line to say our final goodbyes, after that I left.

I’ve lost a few people close to me to suicide, so I could really empathise. I had walked for the past couple of years with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in New York. A few months later, I had reached out to Jasmeet and asked for his family blessing if I could walk in memory of Jagmeet. And I got their blessing.

Thanks to the support of the community, I was able to raise 1000 dollars in Jagmeet’s name in just under a month. With the support of an article in IndiaWest and my friends Dr. Harkesh and Dr. Sonie who had a health booth at the San Jose Gurdwara. I had flyers about suicide translated in Punjabi by Dr. Harkesh. And Dr. Sonie was a big help speaking about suicide in Punjabi.

Luck was definitely on my side, I got a call from the American Foundation Suicide Prevention that they wanted me to “represent” someone who supports the cause for suicide prevention. I would be sharing the stage with 10 other individuals who had lost a spouse, a child, a sibling, their own personal struggle with suicide and others who have been impacted by suicide in some capacity.

It was also a part of Mariel Hemingway’s, granddaughter of the legendary Ernest Hemingway, documentary “Running from Crazy” where she explores her family’s own mental illness and her bouts with depression. It’s a great documentary, although I didn’t make the “cut” you can still see my back and my beanie. It was lovely briefly meeting Mariel and her daughter, she has such a beautiful spirit and calming presence. And just the fact Rana’s name was mentioned in front of all the walkers, in NYC — made me feel good.

These walks are pretty epic, it’s all night and you walk between 18 to 20 miles. Besides my frequent trips to New York in my 20s, these walks really helped me get to know the city. From Midtown to Brooklyn.

Even if you’re walking alone, you’re never alone, because there is someone there always willing to hear your tale and want to tell you their story. Whether it’s their personal struggle or the loss of a loved one.

A few years later, I finally got to meet Rana’s parents, Jasmeet and his lovely wife. They treated my partner and I to breakfast at the cafe. It was so nice to connect with them face to face and break bread together.

I will never forget Rana’s memory and the Sidhu family for as long as I live.