Good stuff, Arti.
Congratulations, to your colleagues, to Ms Jain (for getting so much right, and
getting it into print) and most of all to you.
Vickram
http://communicall.wordpress.com
http://vvcrishna.wordpress.com
>________________________________
> From: Arti Jaiman <[email protected]>
>To: CR India <[email protected]>
>Sent: Monday, 2 July 2012, 19:28
>Subject: [cr-india] A TOI story on Gurgaon Ki Awaaz
>
>
>Gurgaon Ki Awaaz: Broadcasting the voice that represents society
>Shubha Jain, TNN | Jul 2, 2012, 02.12AM IST
>
>GURGAON: Armed with egg-trays for the purpose of absorbing the echo in the
>modest studio, hand-me-down computers and radio-sets, Gurgaon Ki Awaaz, airing
>on 107.8 Mhz, is the only radio station amongst the 26 radio stations
>operating in Delhi/NCR which is led by the civil society.
>
>The radio station is heard over a radius of 8 to 10 km from its studio in
>Gurgaon and functions for 22 hours, 6 days a week. It is the initiative of an
>NGO called The Restoring Force (TRF), which aims at voicing the opinions of
>marginalised communities in the Millennium City that have been drowned by
>rapid industrialisation.
>
>Its listeners comprise mainly of migrant workers, drivers, security guards,
>women and children living in nearby villages. The
station broadcasts shows that share information about daily happenings in
Gurgaon, be it education, career, health, women empowerment or self-employment.
>
>The spark in 22-year-old Jyoti's eyes could hardly be missed when she spoke
>about a new show that she was working on. Jyoti, who has been working with the
>radio station for the past two and half years, is a part of a show that will
>help listeners to speak and read English better. The radio channel not only
>works towards the development of the unheard communities, but also talks about
>various social issues like dowry, female foeticide, domestic violence, that
>plague this strata of the %society.
>
>"Apna Nazariya Apna Kaam" is one of the most popular shows, where Amrit
>Beriwal talks about starting small businesses like candle-making, selling
>'namkeen' or providing door-to-door 'maalish' service. 'Galli Galli Sim Sim'
>is another favourite show handled by 22-year-old MA student, Vandana. It
serves as an entertaining-cum-informative programme for children as well as
parents.
>
>Tarachand, 42, who is a security guard, is a regular listener of the station
>and calls at least twice a day. He said, "It is a platform for us to vent out
>our grievances. We also get to hear songs which we only ever hear in our
>villages."
>
>As a matter of principle, the station plays only folk songs, ballads, bhajans
>in various languages like Hindi, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani and even
>Oriya. As Arti Jaiman, Station Director, said, "107.8 MHz has carved an
>identity of being the 'Ragini-wala station' in the hearts of its listeners."
>
>The station provides an opportunity for talented singers and music mandalis
>from villages to record and air their music for free. Hence, the earnings of
>the station are next to nothing. It manages to survive on the funds provided
>by TRF, project funding and the meagre number of advertisements from local
>shops and shelter
homes.
>
>When Jaiman spoke about the biggest challenge of starting a community radio
>station, the anger in her voice was evident.
>
>She said, "The Department of Telecommunication has hiked the license fee from
>Rs 19,700 per annum to Rs 91,000 per annum and then they hope to have 3,000
>radio stations in India."
>
>Her top priority is to fight for community radio stations that cater to that
>sector of the population which cannot read newspapers.
>She feels that these issues not only curb the right to freedom of speech and
>expression but also take away a citizen's right to listen to information
>pertinent to society.
>Jaiman and her team hopes that Gurgaon Ki Awaaz will emerge from these
>difficulties and continue to air the unheard and subdued voices of the city.
>Join the Community Radio Forum. For membership details, please go to
>www.crforum.in
>
>
Join the Community Radio Forum. For membership details, please go to
www.crforum.in
