Broadcasters say Radio will live long
The well-known Broadcasters of Kashmir Monday termed the Radio as an everlasting medium which holds the nerve of common people during all times.“We feel emotions of people through radio and once we feel them it bonds us forever. This is the reason radio hasn’t died even after new media boom. It is relevant today, and it will be relevant forever,” said the broadcasters at Radio Kashmir Srinagar when asked to speak on World Radio Day.“The Radio has connected us with the people and made us popular among them because it is close to their hearts,” said Rafeeq Masoodi, a broadcaster and former Assistant Director General Doordarshan DelhiHe said radio makes a strong bond between a presenter and listener.“The bond makes it most relevant today, tomorrow and forever,” he said.Masoodi said that when television came, people thought that Radio would die but it is still connected with the people. Masoodi, who is also a winner of Sahitya Academy Award said, Radio is relevant amid the information superhighway in this scenario.
“Radio gives you a chance to think and imagine with the content. You can identify yourself the character you are listening to. This is the beauty of radio.”“Radio Kashmir Srinagar is a key institution. It is the Radio which has saved the literature of the Kashmir. It is a huge institution which has produced 80 percent of literature. If radio would not have been there the Kashmiri language wouldn’t have been as enriched as it is as now.”“There are more than 300 stations across India. Spiritual music has been protected by radio,” said Rabia Rasool, Head of Commercial Broadcaster Srinagar (CBS).She said it had played an important role in revenue generation as it recently got Dr. Rajendra Kumar Talib Award for its outstanding revenue generation in 2015 in the whole country.She also said that there was also a great opportunity to get training for the art aspirants.
Calling the internet a challenge for radio, Director Radio Kashmir Srinagar, Syed Humayun Qaiser said: “Whenever we talk to Radio people interact with us continuously through E-mails and Shorty Message Service (SMS).”“Listeners can now participate in our programs live. Earlier, we used to have letters and phone in calls. It is now instant here you speak and there you get the reaction from the people. Our listeners are now active participants in programs. They listen to programs.”“In the case of radio, we impart so many things for which it will take you days to get on the Internet. In case we have a doctor on radio on health guide program in the morning.”The director said that Radio was not only about playing music. “We have Gogri, Punjabi, Sheena, Balti and Pahari programs then who caters to those people. People are dependent on us because they cater to us and we cater to them,” he said.“The stations broadcast programs in nine languages and dialectics. In a year we receive more than 1000 artists here and 70% of them belong to rural areas,” Qaiser said.
“Radio Kashmir Srinagar is a designated station for Urdu but we give equal weight age to the Kashmiri language as well. We are also thinking to keep some programs active till 12 in the night,” he said.Another known broadcaster, Rasheed Nizami said that there was a great demand for radio in the market.“Radio is alive,” he said. “Stations like Radio Kashmir Srinagar, FM2, and Vivid Bharti are a concern of the people.”He said the entertainment was also an important part of the radio in Kashmir.
“I have myself seen people picking their radio sets with them even in functions both in urban and rural areas. People listen to the radio and it is alive in their minds.”
Contributed By:Rafeeq Masoodi ,rafeeq_masoodi@yahoo.co.in