Outreach International Radio Fair 2017 Radiated Love For The Good Old Radio!
The fair which was held for three days from 12th to 14th February at Unit 3 Exhibition Ground, Bhubaneswar was organised by ‘Outreach’, a social organisation.
The fair, which is one of the seven grand programmes promoted by UNESCO on the occasion of World Radio Day across the world, was inaugurated by famous Bollywood actor Annu Kapoor, who started his career as a radio interpreter.
Kapoor, who was felicitated with the ‘Popular Radio Presenter of the Year’ award said, “It is the collective responsibility of all to ensure that radio, the oldest system of broadcasting in our country, does not die out.” He also spoke about his experience as a radio presenter and how radio has enriched his life.
Being the only radio fair in the country, the event was the biggest get together held across India on World Radio Day. The fair, into its third edition, witnessed the participation of 37 stalls which showcased a variety of old and medieval radio sets, new radio sets for sale and radio related equipment.
Different radio stations from within the state and the country came forward to take part in the radio fair including two stations from abroad- Adventist World Radio from USA (which broadcasts in more than 60 languages internationally) and Radio Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
38-year-old Rajendra Sahoo has been collecting radios for the last 20 years and had participated in the radio fair for the first time. A carpenter by profession, Sahoo has over 20 radios in his collection and aims to make it 100 in the coming years. He has also made many radios by himself which too were included in his collection.
Another participant was 10-year-old Anshika, who had displayed some antique items including a gramophone, a record player and an age-old telephone. Anshika said she was fond of collecting antique things and would try to include more variety in the days to come.
The stalls apart, the other attractions in the fair included a sand art on radio and a food court. Cultural programmes were also staged that included folk, classical as well as modern music and dance performances. Over 200 artists performed in the programmes during the three days.
Radio Chocolate’s popular drama ‘Prema Chadhei’ was also staged on the occasion. An online radio channel, www.radiobhubaneswar.com was also launched at the fair, which will be focusing on live broadcasting of various events being held in the state capital.
Organiser of the event, Subrat Pati, who is also an RJ of Radio Chocolate 104 FM, informed MCL, “The only difference between the radio fairs held in previous years and this year is that, this time we have done it in a bigger way. The extra element this time is the ‘Kabita Aasara’ programme that was directed exclusively for the visually challenged. Radio is an important medium for blind people as compared to TV or newspaper.”
Besides Annu Kapoor’s felicitation, Akhil Mittal got the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his work in the radio field. He has successfully worked in Akashvani, Delhi for 36 years as a news presenter besides working in Radio, Japan. In this event, Akhil spoke about the evolution of radio over the years and it was a great speech delivered by him!