International seminar at Karim City College: Relevance of Radio remains strong in internet age

Jamshedpur, March 18: On the first day of the three-day seminar organized under the aegis of Mass Communication Department of Karim City College experts spoke about its relevance even in internet age.

This seminar is being organised on the occasion of completion of 100 years of radio broadcasting, the theme of which is: “Reviewing the world of radio”. Snehasish Sur (Senior Broadcast Generalist & President, Press Club, West Bengal) was present as the keynote speaker and Chinmoy Mahto (President Guide International Radio Listeners Club) as the guest speaker. 

The topic of Snehasish Sur was – “Early Days of Radio Broadcasting in India”. Talking on his topic, he presented the initial status of radio in India and the attitude of people towards it at the social level. The topic of Mr. Chinmoy Mahato’s speech was- “This is my obsession”. He presented the importance of radio in human life and its increasing popularity to the extent of craze in a very interesting way. On this occasion, Shahid Anwar (International Sports Commentator & Veteran Radio Broadcast, India) delivered a power presentation on the topic “Radio: The Journey of Awaaz”. The people present in the meeting liked his presentation the most. Presenting the journey of sound through radio, he told that exactly 100 years ago, in June 1923 AD, for the first time, the Radio Club started it in Mumbai. Radio broadcasting started from Kolkata after 5 months. He told that for the first time after attaining independence, Mahatma Gandhi spoke through radio on 11 November 1947. He also told that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose gave the slogan “You give me blood, I will give you freedom” from Germany through radio.

Today’s program was started by lighting the lamp by all the guests. The principal of the college, Dr. Mohammad Reyaz, gave the welcome address. Dr. Neha Tiwari (Professor Incharge Department of Mass Communication, Karim City College) spoke as the Convener and highlighted the purpose of the seminar. At the end of the first shift of satisfaction, Dr. Rashmi Kumari (Department of Mass Communication, Karim City College) proposed the vote of thanks.

After this, the special session started in which Renu Chaturvedi, assistant director program of Vividh Bharti National Broadcasting, joined from Mumbai and shed light on the role of Vividh Bharti’s programs in times of crisis. He told how Kovid-19 became a medium of both entertainment and knowledge for various Indian people, after which the internationally renowned broadcaster  Anupam Pathak joined Lucknow. He emphasized the culture and pure use of language through Akashvani, because of the refinement of the language of radio, it can become a good medium of language learning. Anupam Pathak explained this topic by giving an example. This was followed by Dr. Sergio Ricardo, a professor, and communicator from Argentina, who highlighted the role and usefulness of AM in radio broadcasting still in Argentina. Morocco Dr. Martin Gangsinger, working as a professor at a university in Morocco, joined Fromm for this international symposium because he had attended a workshop there. Dr. Martin stressed the need to include classical music in addition to popular music on the radio. All four subject experts were appreciated.

At least 13 research papers were read after the lunch break, in which scholars from Arka Jain University, Netaji Subhash Chandra University, Women’s University, St. Xavier’s College, Kolhan and Ranchi, and other places read their research papers. Apart from these, many researchers joined from abroad and presented their research online.