CUTTACK: Under the auspices of Islamic Republic of Iranian Broadcasting Union, the 14th edition of Radio International Radio festival has been conducted from April 22 to 25. 97 countries across the globe participated in the fest.

Two entries from India had been short-listed for the final round of the competition and in a proud moment for the state, both these entries were acclaimed to be the best by the international jury.

Scripted by Gyani Debashis Mishra, composed by Prafulla chandra Behera and produced by Lalit Kanungo, programme executive, AIR Cuttack, musical programme ‘Saiti Rakhiba Aasa Meghra Murchana’ has bagged first prize in edutainment category while a programme produced by Tarunkanti Rout, assistant director, AIR Cuttack, has bagged the second prize in public announcement category.



These two entries brought laurels to India in general and AIR in particular. This rare feat brings encouragement, inspiration and enchantment for the programme cadre across the country.

‘Saiti Rakhiba Aasa Meghra Murchana’ is an entertaining and educative presentation aimed at creating awareness on preservation of fresh water. The presentation has been embellished through the use of traditional folk tunes, folk music, regional and classical music to prevail upon the listener to ponder over this grave issue of water crisis and preservation.

Of late, the crisis of water scarcity has surfaced owing to the indiscriminate misuse of fresh water which has an adverse impact on agriculture and livelihood. Hence, there is a need to preserve water and keep the water cycle in a healthy state. This makes it imperative to preserve and harvest rain water for ground water to recharge. This has been fore grounded in the musical programme to sensitise public for a promising tomorrow.



Interacting with Orissa Post, Kanungo said, “The success at International Radio Fest is based on team effort of the scriptwriter, music composer, participating artists and an all-pervasive effort of the producer.” The award includes a statue, certificate and cash prize. It brought cheers among the programme professionals and colleagues of AIR Cuttack.

Similarly Tarunkanti Rout, who has bagged the second prize in public announcement category, said, “Awards are a public recognition of the hard work that goes through a programme. It’s heartening to receive such an international acclamation. I want to thank all the team members who were involved in the programme. Finally, it’s time to celebrate as well as put forward our work on more such events.”