Exhibition marks World Radio Day in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur, Feb 13: Antique radio sets, gramophones and broadcasting equipment took centrestage at the radio exhibition organised by Guide International Radio Listeners Club (GIRLC) to mark World Radio Day on Monday. School children took part in the exhibition. The theme for World Radio Day 2023 is ‘Radio and Peace’ which focuses on the role of radio as an independent medium of peace making.

Well-known brands such as Philips, Sanyo, Sony, Phillips, Siemens, Kaide, Elta besides a working model of a radiogram, which combines a radio with a record player were on display on the occasion.

Kadma resident Chinmoy Mahto, who is known for his passion for radios, heads the Guide International Radio Listeners Club (GIRLC) said that he started with four other radio stations in 1974. GIRLC still has about a 100 members today and regularly meets to discuss radio programmes.

He said that radio has been playing a significant role during disasters. When access to other mediums is quite difficult, people can easily access this, especially in an emergency situation. He said that radio’s future is bright as our successors are liking it. He added that for him radio has always been a teacher. Radio has played a key role in changing his pronunciation. For him Radio was, is and always will be there.

 “People have different hobbies, but from childhood, radios have been my first love. Initially, I used to collect radios from my friends. They used to give it for repair, but with the TV hitting the market, many gave their sets to me,” he says. He made new friends, who extended their support in his endeavour of collecting vintage radios.

This strange passion for vintage radios led him to collect models of various brands though he is modest about his range. “ Old radios are like a treasure to me. Though I do not have all the vintage models and am focusing on collecting as many as possible,” he said.

Radio is one of the oldest mediums of communication and even in the digital era it is said to be one of the best mediums to reach a maximum number of people at a time. Every year on February 13, the world celebrates Radio Day. To mark World Radio Day, Spain took an initiative and proposed the idea before UNESCO‘s Executive Board in 2010. Following Spain’s proposal, World Radio Day was proclaimed at UNESCO’s General Conference in 2011. Later the United Nations General Assembly approved the proposal unanimously and declared it a UN International Day in 2012.