Southern States
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Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram
AIR tunes into children
By Our Staff Reporter
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 6. On December 9, a band of live-wire children will savour the heady taste of the air waves when they take on the roles of anchors, hosts and reporters for a wide range of programmes on All India Radio (AIR) for over four hours.
This is the second time in a row that AIR is going all out with its special morning broadcast for children, which children themselves have put together, to mark the occasion of the International Children's Day of Broadcasting.
While this day is being celebrated since 1992, it was only last year that such an effort was made for the first time in the country, when Unicef too called on global broadcasters to give children access to the power of the air waves.
The programme format for the day would be the same, only, right from 5-50 a.m., when the day begins with the `Vandemataram' recital, till 10-45 a.m, listeners will be tuning in to children_ listening to them sing, interact with various communities and carry on the broadcast with elan.
Working with children could be a refreshing and exciting experience, as Ms. Leelamma Mathew, AIR's programme executive and coordinator of the special children's transmission has discovered.
The past few weeks has been quite hectic at AIR, with children, most of whom have had no earlier experience of radio broadcasting, having to be trained and their Malayalam diction prefected.
At 5-50 a.m., the children will start the day's programming with `Vandemataram', `Mangalavaadyam' and a welcome song. Jithya Joseph, this year's `Prime Minister' at the Children's Day celebrations in the district, will welcome all listeners.
After the message delivered by the Governor, Mr. S.S. Kang, children will sing `Udayageetham', followed by `Prabhatha Bheri'.
You could listen to children grill `Velu Ammavan' in `Kandathum Kettathum', one of AIR's prestigious programmes, which is being aired regularly for the last 45 years or more.
Children will also do the routine Sabarimala reportage, `Darsanam Punyadarsanam', present folk songs and present an interactive programme with some child prodigies such as magician Master Bhagyanath, Shalini Vijayakumar, a winner at the State schools youth festivals and Aswathi Balagopalan, a chess player.
Then there is `Kavyasallapam' with poet Mr. V. Madhusoodanan Nair, in which he enlightens children on how poetry could be enjoyed. Listen to the sounds of innocence when child stars Ashwin Thampi and Sruthi Lakshmi anchor a phone-in film music programme for children. The theme would be strictly children-centered.
A specially coordinated transmission, all seven stations of AIR have chipped in with innovative programmes to make the occasion a memorable one. The children of the Juvenile Home, Thrissur, present a drama. An interactive programme in which the last tribal king from Idukki, Mr. Kovilmalai Thevan Rajamannan, participates, should make interesting listening.
Should children fear the police? The youngsters shed their fear and quiz the DIG, Mr. Vinson Paul. Linking all these programmes and anchoring the special transmission will be Reshma U. Raj and Preethika Suresh.
By the way, television broadcasters too are roping in children on the day to anchor programmes. MTV and Star television are letting children have a ball on television on December 10.
Children interact with Mr.V. Madhusoodanan Nair, poet, for a special programme of AIR.
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