There is still a stark difference between a city woman and one from a village, feels Ela Shankar Guha, director of Jamunia, a Hindi radio serial currently on air at All India Radio.
The new serial, which narrates the story of a poor yet feisty woman who raises her voice against exploitation and oppression bringing the village folks together, is a means to give identity to number of women living in nondescript villages of India.
“Women in villages are still suppressed and have no voice even if they have education. They are not allowed to have a career. But somewhere, some of these women are strong enough to raise their voice against oppression. With this serial, I want to bring their identity to the fore and show the nation that women can do anything if they have the courage and conviction,” says Ela.
This serial, which will be broadcast in 26 episodes, is the writer’s tool to create awareness in society. “With this story, I want all villagers to learn something new. Since Jamunia’s story talks about the benefits of various government schemes, I am sure this message will reach across millions of other villages and people could benefit from those schemes,” he adds.
One to belong to the old school, Shankar feels radio still is a better way to send across your message to the masses. “No matter how much television people watch, radio will never lose its significance. People in small areas are still tuned in to their radio sets. People in cities listen to the radio while driving. I feel no other medium can ever beat radio. It is purely magical,” he ends.
Jamunia is produced by the Bhopal station of All India Radio and will be available on Indraprastha Channel 819Khz every Friday at 9:30 pm