Community Radio Sarang is managed by the Mangalore Jesuit Educational Society (MJES) and is run by St. Aloysius College (Autonomous),

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

, a coastal town in the southern part of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

, India. It was established in September 2009 by Dr Richard Rego SJ who is known as the founder of this campus based

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popul ...

. Though SARANG 107.8 FM is a

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produc ...

, it is more of a community-participating radio than

educational institution An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments a ...

radio. Quantitatively, approximately 95% of the content is produced by and with the local community or by health and legal workers for communities. ''Sarang'' means 'harmony of colours' signifying various social, religious, linguistic communities and their peaceful coexistence at coastal Karnataka. Mangalore community is a

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throu ...

of cultures, religions and languages. Hence, it was felt that Sarang would be the most appropriate name. Presently, Radio Sarang broadcasts for 16 hours, with its app broadcasting for 24 hours.

Audience and contributors

It began as a two hours radio programme. Later it became 24x7 Community radio with, for and by local people such as

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s, fisher-folk, patients,

vendor In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...

s, students, medical and legal experts,

service provider A service provider (SP) is an organization that provides services, such as consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage, and processing services, to other organizations. Although a service provider can be a sub-unit of the organization t ...

s like

bicycle mechanic A bicycle mechanic or bike mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bicycle mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or ...

s, small vendors,

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler'' (1923 fil ...

s, and people with different abilities. The local communities contribute regularly to this radio. The radio also spreads messages of peace and harmony among people through programs based on the need for the same specially during celebrations and when such need is felt. Today it has 16 hours of daily programmes ranging from educational to social to health and cultural issues and aspects. The programs are produced -mostly- by the local community and also by staff, students of

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

and other students of St Aloysius College and neighboring schools and colleges.

Programming

Subjects of Radio Sarang programming include health and hygiene,

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

, fisher-folk issues,

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Populati ...

, rain water harvesting,

folk culture Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from ...

and life, and women and

children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

. Original entertainment by locals are the hallmark of this radio. The program formats include talks, interviews, phone-ins, songs, poetry, stories, and chat-shows. Community Radio SARANG 107.8FM broadcasts in Konkani,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People * Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Ka ...

, and

Beary The Beary (also known as Byari) is a community concentrated along the southwest coast of India, mostly in the Mangalore district of the south Indian state of Karnataka. They are an ethnic group of Indian Muslims with their own distinct cu ...

languages daily. On 15 June 2010, Community Radio SARANG 107.8FM started broadcasting 14 hours non-stop, from 6.30 to 20.30 hours, which is reduced now for 16 hours per day from 6' am till 10' pm. At the hour of adversity, Community Radio SARANG has always taken major risks, turning its limitations into strengths. For example, when one of its transmitters broke down in 2011, the broadcast was further increased to 18 hours a day from 5.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m., on 24 June, the day first signals of the Community Radio SARANG went on air, on a trial basis in 2009. In the next one month (In July 2011), Community Radio SARANG 107.8FM became the only community radio in India broadcasting 24 hours a day!. On 15 August 2010 (India's Independence Day) Community Radio SARANG 107.8 MHz created a new record by broadcasting live for 14-continuous hours, a record repeated on 14 August 2012, this time including on-the-spot reporting using mobile telephony, from the field, reporting live hoisting of the National Flag, by village communities. Initially, Radio SARANG had four real-time live phone-in "shows" every day: Some of them still prevail *Three-times daily "Maadhyama Harate" (live media review program), with a special emphasis on job opportunities and special assistance available for rural communities in the public domain. * ''Manassina Maathu'' (Whispers of the Heart) by an auto-driver who host this show in Tulu and Kannada. It is an open talk-show * Aadu Aata Aadu (Come, Let's Play) - an entertaining show * Janadani (People's Voice) - where local community spontaneously discusses its issues freely * Prathidwhani (Echo) - a weekly show with corporators and elected representatives of local bodies, during which people raise their concerns and public issues. One of the very effective talk shows, whose effects are already felt in the successful completion of public works like road repair. * Olavina Haadu (A Song of Love) - musical show with community participating in song selection (light and folk music) * Tulu Chaavadi (Tulu Corridor) - with a volunteer Thimmappa. The show showcases the rich cultural heritage of Tulu language -an endangered language (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/12657/tulu-kodava-vanishing-unesco.html) * Kelugara Dhwani (Voice of the Listeners) - Listener feed back through SMS, calls, emails, and letters. It is a weekly round up of listeners' opinion on Radio SARANG 107.8FM. * Sarang Special - Weekly Show on People's choice of best of SARANG programs and listener request. * Korike Nimmadu Haadu Nammadu (Your Request, Our Song; weekly)- People's request on best of Radio SARANG's local music. *Kaanoonu Kacheri (Legal Cell) phone-in in collaboration with a local law college and advocates *Arogya Sparsha (health live phone-in with a medical centre) *Arogya SARANG (live phone with another medical centre) On 25 May, SARANG trained 14 women from the Mangalore's rural communities in radio program presentation (RJ). Between 12 and 17 December 2011, Radio SARANG trained 26 local women in radio program presentation. The program was sponsored by the Department of Science of Technology's NSTC, Govt. of India, New Delhi. A special feature of the program was the program (HIV-AIDS) made my local Muslim women in Beary language secured the Second Prize at the National Level at the Radio Program Competition, February 2012. The Competition was held by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt of India (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article2944638.ece). In June 2012, it also started broadcasting a regular program on Koraga culture - a small backward community of Karnataka.

Awards

Community Radio Sarang has won three national awards, the most recent being in 2018 for its programme called "Antarabelaku", a feature on visually challenged persons, most of whom are Sarang listeners (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BppSVUSLGXI).

References

External links

* ww.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Sarang-1078FM.../117706461610750/br>
{{coord missing, Karnataka Community radio stations in India Radio stations in Karnataka Culture of Mangalore Radio stations established in 2009