Prayagraj : On World Radio Day: K Rashi Kumar gives a clarion call, ‘Let’s all be one voice, Call for Peace in Pride’

Abhishek Awasthi.

PRAYAGRAJ: The theme for the 12th edition of the World Radio Day, to be celebrated on 13 February 2023, is “Radio and Peace.” 10 months ago, on March 26, 2022, K Rashi Kumar published her song, “Let’s all be one voice, Call for Peace in Pride” on World Peace on her YouTube channel K Rashi Badalia Kumar. The song was broadcast on youth program Yuvvani on All India Radio, Prayagraj on April 5th, 2022. “The song was played in the context of Mahatma Gandhi’s message of peace and non-violence to the world is truly an honour,” she informed.

She has so far penned seven songs, which are composed and sung by her. Her avid fans and listeners are agreed the best may still be around the corner. They are simply waiting for her new song on that much loved, so familiar and evolving with the times ‘audio device’ – quite simply, the radio.
K Rashi Kumar was interviewed by Yowah Radio: Your wellbeing & happiness station on Peace & solution to chaos & conflict: both within & outside in June 2022 & her self-composed song for World Peace were played on the global radio.

On the eve of World Radio Day on Monday, it is the simplicity, reach and accessibility of the medium that still connects one & all to the old-worldly charm of the radio in an age of innumerable news channels and music streaming services, says K Rashi Kumar.

Rashi opined during a free-wheeling chat, “Radio talks to people. It’s a very powerful medium to communicate with masses in an impactful way. UNESCO’s 2023 theme for World Radio Day: Radio & Peace is a light of hope both for public & corporate radio in extending optimum service to humanity through broadcast of programs & music spreading love & peace. It’s truly an honour for me and I am grateful to All India Radio, Prayagraj & Yowah Radio, London for giving air space to my song for World Peace last year.”
“Radio doesn’t disturb me when I am writing or doing any work, it is not possible with TV or mobile phones. I don’t have to stop my work to listen to the radio. The great societal leveller that binds cities to villages, rich to poor. Once a lifeline to keep in touch with music trends, cricket matches, and the news in distant corners of the country and still a mainstay for many. Radio is a very convenient and easy medium that can be accessed by anyone anywhere. You don’t require internet connection, you don’t require electricity to operate it. And you don’t need to sit in front of it to listen,” she added.
K. Rashi Badalia Kumar, a well-known radio personality and writer, has once again brought laurels to the city. For the third year in a row, the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) in London has included her among the jury members chosen from various countries for its coveted prizes. She is also the sole female Indian radio broadcaster among the jury members. Every year, the organisation bestows worldwide honours in the areas of journalism, television, radio, audio, and digital creation. People and organisations from all around the world apply for this. Rashi has garnered numerous honours during his two-and-a-half-decade career in radio and education. In 2016, then-Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav bestowed the Rani Laxmi Bai award, which came with a cash prize of Rs one lakh. Rashi, who began her career in 1997 at Akashvani Lucknow, holds the record for anchoring the most live radio programmes. Rashi has been the programming leader of two corporate radio channels while teaching Radio Journalism and Professional Practices at Allahabad University’s Institute of Professional Studies. She is the author of two books: “A Gift” and “From My Attic,” a poetry anthology.
“During the lockdown, when people were short on money to recharge their phones for the internet, they turned to their basic phones and listened to educational programs free of charge on the radio,” she said. Prior to signing off K. Rashi Badalia Kumar said, “Radio is that old friend who should “stick around, ‘cause we might miss you, when we grow tired of all this visual”. (February 13, Monday, is World Radio Day).