GOLDEN OPPURTUNITY FOR ALL YOUNG MUSIC ARTISTS - GET CASH PRIZES AND PRESTIGIOUS AIR GRADATION

ALL INDIA_RADIO MUSIC COMPETITION — 2014

As done every year, this year also All India Radio is organizing a Music Competition for

discovering and encouraging new talent among young artistes. The Competition will be held in two stages:

i.          Preliminary Competition will be held at every regional Station of AIR; and

ii.         Final Competition will be held at Delhi & Chennai for Hindustani &
           Karnatie Music respectively.

An entry fee of Rs. 300/- is to be paid for participating in this Competition by the candidate, which is to be sent to the Station Director of the respective station by Money Order.

The Competition will be open to those:-

(i)         Who are between 16 to 24 years of age as on 30^th June, 2014.

(ii)        Who are not performing music artistes of AIR, (not duly approved and graded by
LAC/MAB or who have not been graded in any LAC/MAB auditions held at any AIR Stations) till the date of the Competition.

The Competition will cover the following categories:-

(i)         Vocal Music (Classical, light Music & Folk Music-Hindustani & Karnatic Music) (light  

           Classical - only for Hindustani)

(ii)        Instrumental Music (Classical only)

(iii)       Vrindgaan (Chorus)

(iv)       Music Composer                                                                                                      

The Preliminary Competition will be held from 4^th August, 2014 to 29^th August, 2014.

Winners in the Preliminary Competition will he recorded for the Final Competition. Suitable prize will be awarded to the Winners in the Final Music Competition.

Intending competitors should apply for application forms to the Station Director/Asstt. Station Director of the nearest regional AIR Station in their area.

The last date for the receipt of entries in the prescribed form is 13^th June, 2014.

                                                                                                                                      

                                                                              

AIR MUSIC COMPETITlON RULES

1.         The Music Competition is open to all those who:

a)         are between the age of 16 (sixteen) and 24 (twenty four) years (i.e not less than 16

years and not more 24 years as on 30.06.2014).

b)         are not performing music artiste of AIR, duly approved by LAC or MAB or have not so far been declared approved in any LAC/MAB auditions held at any station of AIR till date of the competition in the category appeared.

c)         Yuva Vani & LRS artistes, members of Choral Groups and participants in other non-music programmes of AIR who fulfill the age limit also are eligible.

2.         Documentary proof of date of birth should be submitted along with the application form. In case of candidate who is a student of a recognized institution, a certificate from the Head of the Institution should be submitted, otherwise an affidavit given before a Magistrate should he furnished. Stations would charge a fee of Rs. 300/- as an entry fee from each candidate who apply for AlR Music Competition. The candidate would be required to send the fee by Money Order only to the Station Director of the respective station. The candidate should mention the receipt number along with date in the application forms. As such, stations should add this line in the application forms, i.e. ‘receipt No. and date of Money Order along with a photocopy of Money Order receipt’. Station Director should ensure that only revised forms are issued to the candidates.

3.         An entry fee of Rs. 300/- will be charged for each category.

4.         Application for entry to the competition must be made on the prescribed form which can be obtained from the Station Director of the nearest Radio Station. The winners of First Prize/Special Prize will receive a cash award of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand only) and the winners of Second Prize will receive a Cash award of Rs.3000/- (Rupees three thousand only) besides a Memento & Certificate to that effect.

            1^st Prize Rs.5000/-  2^nd Prize Rs.3000/-  Special Rs.5000/-

5.         The categories of music under which the candidates can compete and the prizes for different categories are detailed below:-

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________________________________________________________

HINDUSTANI MUSIC

VOCAL CLASSICAL KHAYAL

For Boys                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Dhrupad & Dhammar                                      :           Special Prize only

VOCAL LIGHT CLASSICAL                     :           Thumri/Dadra/Tappa

For Boys                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Rag Pradhan                                                    :           Special Prize

Natya Sangeet (Marathi Stage Songs)               :           Special Prize

                                                                      

VOCAL LIGHT MUSIC                                  :           Bhajan/ Shyama Sangeet/ Abhang

For Boys                                                         :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Vocal Rabindra Sangeet                                               :           Special Prize

Geet & Nazrulgeeti                                          :           For boys- 1^st & 2^nd Prize

                                                 For girls- 1^st & 2^nd Prize

GHAZAL SINGING                           

For Boys                                                         :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

FOLK SONGS                                               :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

VRINDGAAN                                                 :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Bowed instruments (except Sarangi / Dilruba) :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Plucked instruments (except Veena)                :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Vichitra Veena/ Rudraveena                                 :      Special Prize

           

Percussion Istruments (except Pakhawaj)        :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Pakhawaj                                                               :            Special Prize

Wind Instruments (except Shahnai & Sundari)            :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Shahnai & Sundari                                           :           1^st Prize & 2^nd Prize

Sarangi / Dilruba                                              :           1^st Prize & 2^nd Prize

Jaltarang                                                          :           Special Prize

Clarionet/ Saxophone                                      :           Special Prize 

Harmonium                                                     :           Special Prize 

                                                    KARNATIC MUSIC

VOCAL CLASSICAL

For Boys                                                         :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

VOCAL LIGHT

For Boys                                                         :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

DEVOTIONAL MUSIC

For Boys                                                         :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

For Girls                                                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

( Note: There is no Light Classical Music category in Karnatic Music)

                                                                                                                                

FOLK SONGS                                               :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

VRINDGAAN                                               :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

String instruments (Bowed)                            :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

String instruments (Plucked)                          :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Percussion Instruments (Mridangam)             :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Percussion Instruments  (Tavil/ Dolu)             :           1^st & 2^nd Prize

Percussion Instruments                                   :          

(Other than Mridangam & Tavil i.e.

Ghatam, Khanjira, Morsing etc.)                    :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Wind Instruments

Nagaswaram                                                  :           1^st and 2^nd Prize

Flute                                                                :           1^st & 2^nd Prize

Clarionet/ Saxophone                                      :           Special Prize

6.         No Prize will be awarded, if the performance of the candidate is not upto the required standard.

7.         The competition will be held in two stages viz. the Preliminary and Final stage. In the Preliminary, if the number of competitors in any category is less than three at a particular station, the applicants will be recorded and forwarded to the Station Director of the zonal station concerned, who in the zone should hold the competition in that particular category of music. The recordings should consequently be forwarded to the station selected for the purpose and the candidates informed accordingly.

8.         The candidates shall have to appear for the competition on the intimated date and time. They will not be entitled to any TA/DA etc. for the Preliminary and final Competition.

9.         For the Preliminary as well as Final Competitions, the Stations will provide the candidates Tanpura and Percussion accompaniments (Tabla, Mridangam, Pakhawaj) but the competitors for instrumental music will have to bring their own instrument.

10.       A competitor who is merely adjudged superior to other competitors in preliminary Competition but does not come upto the required standard shall not qualify for the Final Competition.

11.       In the case of recitals on Shahnai, Sundari and Nagaswaram, three to five members will be allowed to form a party for the Preliminalry as well as the final Competition. The party as a whole will qualify for a prize in the final competition.

Change of party member will not be allowed.

12.       The maximum duration allowed to the candidates under various categories will be as follows for the Preliminary and Final Competitions:-

HINDUSTANI MUSIC

S.NO.    Item                                Duration for Preliminary                Duration for Final          

1.           Classical Vocal/                             15’                                               15’+15’

              Instrumental                    (One item of 15’ duration                  (Item performed in

              (except percussion           candidate’s choice)                            Preliminary and other

              & Harmonium)                For alap and Dhurpad                        item of 15’ minutes

                                                      Dhamar or for a vilambit                    duration of

                                                      & Drut Khayal in any                         Candidate’s choice).

                                                      one raga.

2.           Percussion                                    10’                                                10’+10’

              Instrumental                    (One item of 10’ duration                  (Item performed in

                                                      of candidate’s choice)                        Preliminary and

                                                                                                                  item of 10’ minutes

                                                                                                                  duration of

                                                                                                                  Candidate’s choice).

3.           Harmonium                                  10’                                           10’+10’

                                                      (Solo performance of                        (Item performed in

                                                      khayal vilambit & Dhrut)                   Preliminary and

                                                                                                                other item of 10’ as

                                                                                                                accompaniment in vilambit           

                                                                                                                & Dhrut                      

4.           Light Vocal/                                 10’                                                10’+10’

              Rabinder Sangeet/           (Two item of 5 duration                     (Item performed in

              Folk Music                      of candidate’s choice)                        Preliminary and two more

                                                                                                                 item of 5’ minutes

                                                                                                                 duration of each

                                                                                                                  Candidate’s choice).

5.           Light Classical/Vocal                 15’                                                15’+15’

              (a) Thumri/                      (One Thumri of 10’ duration           (Item performed in

              Dadra/Tappa/                  and one Dadra/Tappa/Chaitee         Preliminary and two more

              Chaitee                            of 5’ duration).                                item i.e. one Thumri of 10’&

                                                                                                               Dadra/Tappa/Chaitee                                                           of 5’ duration).                                                              

              (b) Natya Geet                            15’                                                15’+15’

                                                      (Two items of 7 ½’ duration each). (Item performed in

                                                                                                               Preliminary and two

                                                                                                               more items.

                        (c)  Rag Pradhan                                   -do-                            -do-

                                                                    

6.           Music Composer                      10’                                                  10’+10’

                                                      (Two item of 5 duration                (Item performed in

                                                      of candidate’s choice)                   Preliminary and two more

                                                                                                                  item of 5’ minutes

                                                                                                              duration)                                         

7.           VRINDGAAN               Two Items of 7 ½ ’ duration              25’

                                                                                                            (Three items)                          

                                                                                 

II.          KARNATIC MUSIC.

S.NO.    Item                                   Duration for Preliminary              Duration for Final          

1.           Classical Vocal/                               20’                                                30’

              Instrumental                      (For singing a Varnam &                 (Keertana in 

              other than                          a Kriti. Raga alapana Nerwal           Sudhamadhyama

              percussion                          and Kalpna Swara while                  Raga for

                                                         Rendering the Krithi.                       10’/15’ Keertana in

                                                                                                                  Pratimadhayama

                                                                                                                  Raga 10’/15’ Mts.:

                                                                                                                  Jawali or Tillana

                                                                                                                  5 Mts.)

Note:   If the candidate has renedered a composition in Sudhamadhyama raga in the Preliminary competition, he/she will render the same in the final competition also along with another Krithi in Pratimadhyama Raga for a duration of 10 minutes and vice versa.                 

2.           Percussion                                       10’                                                 20’

              Instrument                         (For presenting one tala                   (Item rendered in

                                                         of candidate’s choice)                     Preliminary and

                                                                                                                  another tala of 10’

                                                                                                                  duration of

                                                                                                                  Candidate’s choice).

                                                        

Note:   Percussion Instrumental:- this category has been sub divided into three- Mridangam, Thavil and all percussion other than Mridangam and Thavil i.e., Kanjira, Morsing, and Ghatam. In these Categories there will be separate 1^st and 2^nd Prize.

3.           Light Music/                                   10’                                                 20’

              Folk Music                         (Two songs of candidate’s              (Item rendered in

              (other than                         choice to be rendered of                  Preliminary and two

              Devotional)                        5’ duration each).                             more items of 5’ Mts.

                                                                                                                  Duration each of                                                                Candidate’s choice.)

                                                                                                                                 

4.           Devotional Music                           10’                                                 20’

                                                         (Two songs of candidate’s              (Item render in

                                                         choice to be rendered of                  Preliminary and two

                                                         5’ duration each).                             more items of 5’ Mts.

                                                                                                                  Duration each of                                                                Candidate’s choice).

Note:   Items in this category include Devaranamas. Vachanas Ashtpadi. Tarangam Annamacharya Sangeertanam. Bhadrachala Ramdas Kirtans, Adhyatma Ramayana Kritis, Tulasi Vanam composition. Tiruppukazh. Tevaram, Tiruvasakam and Utsava Sampradaya Kritis of Thayaraja.

5.           Music Composer                 10’                                                         10’+10’

                                                      (Two item of 5 duration                (Item performed in

                                                      of candidate’s choice)                   Preliminary and two more

                                                                                                                  item of 5’ minutes

                                                                                                              duration )

                                                                                                            

6.           VRINDGAAN               Two items of 7 ½ duration                 25’

                                                                                                            (Three items)

                                    

                                                                                                                                   

Makeover coming for DD, All India Radio

State-owned Doordarshan (DD) and public radio broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) are in line for a mighty bounce back if the Modi government has its way.

Speaking at The Hindu Leadership Summit as part of Goafest 2014, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, said the new government would “re-energise both” government media channels and bring back the lost glory.

Javadekar said that he has already discussed the issue with Prasar Bharati officials. “We want to make DD competitive in the current scenario and add fantastic content.” In a not so veiled, but mild threat to cable operators across the country, Javadekar said he would refuse to listen to their grievance until Doordarshan was being aired by them in the primary band.

On the issue of allowing news broadcast on private FM channels, Javadekar gave a cryptic response saying, “My heart is for news,” but did not elaborate further.

Speaking about the worry over the censorship of media, particularly the imminent threat of arrests over social media posts, Javadekar said the social media comes under the IT Act, which is a ten-year-old legislation. “Much has changed since then,” he said without going any further to say if the Act would be re-worked.

Replying to questions about industrialists being allowed to own media companies which may pose a danger to the functioning of the media business, he said “cross-media ownership was being actively debated now. If that boils down to a game of 3-4 owners, what happens to the state of media are some questions being raised,” he said.

He added that cross-ownership of media and the television ratings system were the key issues that were being debated actively.

What’s ailing India’s public broadcaster? By Smt.Mrinal Pandey

India is a nation abuzz today with unbridled discussions about everything. After years it is as if the dams are bursting and stormy, powerful torrents of words are flooding everything. The private media is in its element—endless, indefatigable, fierce, frantic. And questions are being repeatedly asked, among other things, about the steady decline of India’s public broadcaster.

What’s it exactly that, over the years, has reduced Prasar Bharati Corporation, India’s public broadcaster, to a sad and confused hybrid with a permanent bipolar problem?

The Prasar Bharati was created in 1997, when the then Janata Dal government chose to hive off both Akashvani and Doordarshan from the ministry of information and broadcasting and put them under an autonomous corporation.

Several governments have come and gone since, and all have asserted that Prasar Bharati remains a totally autonomous organization with which they maintain an arm’s-length relationship.

Yet, over the past 17 years, an almost Stalinist system has continued to run it from the back seat.

The result is that bodies that were once capable of producing quality programmes are being forced today to use atrophied staff and whatever raw material it has to churn out and disseminate grey, monotonous and clichéd programming. Strangely, irrespective of their ideologies, all governments have maintained a ministry of information and broadcasting which has always believed that, not the professionals within All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan with long institutional memories, but its ever-changing secretaries and ministers shall be the ultimate arbiters of the needs of public broadcasting in India.

But why blame individuals or specific governments? If, as Hamlet said, human fate lies in our stars, in the case of Prasar Bharati, its horoscope was written way back in 1990 by a hastily crafted law, The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act. Instead of creating an autonomous body for public broadcasting, the Act bore a malnourished creature with a severe bipolar disorder.

The intentions were noble. The introduction to the Act talks of entrusting the functioning of the AIR and Doordarshan to Prasar Bharati and declares that “..the proposed corporation would function as a genuinely autonomous body, innovative, dynamic and flexible with a degree of credibility”.

The Act handed the task of managing the corporation to the Prasar Bharati board consisting of a (part-time) chairman; six other part-time members; one (full-time) executive member (chief executive officer or CEO) and two other (full-time) members for finance and personnel; the director generals of Doordarshan and AIR; and one representative of the ministry; and two representatives of the employees of the corporation. The CEO, according to section 5 of the Act, is to be the executive arm of the board, required to perform functions and exercise powers, for which the board has vested the requisite authority in him. So far, so good.

Still, while conferring autonomy upon Prasar Bharati, the Act did not care to spell out a time frame within which the cadres and assets of Akashvani and Doordarshan would be transferred to the autonomous organization. It introduced in a section—chapter 4, section 32 and the dozen sub-sections appended to it. The head “Power to make rules” goes into Talmudic details about how, ... Central government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of the Act—which ensured that until such time as the assets belonging to the two organizations were formally handed over, and a recruitment board created, the sole authority for controlling their cadres and for issuing notifications and creating rules, would remain with the central government. The board would only have regulatory authority for which it must seek prior approval from the government.

Since the two vital requirements—transfer of assets and creation of the recruitment board—are yet to be met, the corporation to date has no legal muscle to mobilize its own assets (including its archives). And its cadres report not to the board, but the central government.

The Act may say that it is the “government’s declared policy” to make Prasar Bharati an autonomous corporation. But chapter 4 (miscellaneous) guarantees that the authority for practically everything, from fixing the salaries and allowances and laying down conditions of service (including retirement benefits) for three whole-time members of the board, (i.e., the CEO, and members of personnel and finance), six part-time members (including the chairman) and all the employees of AIR and DD, remains with the ministry.

Unfortunately, the first chairman of the corporation, veteran journalist Nikhil Chakraborty, who would have doubtless spotted the anomaly, passed away soon after assuming charge. Then the Janata Dal government too faded away. A long period followed when the board remained headless and the ministry of information and broadcasting was in charge.

Sure enough, soon notifications began emerging from Shastri Bhawan, where the ministry is located, laying down the ground rules for everything. It culminated in an order of 2002 that relied on the anomalies in the legislation and concluded that a “nationally owned autonomous broadcasting organization” must also be, “under the Centre legislatively” and that this was “logical and desirable” given that the footprint of the new corporation would also be touching sensitive areas commanded and controlled by the department of post and telegraph and the ministry of space and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which together handle the allocation of spectrum bandwidths.

Prasar Bharati must, therefore, be guided by the central government, and, of course, seek prior permission from the ministry and/or all the nodal ministries that govern areas it is in or plans to enter.

In 2002, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was in the saddle and for whatever reasons, the then board accepted the notification and thus the ministry came to abrogate to itself the task of deciding and notifying almost all matters pertaining to Prasar Bharati staff and the board. It is interesting that the same year, a brilliant report by the Shunu Sen committee (commissioned by the NDA government) recommended that the human resources and assets (vast tracts in all major cities with heavily underutilized state-of-the-art studios and recording facilities) owned by Prasar Bharati must, without delay, be transferred formally to the corporation by the ministry. The same report also suggested a proper delegation of powers in all areas, and until such time that the recruitment board was created, a compulsory involvement of the CEO and a selected member of the Prasar Bharati management council in selection and recruitment of all Prasar Bharati employees and their transfer thereafter.

The report, though, was soon forgotten and for two years every one functioned as notified by the ministry.

When the NDA government made way for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2004, nothing much changed.

In 2008, a few cosmetic amendments were made to the choking provisions of the 2002 notification but these did not remove the original corset of tight governmental controls. In January 2013, an expert committee headed bySam Pitroda was set up to review the functioning of Prasar Bharati, under the aegis of the ministry. The committee undertook extensive consultations and co-opted a wide range of domain experts and submitted a fairly graphic report with 26 recommendations covering all critical areas early this year. In its letter to former minister of information and broadcasting, Manish Tewari, the Pitroda committee, like the Shunu Sen committee, also noted that drastic changes must be brought about in three areas: the environment Prasar Bharati functions in; its internal structuring and resources; and last but not the least, a refocus on its primary task of providing valuable content to citizens.

As the UPA moves to the margins and the NDA government rides in, the inception of a recruitment board is still being examined and processed by various agencies, while the superannuation of old staff is creating huge gaps everywhere, including the secretariat at Prasar Bharati which has no regular hands available to handle vital and complex issues such as legal cases, public relations, revenue monitoring, framing recruitment norms, or planning for a proper entry in the new media.

The government, notwithstanding the wishes of the Parliament, still remains the cadre-controlling authority. As things stand today, the board must also seek the ministry’s prior approval for any joint ventures or creation of posts applicable to autonomous organizations, for writing off loans or proposals pertaining to routine repairs, renovations and replacements of its buildings, or even before condemning useless old vehicles or purchasing new ones to replace those.

It also can’t sell, mortgage or lease its vast assets (including prime land, state-of-the-art studios that mostly operate for limited hours, unmatched archives and several transmission towers) to meet the shortfall in budgetary allocations without the central government’s nod. A recent proposal put up by the board to the ministry for installing bank (state-owned only) ATMs on Prasar Bharati’s large premises at a few choice locations was turned down on grounds that as of now Prasar Bharati does not own any of its assets legally.

Is all lost then ?

The answer is no.

My long and close association with Akashvani and Doordarshan reveals how old institutions have a rich institutional memory that feeds the parched sense of dignity and professional pride within. It is this memory that guarantees that despite a stiff, rigorous corset of governmental rules and regulations, when need be (such as globally transmitting the famous Zubin Mehta Philharmonic Concert held in Srinagar or the live transmission of Modi’s historic speech in central hall), all old and local stations will rise to the occasion. And stubborn followers of Akashvani and Doordarshan channels will vouch for the fact that they are still routinely and pleasantly surprised by some rare old visuals and voices from AIR and Doordarshan archives surfacing late in the night or early in the morning—without any prior announcement.

Yet, sadly, these nuggets only serve to highlight a glory terribly faded. At one time, AIR and Doordarshan attracted the best talent from across India. The coming together of some of the best minds and technical hands produced programmes that have stood the test of time.

What if Doordarshan and AIR were to try to recreate that environment? True, governments must publicize their achievements and issue vital information to the public from time to time, but if the mission is deemed to be only advocacy and messaging, can we expect journalistic objectivity and artistic freedom?

Governments must accept the ground realities first. In the past, broadcasting used to be simple. Today’s consumers are young and mobile. They expect not just their radios and TV sets but also their smartphones, computer tablets and laptops, to receive programmes, wherever they are. The strength of the public broadcaster lies in its ability to deliver powerful content live all over the country. In the age of Jasmine revolutions and the Aam Aadmi Party, belief in the mystical nature of power and authority is fast eroding. So, India’s public broadcasters must meet the challenge of attracting and retaining the attention of a young public that will reject both aristocracy or a rural culture frozen in time. Can our public broadcasters rise to the occasion?

Large bodies such as Prasar Bharati have internal strength and can raise themselves up from the most grievous setbacks and fight their way out of a crisis, so the answer to that question is “yes”, but this must be preceded by a dispassionate reappraisal and redrafting of the Act of 1990. It must be done not in haste, but after serious discussions, by a group of men and women who love the medium and understand new and developing trends in media which is moving inexorably towards mobility, portability and personalization.

Mrinal Pande, a veteran journalist and former editor of Hindustan, was chairman of Prasar Bharati. Her term ended on 30 April.

To Read at Source:

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/v49MUubLGRYrvdUV3xmP8K/Whats-ailing-Indias-public-broadcaster.html