[cr-india] Raghav FM turns ICT Entrepreneur

Fri Feb 9 16:05:52 CET 2007

Wow Osama, this is really fantastic.

Last year, when Radio Raghav had got shut down, I had expressed my anguish
in an article

Radio Raghav - Illegal yes, but is he culpable

http://www.patnadaily.com/readerswrite/2006/apr/tv_sinha.html

It is indeed a dream come true to see that this radio is now a reality
again.

Fabulous work. Feels great. Made my day.

Thanks

On 09/02/07, Osama Manzar <osama_manzar at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> *Raghav FM turns ICT Entrepreneur*
>
> *By Pritam Sinha*
> *Mansoorpur, Vaishali, Bihar*
>
> After a lot of media blitz, the popular FM Radio Mansoorpur got shut down
> one sad day, last year. It meant a lot for the two young men Raghav Mahto
> and his DJ friend Sambhu who pioneered and popularized the community radio
> in a small village hamlet in Vaishali district. In fact, the entire villages
> of Mansoorpur along with its neighbouring villages whose life around music
> was synonymous with Raghav FM Radio went into mourning.
>
> For Raghav, it meant the end of not their only source of livelihood; the
> closure also gravely affected their enthusiasm to do something new in life.
> After all, it was such a novel invention that people were made to sit up and
> take notice far and wide than the radius of the FM they were transmitting.
> Although Raghav's FM radio never tried or made money through broadcasting,
> but because of its popularity, his electronics shop was a center booming
> business for anything and everything related to electronics, repairs, and so
> on.
>
> In came Digital Empowerment Foundation to their support. The Delhi based
> organization had visited the place just days before its inevitable closure.
> Being an organization with a focus on ICT for empowerment at the grassroots
> level, it decided to support the ingenious minds by giving them support at
> various level. For example, computers to explore and 'experiment' in the
> hope that the young man might make something out of this electronic gadget
> out of the ordinary the way he transformed the simple radio.
>
> Perhaps Raghav's wish that he would like to experiment with the VCD one
> day and make the video seen in neighbouring areas without the use of the
> cable was stuck somewhere in DEF's think-tank *(Please see DEF's
> exhaustive report on Raghav FM before it got closed down at
> www.defindia.net).* As everybody knows, a PC usually has the CD drive
> attached to it. But, all experiments need time and the immediate future of
> the boys had to be addressed immediately.
>
> *Formation of Raghav Samaj Kalyan Sansthan*
> DEF suggested to Raghav to form a social forum and also gave him some
> financial help to start afresh in life post Raghav Radio FM. Thus "Raghav
> Samaj Kalyan Sansthan' was born on 6th Aug '06 with 22 members and one
> computer. One of the first things that came to the members' mind was the
> lack of a computer education centre and the urgent need and utility of one
> such thing for the village children.
>
> Sensing a business opportunity, Raghav quickly hired a two room block in
> front of his old Priya Electronics shop and started Community Information
> Resource Centre (CIRC) supported by Digital Empowerment Foundation, New
> Delhi. He invited the local village children to learn the nuances of a tin
> box look like thing with a TV like face attached to it. Being an illiterate
> person himself, he quickly went in search and found one computer teacher who
> had done some basic computer diploma course from nearby Hajipur.
>
> Thus, slowly but surely the computer bug hit the village folk. Children
> immediately took to the computer and started exploring simple computer
> peripherals like CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Printer etc. Gradually,
> everybody took a fancy to PaintBrush and the word of the mouth spread
> quickly, particularly among school going children. Soon Raghav could not
> cope with the rush on a single machine. He needed another one and DEF
> provided him with two machines to further his ambition of making Mansoorpur
> computer savvy. A laptop was also given in time to make the centre look
> modern. With every parcel DEF gave him other supports in terms capacity and
> so on. The centre boasts of a roaster full of 30 names.
>
> *Day-to-day bottlenecks
> *Electricity in a typical Bihar village is something of a luxury at best
> of times. So, Raghav purchased a generator set with the money to make
> regular computer learning possible. There is an interesting story behind
> being enabled to buy the generator. Late last year, through DEF, Raghav got
> a chance to set-up closed circuit FM transmission for an ICT Consultation by
> Nasscom Foundation, where the purpose was to make the invitees and
> practioners who had come from villages to listen the proceedings in their
> own language. So, from the interpretation box, Raghav connected its
> equipment and broadcasted the Hindi version which could be heard through
> cheap FM receivers given to each one of the invitees. For doing this, Raghav
> got Rs. 10,000 and he put the entire money in procuring generator.
>
> Of course, the generator needs diesel which costs money. So, a token
> amount of Rs. 50 is being charged per student to take care of this running
> cost. Also, the computer teacher needed some incentive read money to sustain
> his family. As of now, he is charging nothing and giving his time and
> knowledge for free. But for how long can he sustain his enthusiasm is a
> point to ponder. During the visit, in a brief felicitation ceremony, in
> fact, this point was raised albeit in a hushed tone.
>
> *What's happening at CIRC?*
> CIRC at Mansoorpur provided by DEF to pursue the entrepreneurship in
> Raghva, is showing great results. There is a buzz in the village, and kids
> are the biggest attraction for the CIRC. Instead of painting in their
> notebooks, small children see it taking shape on a computer screen. They are
> also enamored by typing on MS Word or Excel and PPT. Perhaps to teach them
> from the very beginning that nothing comes in life absolutely free, Raghav &
> his friend Sambhu charges a nominal amount i.e. Rs. 50 per student.
>
> These small acts of children are revolutionizing the way village children
> see the world outside of their own. They punctually come here at the
> designated time to learn computer. For this initialization to the
> peripherals is a fascinating opportunity for them to try and widen their
> worldview. In small twinkling eyes we could definitely see the hope of a
> better tomorrow where they are able to find computer related jobs in big
> cities. Perhaps for them, there are so few opportunities available to grow
> that they want to outclass the others in whatever manner possible.
>
> *The Road Ahead: Internet, English & Community Radio*
> Apart from this business of running a computer teaching centre, Raghav
> finds time to engage his creative mind in his first love Radio. Constantly
> experimenting with his tape recorder to record short plays based on such
> important issues as AIDS awareness using local writer and voices, the zeal
> to do something out of the ordinary seems Raghav's mission in life. He gave
> to DEF, one tape containing a short play wherein message was loud and clear
> that how tattoos, ever popular with women in villages whose husbands are far
> off in cities making both ends meet, can cause AIDS with a multiple used
> needle. We don't hear such types of messages played across in the cities,
> but the concept and the relevance of it for the village populace was
> something noteworthy.
>
> Also, villagers surely have heard about the global village called internet
> but it remains out of reach for them. Raghav's CIRC plans to have some
> facility whereby they bring the internet to Mansoorpur. Of course, with the
> Kiosks being set up everywhere in the country thick and fast, the word surf
> will come into everyday village parlance not only when referring to a
> popular detergent brand only. We could sense the excitement among the
> village folk whenever the word internet was mentioned. Perhaps one day,
> Raghav's CIRC would be the place where all ICT activities of the village
> will take place as is being witnessed in so many small villages across
> India.
>
> The hut would become a virtual hub. Or may be Mansoorpur could be one of
> Bihar's first English Relay Programme (ERP) centres where children would be
> taught Basic English language. When DEF spoke with a soon to retire school
> headmaster, he was more than keen to take up the responsibility to run an
> ERP centre.
>
> Perhaps, he envisioned himself working for a noble cause post retirement
> having been active all throughout his life. Like computers & internet,
> English being the lingua franca that it still is, holds the key to a better
> tomorrow for a small village like Mansoorpur.
>
> Moreover, to learn computers and for internet too, English is a must. So,
> the possibilities are immense to empower and enlighten the downtrodden of a
> far flung corner of India. Perhaps herein lays the challenge for Raghav and
> his welfare organisation to try and mould the village mindset. Make them
> look beyond their landscape from the very beginning to a world where in they
> are compatible with the rest of the world as far as access to knowledge is
> concerned. The world outside their view is changing so fast that they better
> keep pace with it or lest they will be left far far behind.
>
> Or a community radio could be started under the aegis of CIRC. DEF is also
> keen to be of any help to them in this regard. The government guidelines in
> this regard have to be followed. A case has to be put up citing Raghav's
> prior experience in the field of radio transmission. As soon as the forms
> for opening the community radio station would be available, the plan is to
> immediately apply for one and get the Raghav Radio back in the ears of
> Mansoorpur.
>
> *Village trepreneurship*
> Raghav certainly is a fine example of a village entrepreneur. His business
> sense could be gauged from the fact that when armed with one computer it was
> him who first struck upon the idea to put the machine to a commercial use.
> That his centre is running in debt is another matter. He had left no stone
> unturned in his capacity to make the centre commercially viable could be
> concluded from the fact that when he got Rs. 10,000/- from setting up a
> Radio system in a Delhi conference, he promptly bought an used generator for
> Rs. 8000/- to ensure regular electric supply for his learning centre. So, he
> is not at all lacking in ideas. Jugarus as most Biharis are, they have a
> knack of finding ways around things howsoever bleak the environment may be.
>
> The latest news is that at the DEF supported CIRC at Mansoorpur, run by
> Raghva, he has added sewing classes as another activity for the girls and
> women of the village. DEF has provided the seed money for buying at least
> two sewing machines so that the start off could be strong and should result
> in good revenues for Raghav to sustain the CIRC.
>
> In the next few months, Raghav has planned to equip the CIRC with digital
> camera, scanner, printer, and Internet. DEF has asked Raghav to make the
> existing infrastructure sustainable first before the next level of supports
> could be provided – this is in the interest of Raghav and CIRC's interest
> only.
>
> *Pritam Sinha is a research associate with Digital Empowerment Foundation.
> He can be reached at defindia at gmail.com *
>

-- 
Thakur Vikas Sinha
Powai, Mumbai
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-14.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16070 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0012.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-13.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 21117 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0013.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-photo-04.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 18425 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0014.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-11.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 17820 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0015.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-07.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13412 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0016.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-photo.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16928 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0017.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-09.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 17768 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0018.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-15.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16007 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0019.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-16.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 20845 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0020.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-photo-02.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 14631 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0021.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-17.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 14045 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0022.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: raghav-s-12.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16911 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/cr-india/attachments/20070209/67366a3e/attachment-0023.jpg 