Broadcasting award to NACO et al

[Guest guest]

India scoops lion's share of C'wealth Broadcasting awards

Indiantelevision.com Team: (28 October 2003 7:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: India has carried off the lion's share of prizes awarded

by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) this year. Infact,

the country dominated all other Commonwealth countries to such an

extent that the British Council in Delhi hosted a significant prize-

giving event today.

The CBA Award for Exceptional News Feature went to NDTV's senior

editor Barkha Dutt and Ajmal Jami (camera) for their vivid and daring

report on the communal riots in Gujarat.

The CBA Unicef Award for Outstanding Local Children's Broadcasting

has been awarded to BBC World Service Trust/Doordarshan and Naco, the

Indian AIDS organisation, for a vigorous and pioneering TV campaign

on AIDS aimed at young people, which challenged minds and changed

behaviour. The eight-member team led by series producer

Chowdhry was honoured.

The Commonwealth Short Story Competition 2003 has been won by

Madhulika Liddle of Delhi, whose story A Morning Swim triumphed over

3,741 entries from around the Commonwealth. She won £2,000. Her story

was inspired by an obscure newspaper report about a small boy who

makes a living by diving for coins in the Yamuna River.

India has four other successful short story winners, Usha Rajagopalan

from Manipal, Amara Bhavani Dev from Bangalore, Sriparna Saha from

Kolkota, and Suchitra Ramadurai from Chennai, all of whom received

Highly Commended Prizes of £100, and all of whom travelled to Delhi

for the prize-giving.

The Commonwealth Photographic Awards received more entries from India

than any other nation. Although the top prize went to a Canadian,

Lehmann, who won £2,000 for his photograph of a newly born baby

in the arms of its ecstatic parents - interpreting the competition's

theme of 'Celebration' - there were eight Highly Commended Winners

from India.

M L Barai, Binode Kumar Das, Rajib De, Ashok Nath De, Swapan

Mahapatra, Dines Mukherjee, Indranil Sarkar and Debashis Sawoo are

mostly from Kolkota, and several of them travelled to Delhi to

receive their £100 prizes.

The Commonwealth Short Story Competition began in 1996 and is funded

by the Commonwealth Foundation and administered by CBA.

The Commonwealth Photographic Awards is an open competition for all

Commonwealth residents and included both colour and black and white

photographs. They are organised by the CBA and the Commonwealth Press

Union, supported by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

and sponsored by The Commonwealth Foundation.

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