Category: World
Service
Date: 06.05.2005
Printable version
In a quick response to the wishes voiced by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s audiences in Pakistan,
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu has launched a new 12-part weekly series,
Moajza-e-Fun (Miracle of Arts), which explores the
state of performing arts in Pakistan.
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Starting this week, the series is a direct answer to
the needs of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu listeners expressed during the service's month-long
campaign, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sangat, which toured Pakistan earlier
this year.
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Produced by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu's Lahore-based journalist, Arif
Waqar, the series consists of seven-minute pieces.
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It talks to leading Pakistani actors, directors, dancers
and artists to ascertain the place of a 'performer' in a society still
struggling to develop a sense of national cultural identity.
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Radio Editor of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu, Shahzeb Jillani, said: "We
met 10,000 listeners during our ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sangat campaign in Pakistan last
March, and culture was always among the topics they said they want us
to address.
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"Pakistan is a country where cultural expression
is often seen as clashing with conservative Islam. For a lot of people,
Moajza-e-Fun will be more than just a cultural programme - it will be
a conversation about the place of art in their lives and in the system
of their beliefs."
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Moajza-e-Fun will be aired during the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu's dawn
transmission, Jahanuma, on Mondays and repeated in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu flagship
programme, Sairbeen, the same evening.
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It can also be heard online at bbcurdu.com
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Notes to Editors
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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu broadcasts three times a day.
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Its flagship programme, Sairbeen, aired seven days
a week at 8.00pm Pakistan Standard Time, provides 60 minutes of news
and current affairs.
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Jahanuma, which starts at 6.30am, is a 30-minute daily
breakfast programme which sets the day's news agenda.
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At the end of the day there is Shabnama, a 30-minute
round-up of the main events, starting at 10.30pm.
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In addition, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Urdu brings listeners weekly magazine
features on sports, science and economy that can also be accessed through
its popular online site bbcurdu.com.
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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service broadcasts programmes around the
world in 43 languages and is available on radio and online.
It has a global audience of 146 million listeners.
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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service is available globally on short wave;
on FM in 140 capital cities; and selected programmes are carried on
around 2,000 FM and MW radio stations around the world.
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The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service websites receive around 280 million
page impressions every month.
