Herald
Café: How
did Radio Mango (RM) come about?
Milena Marques-Zachariah
& Alan Sequeira: Radio Mango was started because in a market
saturated with other language programmes catering to the multi-cultural market
in Canada, there was a niche market of Konkani speaking people with no radio
programme in their language. RM went on air on September 29, 2012. The lively
signature tune has been composed by Lawrence de Tiracol. The programme is on
air on CMR Station (cultural marketing radio) broadcast live from Toronto on
101.3 FM and runs from 7-9 pm every Saturday. It is the first ever Konkani
radio programme in the northern and western hemispheres of Canada.
HC: Understand
that the programme is co-hosted by a Goan and a Mangalorean
MMZ & AS: Yes, Milena
Marques-Zachariah is a Goan who traces her roots to Parra in Goa and Alan
Sequeira, who co-hosts the programme, is Mangalorean. We are both partners at RM,
which is largely a voluntary effort. We play music from our respective states. We have created history in North America with RM. Our
mission is simple and clear: We want to bring the Konkani speaking people from
Goa and Mangalore together through one common touch point: ‘amchibhas’. We want
to provide a platform for our people to showcase their talent and propagate our
language, culture and our music. The Konkani speaking diaspora listens
avidly because RM takes them on a nostalgic journey through Konkani music and
language.
HC: What
are the kinds of programmes that RM hosts?
MMZ
&AS:
The programme includes live interviews with
leaders of the community and trendsetters from the community, news from Mangalore
and Goa, read by Gerry D’Mello for Mangalore, and Mathlda Mascarenhas, Nifa Alphonso
and Silviano Barbosa for Goa. There’s also a debate and recipes from both
states, ‘Konkani xicouia, Konkani ulouia’ – an on-air Konkani lesson and ‘Kednai
Maka Uggdas Ieta’ – a nostalgic glimpse of growing up in Goa and Mangalore. The
Konkani speaking community is estimated at 50,000 in Canada. However, this
programme is listened to all over the world, from Australia, US, UK, Europe and
the Middle East. So the listenership is big and is gaining traction every year.
One can listen to us live as it happens through our website. Following
the Saturday programme, it is also uploaded on our website www.radiomango.ca.
People from Australia to Zanzibar listen to us online or when we upload the
programme on Monday/Tuesday.
HC:
Understand RM will be celebrating its third anniversary shortly.
MMZ
&AS:
RM has been on air for two and a half years and its popularity has increased by
leaps and bounds. We will be celebrating our third anniversary with a big event
– Radio Mango Mania. For the first time, two bands will be playing at an event
organised by our community. Last year, we brought together two legends in
concert at the Rose Theatre in Brampton– Lorna Cordeiro and Henry of YeYe fame
from Mangalore. The concert was a grand success and everyone is still talking
about Lorna’s spell-binding performance.
