In India, the most quoted example is Tinka Tinka Sukh the success of which demonstrated the effective use of the entertainment-education approach to bring about behavior change. It was a 104-episode radio serial drama broadcast in India between 1996 and 1997 by All India Radio (AIR), in partnership with Population Communications International (PCI). The 104 episodes of the drama lasted 20 minutes each and were broadcast twice weekly for a year. The drama was set in a farming community in North India. Chaudhri (‘elder leader’), his wife Chaudhrian, and son Suraj represent an ideal family. They promote women’s causes (anti-dowry, gender equality and women’s empowerment) and the importance of creating a self-sufficient harmonious village. By contrast, Chacha’s family is blindly traditional and ridden with conflict; his wife is the village gossipmongress and his son is a delinquent. The widow, Gareebo, and her three daughters are more transitional characters, who depict the trials of women in a tradition-bound, patriarchal society. The AIDS storyline is told through the character of Jumman, “a farmhand on Chaudri’s fields. Momentarily swayed by urban glamour, he contracts AIDS and disrupts his family’s harmony. But he finally accepts his wife’s view that life’s happiness lies in small things” (Singhal and Rogers, 1999). The feedback to this Programme was incredible. One striking example was a two-bythree-foot “letter” signed (in some cases with thumbprints) by 184 residents of Lutsaan Village in Uttar Pradesh stating, “Listening to Tinka Tinka Sukh has benefited all listeners of our village, especially the women...Listeners of our village now actively oppose the practice of dowry - they neither give nor receive dowry” (Singhal and Rogers, 1999). This again underscores the role of radio in highlighting critical issues and inspiring volunteer action on these. Community Radio also empowers people as they can create their own message, raise their own issues. It is modeled on the spirit of volunteerism involving local people to generate local content. One such example is the radio by workers from Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) record ‘Rudi no radio’ - a Programme that helps raise its listeners’ awareness of health issues such as birth control, childcare, nutrition, as well as environmental and agricultural issues like organic farming and the seasons. They also cover topics of interest such as adult education, communal harmony, and traditional art and craft.
Entertainment Education, TV and Volunteerism The TV came in India with the purpose of education. One Programme that really made a mark in the history of entertainment education in our country is Hum Log (We the People) – Indian television’s first soap opera. It began telecast on Doordarshan, India’s national network on July 7, 1984, then the only television channel of India, and it quickly became immensely popular. Indian audiences loved the show and the characters became legendary and a common topic of discussion. Hum Log is the story of an Indian middle class family of the 1980s and their daily struggles and aspirations. Since 1984, many such Programmes and soap operas were made. The recent ones to join the bandwagon are ‘Balika Vadhu’ on child marriage and widow remarriage and ‘Na Aana is Desh Meri Lado’ on women’s issues.
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Conclusion In the context of the above discussions on the role of entertainment-education, it can be stressed that there is great role for it to generate public discourses and discussions on social concerns. Also, it can be an inspiring guide for many to think and act on current