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Winners of the contest ‘Home with Mother Ruta’s Spindle’

Dear friends, RRI invited you once again to take part in a contest that ended on July 15th 2015, post date. The name of the contest was “Home with Mother Rutas Spindle” and was organized alongside our colleagues from Radio Romania Village Antenna, the public station aimed at Romanian villages.

România Internațional, 08.08.2015, 15:45

A simple and ingenious project started from Fagaras Country, in central Romania, in a village called Mandra, a project that made this location popular around the world. That is why we invited you to participate in this contest that took you to the place where the spindle started its journey, the village of Mandra in the Fagaras region, continuing to another wonderful area in the vicinity, Marginimea Sibiului.

The contest proved of great interest to RRIs listeners. We have received 197 correct and complete answers. We thank you for taking the time to participate in this contest and we invite you to also participate in RRIs future contests.

The Grand Prizes will be two trips for two, 8 days and 7 nights with double room accommodation, full board, between 1-8 September, in the Fagaras (Sambata de Sus) area, Brasov County, and Marginimea Sibiului, in Sibiu County. One trip for two, double room, will be for RRIs listeners, the second for the Village Antennas listeners. As usual, the winners provide their own transportation to and from Romania, and their own visas, if applicable.

The contest was sponsored by SC SCORILO TURISM SRL, and was organized in collaboration with local partners: the Brasov and Sibiu county councils, the Fagaras and Rasnov city halls, the Transylvanian Metropolitan Bishopric- the Sibiu Archbishopric, the Brancoveanu Sambata de Sus Monastery, the Fine Artists Union- the Sibiu Branch, the Brukenthal National Museum, the ASTRA National Museum Compound in Sibiu, the “Cindrelul – Junii Sibiului” county center for the preservation and promotion of traditional culture, the Brasov county history museum, the arts high school in Sibiu, S.C. Libris S.R.L., Ion Art Glass of Selimbar, the Romanian-born American sculptor Gheorghe Zaharia who was born in Fagaras.

From RRIs broadcasts, website and Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn profiles you could find the answers to the contests questions. Before announcing the winners, lets go through the questions once again:

1. Where did Mother Rutas spindle start its journey around the world? Correct answer: From the village of Mandra.

2. How many kilometers has the spindle traveled? Correct answer: one million kilometers.

3. What are the areas that will be visited by the winners of the Grand Prizes? Correct answer: Fagaras (Smabata de Sus) Brasov county and Marginimea Sibiului, Sibiu county.

4. Name five places visited by the Romanian spindle? Here you could have chosen from among the tens of countries, cities and places where the spindle was taken, which you could discover on the Internet starting from the numerous photos posted on RRIs website and social media profiles.

And now here are the winners.

Part of the 25 honorable mentions went to the following RRIs listeners or Internet users who listened to the English language program: Hans Verner Lollike, of Denmark, Grant Skinner and Matthew Loughlin, both from Great Britain, RonnyForslund of Sweden, Keith Simmonds, of France, Jaroslaw Jedrzejczak, from Poland, the recent winner of the Holiday on the Black Sea coast” contest, Asghar Shah and Maaz Shahzad, both from Pakistan, Abdulkarim Alhouseini, of Libya, Abur Rashid Biswass, Eyamin Hosain, S.B. Sharma, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Priyanka Paul, Chitturi Venkataramana, Shivendu Paul, Syamapada Sarkar and Najim Udin, all 9 from India.

There are 15 3rd prizes , some of which went to the following RRIs listeners or Internet users, who listened to the English language broadcasts: Brian Kendall, of Great Britain, Muhammad Shamim and Deepita Chakrabarty, both from India, Hamad Kiani, of Pakistan and Oscar Machuki of Kenya.

Here is how Brian Kendall motivated his participation in the contest: “This competition has a particular interest for me because when I was fortunate enough to be a Grand Prize winner some years ago, I spent some time in the evenings listening to Antena Satelor. The station broadcasts so much Romanian folk music, exactly the sort of music I enjoy listening to over the shortwaves from Radio Romania International. Being in Romania and listening to a domestic station which played the music I like was a memorable experience. I didnt need to understand Romanian: I could smile as the music came from my small portable radio! So, heres a cheer for Antena Satelor! And another one for Radio Romania International for organizing this unique competition.”

There were 10 2nd prizes that went to listeners or Internet users of the Italian, German, Serbian, French, Russian, Spanish and Chinese sections section of RRI.

The 5 1st prizes went to the following RRIs listeners or Internet users: Mohamed El-Sayed Abdel-Rahim, of Egypt, Enric Ballester Burcet, of Spain, Xu Fei, from China, Mihail Bahânov, of Rusia, and Gita Chakrabarty from India.

Here is what Gita Chakrabarty of India, a listener of the English language broadcasts, wrote: “What attracted me to take part in this contest is to know about the mystery of Mother Rutas Spindle. In my view it is an unusual subject for an international contest. RRI has helped me to realize the beauty of human values. (…) Irrespective of age, status or position in life, people carried the banner of peace and solidarity to wherever they have traveled. Till date it has traveled one million kilometers covering most of the regions of the world. This Ambassador of goodwill, preaching the beauty of Romania and of its fascinating people who have nourished their kindness of soul and their craftsmanship and cultural heritage. Mother Ruta has proved the world that her Spindle is a living force – more powerful than any other media to spread the best of human values. (…) I am to state that it is indeed a pleasant experience to listen to the broadcasts of RRI either on the short-wave or online. I have been tuning in to the short-wave broadcasts of RRI for quite some time and I have to express my appreciation to you. The friendly voice of the broadcasters of RRI coupled with the high quality and content of programmes make listening a pleasure.

5 special prizes went to the following listeners or internet users: Khalil Abdel Kader of Algeria, Aylton Jose Cordeiro Gama of Brasil, Anatoli Klepov of Russia, Debaki Biswas of Bankura, West Bengal, India and Jahangir Alam of Bangladesh.

This is what Debaki Biswass of India, a listener of the English-language programs wrote: “The main factor that has prompted me to take part in this contests is mainly the inner theme of the contest ” Mother Rutas Spindle “. It narrates the desire of a village grand-mother in Romania who was not able to visit so many places around the world in reality but still cherishes such desire in her dreams and wants to fulfill her deep desire by translating those dreams into reality in the lives of her grand off-springs. In fact, I find that this case is not a solitary one with life of a Romanian grandmother but as a worldwide phenomenon. I find a very distinctive image of my own grand-mother reflected in this episode as well (…) I have been a regular listener of Radio Romania International owing to my deep respect for the Romanian people, their age-ancient heritage, culture, social structure and their remarkable progress.(…) My love and deep affection for Romania started from my college days in the early seventies. I was a Short Wave Listener at that time and Radio Bucharest was at the top of my favourite Radio Stations. I got my first QSL from the then Radio Bucharest in the year 1972 . The prizes won by me from Radio Bucharest includes among other items LPs and Picture Post Card Booklets. Those prizes still find their esteem places in my drawing room. The situation did not change either during the time of Radio Romania international. I have successfully participated in the contests organized by RRI. I have been lucky enough to be selected as a 2nd Prize winner in the ” Radio Romania 85 ” contest and the “George Enescu 2013 Festival ” contest. The prizes were really BIG ones! Those include huge Pictorial albums on Romanian heritage places and Music CDs”.

Jahangir Alam of Bangladesh, another listener of the English-language programs, wrote the following: ” What motivated me in deciding to participate in this contest is quite simple, being an ardent supporter and regular listener of Radio Romania International over last 26 years I have developed an affinity for Romania and its people which I hope will one day culminate in me personally exploring this historic land and experiencing the warm wonderful hospitality of proud Romanians. Through Internet and facebook pages story and images I have learnt about Mother Rutas endless journey (..), a symbol of ancient crafts and folklore and a vehicle of great attraction, which promotes the beauties and values of Romania.”

We would like to thank you all for your participation in this contest. And now, here we go: the winners of the 8 day trip, full board, in guest houses in Fagaras, Sambata de Sus, Brasov County, and in Marginimea Sibiului, Sibiu County, are Miss Jamila Bekkai of Marocco and Mr. Gilbert Dupont of France. Congratulations! We are looking forward to seeing you in Romania in early September. Joining the 2 RRI listeners will be 2 Village Antenna listeners.

The winner of the grand prize, Jamila Bekkai, of Marocco, explained why she participated in the contest: “With every contest organized by RRI I discover fresh hidden dimensions of Romania. Thanks to them, I have discovered new and beautiful parts of the country and I have enriched my knowledge of Romania.”

In turn, Gilbert Dubont of France wrote: “I wish to congratulate you for the originality of this theme. The French section of RRI is extremely dynamic and plays quite perfectly the role of window to this beautiful country, so welcoming but so little known by the French.

All prizes and honorable mentions will be sent by mail in the coming months. Please confirm good reception by letter, e-mail or fax. Thank you again for taking the time to participate in the RRI contest devoted to the Fagaras and Marginimea Sibiului areas and we are looking forward to seeing you participating in even larger numbers in our future contests.