Hello and welcome to VOV’s Letter Box, a weekly feature dedicated to our listeners throughout the world. We are Mai Phuong and Phuong Khanh.
A: First on our show today, we’d like to thank you all for participating in VOV’s Contest “What do you know about Vietnam?” which closed on Tuesday. Last week, we received a large number of impressive entries.
A: In his entry, Adervall Lima Gomez of Brazil wrote: “I believe that all people worldwide who are listeners to VOV and friends of the Vietnamese people will participate with joy and pleasure in this contest”.
B: Rasheed Naz of Pakistan wrote: “My club members and I are doing our best to motivate people and promote your program in Pakistan. At my club, we are holding a meeting on the VOV contest “What do you know about Vietnam?” I am hopeful that so many fans in Pakistan are interested in this contest. Thanks and best of luck”.
A: Debaki Ranjan Biswas of India wrote: “Dear friends at The Voice of Vietnam. A big hello from a long-standing friendly country, India! Thank you very much for arranging the contest entitled “What do you know about Vietnam?” This year is memorable for me because I have entered the 40th year of my relationship with the Voice of Vietnam. I got my first QSL card from you in the year 1975. Professional obligations sometimes restricted my relationship with you, but it never faded away”.
B: Debaki Ranjan Biswas continued “During my school days in the 1960’s, I saw students chanting “Aamar naam ,Tomaar naam , Vietnam , Vietnam ‘ in Bengali. It means “My name and your name is Vietnam and Vietnam only”. The students used to draw inspiration from chanting the word “Vietnam’. For them “Vietnam” and “Struggle” were synonyms. We in India have observed your glorious fight against the strongest occupational force with deep admiration. And we have profound and deep rooted respect for the great world leader Ho Chi Minh”.
A: Thank you Debaki Ranjan Biswas for participating in our contest and sharing Indian people’s love for Vietnam.
B: From China, John Rutledge wrote: “Thank you very much for your contest this year; it was quite a challenge. Hopefully, I have produced an entry which you’ll judge a winner. I have a suggestion for your next contest. Next time, you probably should put a limit on the size of contest entries. Putting limits on the length of entries will enhance participant creativity in all likelihood”.
A: Thank you, John, for your very good suggestion. All the entries we have received so far have provided good answers to our questions. Many of them are arranged systematically and beautifully illustrated, showing the contestants’ thorough preparation for the contest. Though it makes it difficult to judge the entries because of their equally good quality, we are pleased with the enthusiastic response to the contest from listeners throughout the world.
B: We’d like to confirm that we have received entries from Ratan Kumar Paul, Bidhan Chandra Sanyal, Soumya Bhattacharjee, Mohammad Aslam of India, Muhammad Ibrar, Mohallah Dhobi Ghatt and Mobeen Ashad of Pakistan, Dr. Raeef Shaban of Lebanon, and Arne Timm of Estonia.
A: In an email to VOV this week, Ricky Hein of the US wrote: “Hello Voice of Vietnam. On June 21st, 2015, I listened to your English programs, Vietnam News, World News, and your Sunday show with a SINPO of 55255. There was strong fading, loud noise but a good signal. I would like to know: how many banana trees do you have in Vietnam?”
B: Well, I don’t think that we know the exact number of banana trees. In Vietnam bananas are grown in four distinct ways: in home gardens, mixed with other crops in farmers’ fields, in small commercial orchards, and in large-scale plantations. In home gardens, numerous varieties are grown for home consumption with any surplus sold at a local market. This is the most common source of bananas in Vietnam. In mixed cropping systems, bananas can be the principal or an auxiliary crop. In some commercial orchards, bananas are alternated with oil palm or rubber trees during the first few years. In large-scale plantations, bananas are the principal crop.
A: Banana trees produce fruit all year round. A banana bunch is harvested when still green. The stage of maturity is judged by the angularity of the fingers, the rounder the fruit the more mature. For the export market the fruit is harvested 10 to 14 weeks after flowering. The yield varies from 3 to 60 tons per hectare per year.
B: The harvested bunches are cut, washed, sorted and packed in cartons for export. The fruits are treated with fungicides to prevent rotting during transportation. Storage at 13 to 15oC helps to prolong shelf life for about 20 days. Calcium carbide or ethephon solution may be used to ripen green mature fruits. Bananas are a climacteric fruit that may be picked green for long distance transport and ripened upon arrival at the market.
A: Bananas are native to Southeast Asia and grow abundantly in the region. They are the cheapest fruit available and is conveniently available all year. They have multiple uses including processing into derivative industrial products, such as dried banana. There appears to be ample room for increased local consumption and export market growth.
B: This week we received a thick pack of letters from Abdukarim Ahmed Ali of Libya with reception reports on several VOV broadcasts in May on frequencies of 7280, 9625, 12005, 6175, 9730, 9550, and 9840 and with SINPO rated at all 4s.
B: Using a Grundig Satellite 750 with a telescoping rod antenna, Robert Metz listened to our program on June 7th, 8th, and 9th on the frequency of 12000 khz with signal ranging from 3 to 4. He wrote: “Over the those three days, signal was clear with little or no interference”.
A: Thank you all for your detailed reception reports. We’ll send you QSL cards to confirm your reports.
B: After listening to VOV’s Sunday show, SB Sharma of India wrote: “Thanks to VOV for sharing the story about Chầu văn, the Vietnamese form of ritual singing on the Sunday show. This program has deepened our knowledge of Vietnam’s music, culture, history, folklore, travel, tourism, rituals and food. From that show I learned that there is a tradition of air purification in which before the start of a show, performers purify the air, using a big fire to sweep away evil spirits. It is great to hear that Chầu văn provides stable careers from generation to generation”.
A: We greatly appreciate your participation in our contest “What do you know about Vietnam” and your feedback on our broadcasts. We welcome your feedback at: English Section, Overseas Service, Radio the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye.