Beginning...
Radio Čaršija [read: Tchar-shee-ya ] was created on the initiative of Mr. Ahmed Filipović. Ahmed worked at the CHUO radio station for a period of time and while there, he managed to obtain from the management a time slot on radio waves for a show in Bosnian language. Meanwhile, two little boys came into Ahmed’s life, his sons, and as the life commands it, Ahmed’s time at the station was very limited so he could not continue with his work as a show host. As the Sunday morning time slot has already been reserved, Ahmed asked Mirza Lončar and Aida Hasanić to take over.
First show of Radio Čaršija aired on April 30, 2006.
“Ahmed gave us a lot of ideas and showed us all the technical and production sides of hosting a radio show”, said the future hosts of the Bosnian show, Aida and Mirza. Although you have not heard Ahmed’s voice on air, in the beginning, he was always there hiding behind a microphone in case of stage fright of the newly appointed hosts or any technical problems.
In December of 2006, Ahmed got a job offer with the United Nations in Europe and soon after moved with his family.We would like to thank Ahmed for all the support and confidence in us, and wish him a lifetime of happiness in all future endeavours.
“Ahmed, whenever you stop by Ottawa, you’ll always have a place behind a mike at Radio Čaršija!”
First show of Radio Čaršija aired on April 30, 2006.
“Ahmed gave us a lot of ideas and showed us all the technical and production sides of hosting a radio show”, said the future hosts of the Bosnian show, Aida and Mirza. Although you have not heard Ahmed’s voice on air, in the beginning, he was always there hiding behind a microphone in case of stage fright of the newly appointed hosts or any technical problems.
In December of 2006, Ahmed got a job offer with the United Nations in Europe and soon after moved with his family.We would like to thank Ahmed for all the support and confidence in us, and wish him a lifetime of happiness in all future endeavours.
“Ahmed, whenever you stop by Ottawa, you’ll always have a place behind a mike at Radio Čaršija!”
Radio Čaršija ...
Mirza and his ex-show host Aida, have thought for a long time what to name their new radio programming show. They asked their friends for ideas, searched the dictionaries, even consulted the Almighty of the internet world (Google) for ideas hoping that something will catch their attention, a word that describes warmth, belonging and feel of the Bosnian community, all the attributes they wanted to offer to their listeners, but it was hopeless.
One winter evening, out of the blue, Mirza’s brother Mirhad came running with the best idea yet: “What do you think of “Radio Čaršija”?”, said Mirhad. Aida was thrilled as much as Mirza with the name suggestion. The word “čaršija”, meaning “downtown area of the city where people gather (usually to shop, to have coffee, to take a walk)”, gave a virtual possibility of gathering in one place to all the listeners – on CHUO’s FM waves.
Al’ Dino’s (Aldin Kuric – Al’ Dino) famous song “Čaršija” became the whole inspiration behind the programming, and thus becomes the intro song of the show. Al’ Dino says in his song:
It’s nice to return to your own čaršija,
It’s nice to have your own small courtyard,
Small but still very dear,
And (it’s nice) to have a mother standing on a doorstep
To welcome you home.
It’s nice to return to your own čaršija
as the winner,
(It’s nice) to be able to have coffee with people,
(It’s nice) to share the good and the bad with them –
Because, no one should die alone.
This radio programming tries to provide its nostalgic audience what they miss the most here in diaspora, and that is usually their home Bosnia and Herzegovina and all that is related to it.
We sincerely hope that you will enjoy every bit of the programming that “Radio Čaršija” has to offer, even if it’s just for an hour per week.
One winter evening, out of the blue, Mirza’s brother Mirhad came running with the best idea yet: “What do you think of “Radio Čaršija”?”, said Mirhad. Aida was thrilled as much as Mirza with the name suggestion. The word “čaršija”, meaning “downtown area of the city where people gather (usually to shop, to have coffee, to take a walk)”, gave a virtual possibility of gathering in one place to all the listeners – on CHUO’s FM waves.
Al’ Dino’s (Aldin Kuric – Al’ Dino) famous song “Čaršija” became the whole inspiration behind the programming, and thus becomes the intro song of the show. Al’ Dino says in his song:
It’s nice to return to your own čaršija,
It’s nice to have your own small courtyard,
Small but still very dear,
And (it’s nice) to have a mother standing on a doorstep
To welcome you home.
It’s nice to return to your own čaršija
as the winner,
(It’s nice) to be able to have coffee with people,
(It’s nice) to share the good and the bad with them –
Because, no one should die alone.
This radio programming tries to provide its nostalgic audience what they miss the most here in diaspora, and that is usually their home Bosnia and Herzegovina and all that is related to it.
We sincerely hope that you will enjoy every bit of the programming that “Radio Čaršija” has to offer, even if it’s just for an hour per week.