INDImag – Contemporary fiction | Motivational short stories | Social stories | Short story criticism

For all of us who have lived through the 80’s in India, we remember vividly as to how the idiot-box, namely the “Television/TV” came into our lives. It did not just come ; over a period of  a few years, it stormed into our houses and became such an integral part of very many Indian households.

One day my father brought home a large cardboard box filled with white thermocol that hid a surprise.  To me and my little sister, the packing material was as exciting as the new object that had been brought home. We played with the packaging while our older sisters played the guessing game of what it could be.

As my father unpacked, we saw a small orange colored hard-plastic square object. We soon realized it was our first “TELEVISION” ! This orange hi-fi cutie was a portable TEXLA TV. My father placed it carefully on a table in the living room and plugged in the wires as we waited with bated breath. We were not done yet ! He pulled out 2 antennae on the TV’s head and then went about installing the rooftop antenna with the technician. We were told it was a ”Receiving Antenna” — it was a tall chrome rod with a comb –like chrome fixture on its top. After a bit of a struggle they managed to put it up and also align it in a direction which resulted in good reception. The last piece of the setup was a “booster” and lo we were done!

The joyous moment had arrived ! The TV was switched on and it produced black & white imagery that was not short of magic to our eyes. As kids, we were overjoyed that we finally had a TV in our home ! During the first few weeks, we watched every single program on TV. Stealing the hearts of many Indians, us included, was the good old Doordarshan. It is indeed a pioneer that gave Indian entertainment a new dimension.

A few years later, color TVs were the rage. I remember when my uncle and aunt brought a “Dyanora” color TV. They were the first in the family and the road to get a colored one ! They had brought a TV case too. Most of you may remember, the TV cases we had in those days were wooden boxes with sliding doors. It looked so special.

Just as the TVs were flooding the Indian households, the sad news of the assisanation of the then Prime Minister of India – Mrs Indira Gandhi shocked the nation. Many flocked around a single TV to watch the last rites being performed by the young and composed Rajiv. In all this sadness, the TV was bringing us closer as a nation.  In days to come, I remember huddling to watch Samachar, Krishi Darshan and Sansad Samachar (Parliament News).If one had no TV at home, neighbors always invited each other to come over and watch TV. Even during power cuts, we remember running to our neighbors across the street who were on a different power line to catch up with our favorite TV serials. Hindi movies every Sunday was a must watch. Betaal ruled roost for a few years till Ramanand Sagar came in.

Remember the wars between Lord Rama and Ravana in Sagar’s Ramayan ? It had arrows being shot, meeting in mid-air and making strange noises ! Close on the heels of Ramayan came another blockbuster, BR Chopra’s Mahabharat. Sunday mornings saw deserted streets as people were holed up in-front of their TVs admiring Nitish Bharadwaj’s portrayal of Krishna. Can we forget the episode where Arjuna laid Bhishm Pitamah to rest on a bed of arrows ? It had our grandmas tearfully folding their hands in a prayer.

There was something for all, including the kids as well. We kids eagerly awaited Mickey and Donald and Spiderman(Sunday afternoons).  The Giant Robot captivated the kids and adults alike and so did Mowgli and his Jungle Book. The action packed He-Man was another big draw.

The teens and adults who enjoyed filmi programs flocked to see Chitrahaar and Rangoli. Almost everyone in the family was a fan of Humlog and Buniyaad which were the famous TV soaps those days. Later, Nukkad captivated the audience with it’s simplistic theme and so did our very own Shankar Nag’s Malgudi Days. While Prannoy Roy was the man who made “News” interesting with his “The World This Week“ on friday nights, Siddharth Basu endeared quiz with his Quiz Time.

It was a golden era when TV forged a strong element of people-bonding. People walking on the streets gathered around a TV shop to catch a game of Cricket and cheer the national team. Everyone celebrated Ravi Shastri‘s winning of the Audi and India, the cup, as their own personal victories. It was not uncommon to see total strangers become friends as they watched the match, exchanged scores and analyzed the game.

But as the years passed, and we hit the mid 1990s, new TVs came into vogue and so did the cable-TV. The cable-TV era unleashing unlimited channels excited people. There sure was variety, but the bonding factor seemed to fade – there was little commonality in what two people watched.

These days, there are few serials that compare to the good old ones from the golden era. Soaps,  The Saas Bahu types, with everyone and their aunt staying-feuding under one roof rules the roost. In news, yellow Journalism in the name of multiple news channels sensationalize even mundane events. Music channels make more noise and very less melody..

Media of today is undoubtedly powerful and is keeping pace with the changing times. But with these changing signals, we also seem to have lost the small joys of togetherness in watching TV. Maybe too much of good is bad ? Maybe variety does that to you ?

Variety is the spice of life, and we sure have an abundance of it . But in all that spice, we seem to have relinquished the basics : We definitely have something for everyone these days, but everyone huddling to watch that special something, is what’s missing …

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