DD and Nostalgia....

I was just surfing a few channels today and suddenly got reminded of the good old doordarshan days.. the late 80's and early 90's when we had just two channels DD 1 and DD 2.. we used to be so thrilled to watch our favourite serials/programmes..

I remember waiting for friday nights just to watch 'Chitrahaar' - a programme that showcased hindi film songs.. or wake up early on Sundays just to watch Mahabharat.. There were a lot of children's programmes as well like 'Jungle Book', 'Malgudi Days' and informative programmes like 'Surabhi' or 'Turning Point'...

A lot of TV characters like 'Vaagle' of 'Vaagle ki Duniya or 'Byomkesh' from the serial 'Byomkesh Bakshi' or Karamchand became household names... It would be so difficult to imagine life without these people entertaining us then..

What surprises me is the fact that TV sets werent too popular then and could be found only in a few urban households.. may be because of the cost and the lifestyle that existed.. But there definitely was a strong family bond and a bond of friendship that Doordarshan had created amidst people from the same colony or neighbourhood .. I remember watching serials at my neighbours place with both our families happily laughing together or arguingabout what a particular character in the serial should have done.. Cant even imagine things like that happening today..

There was a time when one could hear kids say, "Ma, even i want to fight Sher Khan like Mowgli...", Such was the impact of DD on peoples minds.. It was an era when people used to watch TV with rapt attention.. A time when the entire nation would come to a standstill for a few moments.. We can hardly find that in the programmes that are telecast today inspite of the innumerable number of channels broadcasting a lot of serials..Whats predominant now is 'saas bahu ka jhagda', jealosy, failing marriages, violence... Thanks to the likes of Ekta kapoor..

Wish time could just stop at that Golden era where spending time with family watchin DD was considered much more enjoyable than any other activity.. The innocence and beauty that DD brought remains something that i would always cherish.. :-)