Television Memories
I remember Dad listening to cricket commentaries and
the news from the BBC on our Murphy radio, and I was all attention every
morning as Radio Ceylon aired their'request ‘request programme’ of English songs. Transistors
and radio were our gadgets of information and entertainment. .”
Television came to India in 1959 with an experimental
transmission from New Delhi. Services were extended to Mumbai in 1972 and 1975 and
included Chennai, Calcutta, Srinagar, and Amritsar. Colour television in
India began making its presence felt in the early eighties. The first programme in colour to be broadcast
by Doordarshan, the public broadcast television channel run by the Indian
government was the live telecast of the Independence Day parade of 1982
followed by the Asian Games in New Delhi. Doordarshan also began broadcasting a
slew of soaps, comedies, and thrillers. Humlog
was the first serial to be broadcast by Doordarshan in 1984.
We were the proud owners of a medium-sized BPL colour
television in 1985. As the Onida
television tagline said: “Neighbours envy, Owners pride.I have fond memories of
watching Nukkad, Wagle ki Duniya, Buniyaad, Yeh jo hai zindagi which are a
few from a never-ending list. The serials were entertaining and
relatable as they dealt with the common man’s life and problems. Then there was
the hilarious I Love Lucy and Different Strokes which I tried not to miss.
Star Trek did not interest me at all, but it had quite
a huge following. The Sunday evening Hindi movie could not be missed. Everybody
did not own a television set all at once, and neighbours went to each other's
homes for cricket matches and a good movie. Our maid came to work a little
earlier than usual on Sunday and stayed back to watch Ramayan and Mahabharata. Film buffs remained glued to the television
watching Chitrahaar which was broadcast once a week. If my memory serves me
right, I think it was on Wednesday that the programme was broadcast. There was
Krishi darshan and broadcasts of rural games like kho-kho and kabaddi, which
are yet being broadcast.
Satellite and cable Television in the 1990s proved to
be a big challenge for Doordarshan. It struggled to compete
with the numerous cable and network channels, but kudos, it survives!
My sons had their fill of children’s programmes on
Cartoon Network, Pogo and Nickelodeon. I too was hooked to certain channels and
serials on satellite television.
Television has profoundly impacted modern society,
culture, politics, and social norms. From news programmes, documentaries, and
entertainment, television shapes our world.
On November 21st, World Television Day, we celebrate the advent
of television in our lives and choose to ignore its nickname, “idiot box." (Too
much of anything is anyway a bad thing.) From its humble beginnings to the
modern sleek compact, high-tech sets, television continues to educate,
inform, and inspire us.
Happy Television Day.
Image credit: Pixabay.
