Thursday, March 29, 2012

Once Upon A Time…!



During my aimless channel scans, my fingers stop pressing the remote control when I see Doordarshan. Though the programs of this channel is still the same and hasn’t changed a bit from 1980s, watching DD is like visiting a historical museum. Just like an art gallery that reminds our past, DD remains as India’s national channel.

Doordarshan has nothing to offer more than a few government promos and a few old recorded programs. However, this channel has a glorious past as India’s first national channel. In my childhood days, DD made our days. A few days back, when I spoke to my younger cousin about DD’s programs, she looked at me blankly. For new generation kids, Doordarshan is a channel for grandpas! For kids of 1980s and before Doordarshan is now a part of their nostalgia.

A few reminiscences about Doordarshan:

  • Every program after school time should not be missed.
  • Whenever you do something wrong, say ‘sorry shaktiman’!
  • I used to wake up early in on Sunday morning to watch Rangoli
  • I knew all the epics those days. Thanks to Sreekrishna, Om Namashivaya, Jai hanuman (Britannia Tin Tin Titin).
  • Like a ritual, every Indian watched Republic and Independence Day parades.
  • Even kids watched the President of India addressing the nation on the eve of Republic and Independence Day.
  • Whether it is Hindi, Malayalam, English bulletin or even news for special people, everyone will listen carefully.
  • Cricket matches, especially India vs. Pakistan, were like wars. We listened to both Hindi and English commentary patiently.
  • Rhymes of ads were by heart (washing powder Nirma)…
  • You’d to wait one week to watch the next episode of a serial.
  • Watching the 4o’ clock evening movie on Sunday was like seeing the first show on the first day of movie release.
  • Mile sur mera tumhara was listened and sang with so much of fervor

Now things have changed… Doordarshan never accepted the new trends. At present there are hundreds of channels available in our television. From international, national, state, regional to city channels, all these compete themselves to bring variety of programs. Yet we are not satisfied with a single channel and so we keep changing the channels every now and then.

Doordarshan was a synonym to the word entertainment previously. I should admit that the satisfaction that DD had provided in those days can never beat any media of today.

Watch DD at least once in a month. Else, we will be forced to tell a fable to our grand children, ‘Once upon a time there was a channel named Doordarshan’!!!

30 comments:

  1. Good old days...I still remember , we used to complete our works and wait for the Regional movie show on Sunday.
    Also during telecast of "Ramayana", not a single human being was seen on the roads....

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    1. The fact is that we felt DD gave us programs that were more than enough to fill our leisure time :)

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  2. Sorry Shaktiman! Hey! I was 90s born , still I can recognize all this.

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  3. I was a kid of Late 80s and early 90s.. :D. The Programs I used to watch was, Mahabarath, Fauji, Circus, Street Hawk, Surabhi (The first Indian show to offer prize to viewers) etc. Then DD used to show an English movie, on Friday night. Movie starts by 10:30 only. We used to stay awake to watch it. We were allowed, coz of weekend holidays. Had seen a lot of Bruce-lee, Jacki-chan films then.

    Anyone rember the antenna an the boosters? We used to turn it, to Switch from DD1 to DD4. The Grains, tuning the booster, setting the antenna.. When it was raining heavily or having a winding evening, cant watch a thing on TV.. Unbelievable..

    Now-a-Days, we have such a huge list of channels. Cant keep track of programs , it timings, not even the channel.. Earlier, we cud tell the whole list of programs and its timings..

    Thankz Rupa, for reminding about all these..

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    1. Thanks Vipin for such a big comment. Yeah...setting up antenna and tuning channels was an adventurous and exciting task those days :)

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  4. It was so good when we always had so little things to do and so little things to watch on TV that means we had more time to spend with our family.. :) Doordarshan is a good example of what happens if you don't change as the world around you changes.. :) Nice post and I myself don't remember watching doordarshan its another boring channel on TV and not on our Airtel dish now! :|

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    1. I guess you were a kid of new generation... ;)
      Anyway thanks for the comment!!!

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  5. Thanks Roopa! That was a great reminder of nostalgic times...I remember the once a week chitrahaar was more than enough for us to last a week.

    So the lesson is ..its not really that Doordarshan gave us very good programs all the time..its just that we have too MANY now. It is always good for the heart and mind not to get everything in abundance to appreciate its value.

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    1. Thats a valid point...When we get too many things, we won't be happy...Little things make us smile always :)

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  6. Growing up in the 1990s was a boon. :)
    Shaktimaan, Shakalaka Boom Boom, Captain Vyom, Jai Hunuman, Sri Krishna etc...For someone like me whose 80% of childhood was spent in front of T.V it was next to religion. :) :)

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    1. I also belong to that category. I was a full time tv watcher :)

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  7. Chitrahaar and Rangoli were never to be missed... Ramayan and Mahabharat were watched by the whole family together with the neighbours.... There was a certain standard which the programmes of today lack.

    Even today, if you want to watch some good programmes, tune in to DD. Esply on DD Bharti, a host of good shows are aired... rooted in our culture...

    But we have too many choices today and we often end up making the wrong choice...

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  8. gr8 post Roopa....i can never forget watchin mogli every sunday ....good old days :)

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  9. You remember Chandrakanatha, Surabhi and theTurning Point? That time channels were less, people had time to see and enjoy. Now no time even if it is there too many channels not sufficient to watch in single TV!!!

    I also remember changing the position of Antenna to get eh proper signal in my sub urban town!!!

    Thanks for taking through Doordarshan
    regards,
    technophilo

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    1. Yes...we do have many channels with many programs and a group of unsatisfied audience. The biggest achievement of Doordarshan during its golden age was that it could satisfy all folks.

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  10. Hey Roopa, Nice post!! Brought back sweet memories of childhood :-)

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    1. Thanks a ton for visiting my blog and commenting :)

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  11. Hey read your post its true... i too did a post like have a look...

    http://akatmatimes.blogspot.in/2011/11/life-with-doordarshan.html

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    1. I went through your post...Awesome! It is many times better than my post :)

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  12. Nostalgia all over.....

    I remember I was hooked to Duck tales, Tales pin, Jungle book on Sunday mornings. Sri Krishna and Jai Hanuman were equally important. And I too loved Shaktimaan, CHandrakanta and Surbhi. Man that was the time. I miss those days badly. Glad that you write such a wonderful post on Doordarshan. Loved it! :) :)

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    1. Thanks Prasoon..
      I really forgot to mention Jungle Book...!
      Baloo, Mowgli, Shere Khan, King Louie, Bagheera- Missiong all of them :)

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  13. It is very good in program quality. I used to watch DD MALAYALAM. It presents beautiful documentaries, telefilms, talks and entertainment programs. It is free from crazy world.

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    1. You are absolutely right. But the standard of viewers has also lowered these days..!

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  14. Sweet post ! :D
    There are many other things of past.. which today's gen kids are devoid of ! :( :|
    Nice post.. :D :)

    PS - Your newest follower.. :D

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    1. Thanks for following Village Girl...!
      It is our duty to let the kids know about the Television culture and its history in India

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  15. Well said Roopz..nostalgic memories of those days..I often search those days on youtube..

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    1. I also search for DD's signature tone and all :)

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