As a kid, in 80s and early 90s, I remember waiting eagerly for Doordarshan programmes to begin, in the morning. Early in the morning, listening to "Vande Mataram", so melodiously sung, and watching the beautiful video, it made my day. The time was so perfect, that all our activities were linked to its broadcast, and I don't remember even a single deviation. The morning programmes, the feature of A FACE IN THE CROWD, etc. correctly defined "infotainment".
Evenings, the entire family would watch the "News" together, followed by serials, which were definitely completed in a limited number of episodes. No useless fighting scenes, no show off, the serials used to depict characters, which every one could identify in the real life.
The movies- weekends were delightful, with Saturday evening reserved for a Hindi feature film, and on Sundays, a regional language film in the afternoon, which was broadcast from Delhi and in the evenings, we used to have yet another film in our regional language. It was so nice to wait for the movie to begin. Earlier, the advertisements were shown prior to the start of the film. Later on the "breaks" culture started. The movies shown, in general, were those which had a successful run in theaters or considered as Art movies or award winners. I was introduced to Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and the likes at a very early age, which shaped my days to come. Since, there was no break, except for News, the movie could be watched at length and it could be enjoyed fully. In fact, we used to carry the entire movie in our minds to schools, where at length discussions were held, dissecting every scene. Those movies, which one was attracted to, remain etched in the memories for long. Personally for me, WOH CHOKRI, MIRCH MASALA, PARTY, KALYUG, RUDAALI, etc are in this category.
I remember sometimes watching English movies and serials, albeit without any subtitles. To understand the language, initially was a tough job, but over the time, it helped a lot and thus my language improved. Sunday noons, I was busy watching the News for Hearing Impaired- which was a round up of the Current Affairs of the week- followed by the Regional language movie. The movie, if my memory serves me right, had subtitles. As they were all national award winners, it was a rich experience, understanding the cultural diversity of our great nation. To sum up, there was an aura of anxiety and curiosity created in eagerly waiting for your favourite show or the movie that will be shown next week. In case any one misses the programmes or movies, the filling up of the details by the people, lifted the imagination of the listening minds. Uncontaminated laughter shows were enjoyed by the entire family.
Election time was the most anticipated one on TV, for mainly two reasons. One the analysis- pure analysis by psephologists, and the other movies that were shown in between the results. As I am not a sports fan, not even a single line is on it, but even the sports were enjoyed by one and all in the same fashion and the same commentary.
At that time, we always wanted more and more programmes. The advent of cable Television, followed by Satellite channels, filled this vacuum. The introduction of 24 *7 channels, followed by exclusive News, Movies, Music, GEC, etc. added to the pleasure. Post 2014, the streaming services started taking space and as of now, the choice is so overwhelming that the SMART TVs with all the features, almost, if not entirely, make one watch what he or she wants to watch. As on date, I don't need to bother about a movie or show missed, as I can always have access to them anytime, anywhere I want, not only on TV but also on mobile.
In spite of the so many gadgets having the capability to be like a TV, the TV be it a CRT/ LCD/ LED or the versions yet to come, can't be replaced. Its SMARTness has killed my creativity and imagination. Anything available at Anytime -its actually a paradox, which disturbs one's schedule or say, one cannot have a schedule at all. Just imagine, once upon a time, we used to schedule our tasks according to the schedules of TV programmes ( priority restricted to TV). This phenomenon was done by one and all, as everyone could access the TV only at the particular point of time. So, in a way, by extrapolation, the entire society had schedules- time to watch TV. However, considering the socio-economic situation of the country back then, the conclusion may not be proper. Nonetheless, TV and its programmes helped one to follow a schedule. Compare it with today's position, where one need not wait or anticipate anything. The choice is so much that one polarizes himself or herself with the personal favourites, which is not at all a good sign for any society.
So, it makes me wonder, why do I want my TV to be SMART. I wish it to be IDIOT box, which at least gave me a scope to develop in all ways.
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