Doordarshan :)

DOORDARSHAN




I was talking to my mom yesterday when I heard the music of doordarshan in someones ring tone. It just took me back to years ago..Flash Back!!!!

Life used to be very simple then and yet full of fun. The first television we owned is a small black and white TV - Konark TV. I used to ask my dad , dad why is it our TV is konark and my friends own up solidaire..and which one is the best?. Because in school we used to fight konark is best or solidaire is best :)

The routine at our home starts at 5:30. My grandma would finish cooking dinner and start the TV at 5:30. There used to be kanmani poonga, wonder ballon..sort of kids programmes and then a very boring vayralum vaazhvum on agriculture and around 7:30 there will be news and some tele serials after that. The most watched and wanted is the friday evening 8 pm where we used to have oliyum oliyum which will telecase all new movie songs. Saturdays evening there will be a hindi movie and sunday evening tamil movie. And sundays are definitely fun days. It would start with He man and the master of universe , then disney mickey mouse and then ramayana, idhar udhar, and hum paanch...etc etc :). Later Ramayana to Mahabarath and then to chandrakantha...Wow :)

My uncle used to go to television station to give some programmes on light music. Once he took me with him when I was in second standard. They were recording the kanmani poonga in the TV station, where small kids will come and sing etc. I told my uncle I also want to sing. So later he took me home and then taught me a small song. I still remember the song.

Vaazhthuvom vananguvom...composed by him on Goddess Saraswahti. So on the day of recording, it was full of hungama at home. What dress to wear as if I have one big wardrobe. Finally I borrowed a pink frock from my cousin I was wearing that. And then my mom tied my hair into two plots with red ribbons. You might be wondering how I even remember the color of the ribbon but theres a reason for that. After going to TV station and then the recording was over. I was so happy. Because I was the only one who sang during recording without crying or creating a scene :). So my uncle as a treat took me on top of the light house and also bought me a icecream.

After that it was a long wait on when they are going to telecast it when finally they sent us a notification that its going to be telecasted that wednesday.
This news was broadcasted to whole close and distant and very distant relatives also. And my mom took half a day leave to come home early to watch me in TV. That time my parents also used to take tuitions at home. So one of the kids used to be very very rich. Actually their house seemmed to be a palace. So her mom had come and took me to her home so that I could watch myself in color television. So when the programme started it was in long shot. But when the kid next to me started to sing,I could see my one plot and red ribbon. And I started screaming hey thats me..thats me...and watching myself in TV felt so great :)

And after that for many days, whenever I go to a wedding or any function, well with my grandparents staying with us and with a very big chain of relatives every other week there would be a function and people would call me..and tell..hey..needane tvla vandha(You are the one who came in TV) and I would keep one expression as if they are asking autograph from me..:)

After that one day our konark TV picture tube POP..bursted. And then dad said..Anu..its not konark.its solidarie which is a good TV and he came home with a mini TV. By then I was in 6th standard in high school so that craziness of fighting whose is best was gone.

And then cable TV mania started where if you take connection you could see one movie every day. Thankfully we didnt do any of that sort and my dad was very strict against all those. Even the regular sunday movie he would check the censor certificate. I guess he had been more strict than those in censor board also. If he sees even a small 'a' anywhere in the certificate which will actually be shown in TV only for seconds he would not let us watch the movie :)

And till my college lifes we were away of this sun tv or any channels. It was always and only doordarshan that was part of our life. But slowly that changed. And we took cable connection out of peer pressure !!! ;-)

Then things changed. It was always full of confusion. Whoever owns the remote cant control the urge of changing it to another channel to make sure that we are not going to miss some better programme. The peacefulness of watching doordarshan was not there.

Probably a simple life is a content one too :)

After that my relationship with doordarshan was very minimal. Till my college days I had been there the TV station near Marina couple of times as part of chorus singing.
Infact once they divided us in three groups, high pitch, low and medium. I was part of high pitch. On the day of recording in the TV station, my voice suddenly was gone. We are supposed to sing one humming..aaah aaa...a...aaaaah...aaaa...
And my voice stood out and my music teacher then told me..you are not going to sing..you just do lip movement okay. I was standing in the middle..and she made me to stand in the back. I was almost in tears. And we had to sing three songs, on sun, moon and stars and I was stupidly standing in the back doing just lip movement. That was one worst experience.

Hey how can I forget to even mention about the films division presents....Ek Anek, Chulbuli and mile sur mera tumhara..These are some songs when you listen to it takes you to the small home where we lived bringing in lots of good old memories.

I dont know somehow there is something missing. The happiness in watching one doordarshan was now missing even with having 100s of channels. Our kids already are exposed to 100s of cartoon characters barney,Dora,Toystory, Ben10, spider man..when all we used to know was just spider man spider man.

Well..Missing Doordarshan and Missing Home!!!