Gone are the days, when watching television together as a community was a unique and blissful experience. The limited sources of entertainment in those times explain the immense popularity of Doordarshan – the only national broadcaster in the early 80s.
Before OTT platforms came into the picture, one would watch films together at cinema halls, popularly known as the talkies, and eagerly wait for the circus to come to town, especially on festive occasions. There used to be just one theatre in my native town, Ropar – Kalyan Talkies, which held us in a thrall, as opposed to the wide array of choices available to us now, thanks to the proliferation of the internet.
Delving into my childhood memories takes me to my octogenarian grandfather’s house. After my Class 10 examination, my younger sister and I moved to our grandparents’ home in Ropar for further education as there were hardly any higher education institutions in Nangal where my father was posted.
Bhapa ji, as we affectionately called him, had a penchant for novel gadgets and purchased a black and white television set back in the late 70s, when it was considered to be a luxury. He was among the few fortunate people in our sleepy town to own a television. Our ancestral house doubled as a cinema hall on weekends, especially Sunday evening, when diverse viewers, comprising mostly children and the elderly from nearby dwellings, thronged our home to watch Hindi feature films on Doordarshan. Known for her magnanimity and warmth, my grandmother would always roll out a dari in the open verandah for the children to squat, and set out chairs for the elderly so that they could watch the Ramayana in comfort.
{{/usCountry}}Bhapa ji, as we affectionately called him, had a penchant for novel gadgets and purchased a black and white television set back in the late 70s, when it was considered to be a luxury. He was among the few fortunate people in our sleepy town to own a television. Our ancestral house doubled as a cinema hall on weekends, especially Sunday evening, when diverse viewers, comprising mostly children and the elderly from nearby dwellings, thronged our home to watch Hindi feature films on Doordarshan. Known for her magnanimity and warmth, my grandmother would always roll out a dari in the open verandah for the children to squat, and set out chairs for the elderly so that they could watch the Ramayana in comfort.
{{/usCountry}}The Hindi news bulletin, which broadcast at 7:30pm, was like an interval, and my grandmother graciously served shikanji (lemonade) during the hot summers and hot tea in winter with home-made sweets such as ladoos, shakarpare and salted cookies (mathis) to go with it.
On cloudy days when the signal was unclear, I was always given the unpleasant task to go to the rooftop to rotate the pipe affixed to the antenna. My sister signalled me from the ground to stop moving when the photographs became clear and the humming sound faded. It proved to be wonderful lesson in synchronisation.
Chitrahaar, a weekly programme, featuring popular Hindi film songs was another star attraction on Doordarshan which was broadcast every Wednesday at 8pm in the good old days. I am also reminded of few striking instances when the power went off unexpectedly, playing spoilsport, and the spectators whose favourite programme had been interrupted would pray for the restoration of power – eyes closed and hands folded.
Once my grandfather bought a screen with coloured patches to give the impression of a coloured TV, but it strained the eyes, and he immediately replaced it with a blue screen.
The standout in those halcyon days was the unadulterated camaraderie and intense social bonding that took place as one enjoyed with their near and dear ones. Thus, fostering a sense of affection and amity.
Nowadays, even close-knit family members do not have the time to sit together. Distressingly, this unsavoury development reflects a sense of growing individualism, which has distanced us from our loved ones. Kudos to the mesmerising national broadcaster, which acted as a unifying force, keeping our social fabric intact.
opinder.lamba@gmail.com
(The writer is additional director (press) to the Punjab chief minister)