DoorDarshan Days

Yesterday , a small fight with my neice Achu for the TV remote control to see the cricket match brought back memories of the days when the whole family religiously sat together and watched the only channel available in those times – Doordarshan .

Even though the telecast used to start at 6 PM, the whole family would be in front of the TV by 8 PM . The women finished their work and dinner was served mostly in front of the TV. By 9 PM the kitchen will be closed for the Soap operas. The characters in the mega serial Buniyaad , Yeh joh hai zindagi , Nukkad, Hum Log are still fresh in our memories and their title songs still reverberate in the ears . Even though none of my family members were well versed in Hindi, we never missed any of the episodes. 
 On Mondays, we used to wait for a Malayalam song in Chitramala which used to show 4-5 songs from Non Hindi languages. Sometimes our wait would extend for 2-3 weeks hoping that the next one will show a Malayalam song, but mostly we were made to listen to Marathi , Bengali, Oriya or Manipuri songs.

On Sundays, the telecast used to start at 9 AM. The Star wars, Star Trek, He Man and the masters of Universe, Vikram or Vethal and Spiderman etc kept us glued in front of the box . Other family members joined us by Lunch time to see Rajni , Udaan etc .On Sunday afternoons, an award winning non-Hindi film will be shown. By evening, the full family and neighbours will be in front of TV to see the Hindi Movie. Programmes such as Bharat Ek Khoj, Sidharta Basu’s Quiz time and Guinness book of record etc sharpened the intellect of that generation. The only time Television got some rest was when there was national mourning at the death of any National leader when Doordarshan would cancel all programmes for few days and show Ustad Bismillah Khan's Shehnai vaadan and other traditional instrumental music.

Listening to the 20 minute news of those times was a unique experience with most of the time devoted for the Prime Minister’s travels and governments achievements. Each of the DD newsreaders of that time was the epitome of grace, mannerisms and golden voice. Neethi Ravindran and Komal G B Singhs reading style were a class apart.

For Mallus of those times football was in their blood and Cricket was alien to most except for those who studied outside Kerala and a chosen few. Live Cricket telecast changed the sports scene in Kerala. All the cricket matches involving India were telecasted live with ball to ball running commentaries by Dr Narottam Puri, Anupam Gulati and Hindi commentary by Sushil Doshi . Many a time the ball and the TV cameras went in different directions but our commentators always added excitement to the proceedings. It was common to have 5-6 interruptions in the telecast, just before the crucial wicket or a boundary and immediately a message would appear on the screen as ‘ Rukavat Keliye Khed Hai’ which lasts for few minutes . The B& H World Series which was live telecasted from Australia in 1985 was a treat to watch with multiple cameras used and clear replays. The most memorable match I had seen in the 80s was a India Pak test match at Bangalore which I saw standing in front of a TV showroom on a hot summer afternoon in Kannur town. Even though India lost the match, I consider Sunil Gavaskar’s 96 runs on a turning track as the best innings of all times

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I was in 8th standard when the Doordarshan started its telecast in my home town Cannanore. Few months after the telecast started, Smt Indira Gandhi was shot dead. It was Salma Sultan, the elegant Hindi news reader who first read the news of the Prime Minister’s death on TV. Her eyes were fully wet when she read out the news of Smt. Gandhi’s death. Doordarshan live telecasted the funeral ceremony. People from the neighbourhood thronged to our drawing room to see the final rites. As the sandal pyre was lit by Rajiv Gandhi there was total silence in the hall. Breaking the grief situation with her eyes on the TV screen my grandmother in a sorrowful voice said ‘Oh! The smell of sandal smoke’ and my elderly neighbor Dhamayanthi amma nodded her head in unison.

Those were the times when so called 'Intellectuals' went wrong in calling the Television an “Idiot Box”.