Good Old DD days

Remember the good old DD days, when thanks to all the dull programs they aired, we earned more time to stay outside our homes instead of sulking in front of the idiot box?

Those were the halcyon days of the black and white TVs and one Doordarshan channel, which after decades gave way to a color TV and a DD-Metro channel. Sundays were fun with Ramayan and Mahabharat and Fairy Tales. Other programs that I remember vividly include Ashish, Vikram aur Betaal, Karamchand, Khile ki Rahasya, Aisa Bhi Hota Hai, Honi-Unhoni, Oshin, Giant Robot, He-Man, Spiderman . . .

How we used to flock together to watch Chitrahaar and Chitramanjari and cuss when the half hour was up! I also remember watching all regional films (even Marathi films) aired on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Thursdays were especially my favorite, as they fostered me to become the sitcom buff that I have become now, playing a wonderful sitcom called Blossom (I still remember her and her best friend, Six, who would talk nineteen-to-the-dozen and her handsome brother, Joey) followed by Boy Meets World (I was lucky to catch this again on Disney Channel a few months back).

We did not get any cartoon channels then, perhaps that explains why god makes you meet so many of the characters in your work life!

Fast forward 20 years, I own a 21-inch color TV with S-band so you can have 100 channels and your cable guy plays only 50 of them claiming the rest are pay channels. And despite all the channels that exist, you are left channel-surfing looking for one decent program to watch.

Star Movies can be renamed Jurassic or Star Wars Movies; AXN – Ripley’s or Guinness channel; Zee and Sony can be renamed to Indian Idol and Boogey Woogey; Travel & Living to Tattoos and Cooking channel; Star Plus to Saas-Bahu channel; History to Hitler Channel; and so on. The only decent channel NatGeo has started airing the same old documentaries and are also showing Amazing Videos. And I am tired of watching the animals prey and mate on Animal Kingdom and Discovery!

So finally after an hour of surfing, I end up watching reruns after reruns of Friends on Star World, reruns of Full House on Zee Café, and then when I find nothing better I find myself watching (and really enjoying) Hannah Montanna on Disney or Just for Laughs or Mr. Beans on Pogo. Perhaps I have reached the second childhood. Back to where I started from?!