Memoirs of a Lost World

The advent of Television era (the idiot box!) was a significant development during the initial years of my life. It all started with the priced Black and White television sets occupying the most sacred place in one’s house (the most common brands were Dynora, Wilson, Videocon, and some Japanese companies), color TV sets were still a distant dream then. The eon started with the ubiquitous Doordarshan channel (for the nescient younger generation – this is a government owned channel and is still available as part of standard cable package) being aired for limited hours during evening time. The telecast timings were expanded subsequently to include morning and afternoon hours which was an achievement in itself for the government at that time (I mean c’mon they were inching closer to serving non stop infotainment which was a kind of huge favor for the dumb Indian audience). Speaking about the quality of programs DD served during those days – I would say it was a mix bag. Here is a complete low down on the history of Indian television(read Doordarshan) as viewed by a youngster.

The culture of never ending soaps started way back then(1980s) with serials like ‘Buinyaad’(Lajoji, Haveli Ram) and ‘Humlog’(Basesar Ram, Nanhe). I am sure E(K)ta Kapoor had started taking lessons in soap since then itself. Indian sitcoms made an extremely successful beginning with serials like ‘Ye Jo Hai Jindagi’ (Rakesh Bedi was absolutely hilarious), ‘Wagle Ki Duniya’(the Indian bourgeois population would still identify itself with the protagonist Wagle played by Anjan Srivastava) and Rajni(not sure if you remember the intimidating Priya Tendulkar). Then there were serials meant for children like ‘Dada Dadi ki Kahaniyaan’, Vikram Vetaal(I still can visualize Vetaal with long white curly hairs being carried over by Vikram on his back with Vetaal saying wickedly ‘Vikram, Tu Bola To Mai Chala…HAHAHA…’), ‘Malgudi Days’(the character of Swami and the title tune would stay in my heart forever), ‘Nukkad’ (the camaraderie depicted and portrayed in the serial has no parallels till date) and the first Sci-Fi serial ‘Sigma’(Jakakhu, Tara) which I guess was responsible for building up my interest in science stuff. ‘Katha Sagar’, ‘Neem Ka Ped’, ‘Tamas’, ‘Circus’, ‘Fauzi’(FYI - SRK featured the in last 2), Udaan(Kavita Choudhry), Air Hostess(the beautiful Kittu Gidwani), Karamchand(the first ever detective serial played out by Pankaj Kapoor to the ‘T’), Vyomkesh Bakshi (another detective serial and was an instant hit), ‘Ek Do Teen Char’(saturday afternoon after the half day school), Siddhart Basu’s Quiz show(Derek O Brien came much later folks), ‘Turning point’(a science show anchored by Girish Karnad who was simply flawless and the IISc’s Prof. Yashpal who became a sort of celebrity), Prannoy Roy’s ‘The World this Week’(he coined the idea of starting a separate TV channel from there) are some of the other cherished serials which would remain etched out in my memory for eternity. Speaking of Doordarshan, how could I forget the daily news (Samachar that is) which used to be a mere 20 minute affair (8.40 PM till 9). Salma Sultan, Sarla Maheshwari, Ved Prakash were household names then (I wonder where have they disappeared today). And last but not least, there used to be just 2 film songs based programs – Chitrahaar every Wednesday and Chayageet every Thursday – those who are used to 24/7 music channels today would have no idea about the craze these two programs generated in those days. The era of mythological epics (Mahabharata, Ramayana) being aired on DD came in mid nineties which also set the stage for the invasion of cable TV. I personally liked Mahabharata more than Ramayana for its compelling depiction of all the mythological characters- Bhishma Pitamah was an instant hit and so was Arjuna and Krishna.

The programs I hated most were countless – the local program in Marathi ‘Aamchi Maati Aamchi Mansa’ – a horticulture based program topped the list. I mean who was watching such programs? The intended audience viz the poor farmers did not have access to television anyways, so effectively the urban populace was being trained and specialized in agriculture!! Then there was the most awaited Hindi movie slot - once every week on Sunday evening. The movies shown were either pre Alam-aara period or at best some flop movie featuring Rajendra Kumar!! And we were supposed to feel lucky for that. Then there was those government sponsored messages (Child dioherria, child marriage, family planning, anti smoking/anti drinking and so on). The intention was not wrong but the message ads were so tasteless and poorly shown that it left you with no option but to leave the room and go for a walk.

Moving on, the DD TV saga would not be complete without the mention of advertisements being aired during that time which had a class of its own. I would start the interesting journey with ‘Nirma’ ad. Yes, this ad should actually be given the longest running ad award for not changing its ad tune(though due credit should be given for at least changing the visuals!). When Pepsi was launched initially in India, it was called ‘Lehar Pepsi’ and the ad featured the pop singer ‘Remo Fernandis’ who made the punch lines extremely famous – ‘Are you Ready for the Maqgic?’ and ‘Yahi hai right choice baby, ahaa!!’. The Pepsi ad later featured Aamir Khan with Mahima Choudhary and the sensual Sanjana (yeah, you all guessed it right – she was the blue eyed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – all of sweet 17 at that time!!!). Then there was another ad which featured a beautiful lass and I kept wondering for years about her identity. The ad was for Khatau sarees and the damsel who appeared in it was none other than Raveen Tandon who did it when she was in 12^th std! (as per one of her interviews). Then there was that Bajaj bulb ad which had the punch line ‘Jab mai bilkul chota tha, badi shararat karta tha…’. Bajaj scooter had the ad song as ‘Hamara Bajaj – Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer’. Bombay Dyeing ad had the hot Lisa Ray featuring in their promos (she could have become a better and bigger model I feel). I can also recall the Rasna ad which was made very endearing for their cute child models. The Jalebi ad(for one of the oil brands I guess) was one of the classic ones. One of the most innovative ads ever done is Amul. They kept changing the punch line almost every month mostly capturing the flavor of the month. Recently, I heard that the brain behind all those funny one liners has left the company for the good. Hats off to such a creative mind.

Other ads which come to my mind from that era are – Prestige(Jo biwi se kare pyaar, wo ..blah blah), Boroline, Iodex(ooh, aah, ouch), Surf, Lipton tea, Mysore Sandal soap, Bournvita, Cema bulbs, Parle G, Farex baby milk powder, Cibaca tooth paste, Hipolin washing powder, Rin(Bahenji ad done by Kavita Choudhary), Titan watches(the romantic ad wherein the fiancé gifts the watch to his beloved in a hotel backdrop and the violins being played out by the band), Dabur Lal dant manjan(‘Kyu na ho masterji, mai Dabur lal dant manjan jo istemaal karta hoon), ‘Ek chidiya Anek chidya’ depicting unity in diversity by Films division, Rexona and many many more.

I guess the Doordarshan era defined and shaped a generation, a generation unaware about the MTV culture and the 100 channel confusion. Good or bad, the DD legacy would be difficult to forget if not impossible.

PS - Special thanks to my better half as she was the one who helped me recall/recollect most of the above details with amazing clarity.