TV and We!

I

 still don’t know if television is a boon or bane? If I should curse television for making us all homebound and less social or the internet for making us the laziest (dumbest) ever generation.

Today being World Television Day, I shall focus on television than internet I guess.

So, here I ask…

Can you imagine a life free from TV serials, innumerous advertisements, redundant and mostly meaningless news? Can you wonder what you would do if there was no TV at all? Or should I rephrase and say, if there were lesser channels?

Have you ever wished that DD remained and other channels never flourished and conquered our lives? That our parents didn’t watch serials and we didn’t watch the same trailers and songs?

To give a background, TV came into India on 15^th September 1959 ONLY. This means we still lived without it and that we were saner!

Initially, portable and black & white TV came into existed. It demanded lesser space and drew lesser attention from the onlookers. Today, it has grown considerably that TV is available in 40” with HD clarity (in 3D also) demanding an entire wall. If you have speakers and want to make a home theater, then you may need one entire room! Implicitly, this also shows that like the camel in age-old fable which slowly occupies poor Sheik’s tent, the TV has conquered our personal space too.

Children wants to watch Chota Bheem, grandparents wants Mahabharata, Parents need to watch (never-ending) serials and younger ones want songs no matter what. If you have ever shared your room and lived in a PG, you would be knowing that every girl wants to watch romantic English movies. And, the boys I say, wants sports only. They can even watch the re-telecasts with the same interest and anxiety as the live performance. Newly married housewives watch Cookery shows as if they are going to cook all those complicated dishes when they don’t even know how to use a rice cooker. Finally, everyone regardless of age,are addicted to Reality Shows. Is Kim K really going to be in Big Boss?

No matter what, TV is intelligent and knowledgeable. It knows the Evolution Theory and understands what “Survival of the Fittest” means. Today we have personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets and what not? If we have intermittent internet connection (Which is not a luxury anymore) we can watch almost any TV program at any given time. However, the importance of TV has not diminished. On the other hand, modern day TV is so advanced that you can connect to Wi-Fi and connect to Skype (to chat with family and friends who are away), Facebook (to instantly share what you are watching) and YouTube (to stream almost anything anytime). There are options to pause and record as well.

And the outcome?

We prefer to watch TV to socializing. Gone are the days of befriending neighbors. In fact, many of us have the habit of watching TV while taking food; yet another family time sacrificed. Nobody can miss their serials or reality shows!!!

Walking down the memory lane, I remember that we have always had a color TV at home. I should have been 6 or 7 years old when my parents declared their decision to get cable connection. I can never forget how much I cried. I pleaded them against the decision. I told them that I was happy with Chithrahaar and Rangoli. But, then cable connection came home. Life changed. I miss those antennas and the struggle to get the signal. Do you recall? When antennas were not used anymore, several itinerary traders evolved with the promise to mold Gods, flowers, birds, animals and such alike out of it. I bet that you would be having something alike in your attic.

In short, I wish that life was simple. Easier.

I wish that I was born 50 years before.