Continued from Part 1…
Part 1 was mostly about Doordarshan and cartoon shows. So now coming to non-Indian serials….the top slot is taken by F.R.I.E.N.D.S…what else!!!! I have watched runs and re-runs and re-re-runs so many times that even my Mom knows which episodes I have already watched and recognizes all the characters. But still they make me laugh as if I’m watching for 1st time. And I miss having such a group of real friends. Here some of the best moments from the show.
I’d been addicted to television since I was four years old….actually since the day we bought TV. It is rumored by my elder sister that I used to watch anything Doordarshan ( the national and only channel in India at that time) dished out; like Krishi Darshan, a program for the benefit of farmers where experts solved their problems and suggested better agricultural practices. As I grew older, my attachment with TV grew. I used to be completely mesmerized with the moving pictures and the characters. It took my family (mostly my sister) a lot of coaxing, cajoling, emotional blackmailing, scolding, and bartering to get me to study and do vacation homework.
My first passion was animation and it still remains so. I simply love cartoons and animation movies.
In this post I want to share some of the happiest moments of my life when I used to get lost in the world or visual media by the courtesy of Youtube and the uploaders.
Starting with famous series Jungle Book, Baghira was my favorite character…strong and silent characters always appealed to me. Jungle Book was such a hit among children of my generation. The old cartoon series were much better than those being aired on Jetix or CN…all Japanese and violent.
Oh I almost forgot the first ever super hit animation series He-Man!!! It was awesome….”I have the power”
There was an afternoon show featuring characters which were vegetables. Their king was a brinjal called “Baingan Raja” (Brinjal King) Sadly no video is available of that show. Then there was one called “Molu”. As the name suggests the protagonist was a mole. Again no video available.
Then I was totally in love with Genie from the series “Arabian Nights” featuring Aladdin. It was pure humor mixed with adventure. It was an one hour show where half hour was of Aladdin and other half of Little Mermaid.
Then Disney cartoons at 10.30 am on Sundays won hearts of many young and old in India. I loved Ducktales. Talespin was a favourite of my Dad. And everyone liked the pirate character (I don’t remember the name) more than Baloo.
How can I forget “daanu” aka Denver the Last Dinosaur??? I couldn’t find the Hindi version of the opening song.
Then my second passion are fairy tales and fables, especially witty ones like Akbar Birbal, Vikram Betaal etc. Further, as I became wiser, I started liking some real human characters too like our superstar King Khan who was a tv soap actor then. I liked his serial Circus very much…more than Fauji. But I could find videos of Fauji only.
My Didi’s favorite series was Bharat Ek Khoj…..and I never felt any interest in it. Infact it was a very famous show but sadly I didnt like it. I guess it was too serious for me.
Doordarshan also telecasted short films and videos in public interest and to celebrate culture and heritage of India and to promote unity in diversity. Those videos are evergreen and remembered by all who are of the Doordarshan generation.
TO BE CONTINUED…..
I suspect that Ms.Ekta Kapoor has finally lost it…gone bonkers…has become raving mad, insane, deranged, unbalanced and sadist. She is planning and in fact has begun shooting of an episode of her popular soap opera Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii based on the sensational Aarushi muder case. The storyline is about a teenager in the serial who is killed by her parents because of her relationship with a boy and they are unwilling to surrender easily. Of course Balaji Telefilms say that they have only been inspired from the real life story. So finally Ekta and her writers (I doubt there is only one writer as the stories are all same with just a change of sequence of events as inferred from input given by my Mom) have run out of ideas to dish up to the viewers and they are resorting to cashing in on such a real life tragedy especially when it has been solved yet. I think all Ekta haters and Indians interested in saving the females of their families should launch a signed petition to close down Balaji Telefilms….”Save Our Moms” campaign. She is literally making hay while the sun shines!! What next? More real life murders and scandals will be incorporated in her various serials?
My Random Thoughts 