The DD Days

The word 'Doordarshan or DD’ will no doubt strike a chord with the 80s and 90s kids. Doordarshan was not just a television channel, it was an inextricable part of our childhood. Of late, I have fond memories of the once most-hated channel. I was watching a recent video where a 90s kid, now a stand up comedian, narrated interesting facts about his DD memories. It's amazing how much most of us remember of what we saw years back.

Unlike today, we were not spoilt for choices. To explain in the modern lexicology, we had the DD 1, the primary national channel which was the basic template with an extraordinary ringtone and screensaver. I bet most of you are reciting the DD signature tune by now. Not to forget the melodious 'Mile Sur mera tumhara' which really gave goosebumps and instilled the spirit of unity in diversity. And the alternative entertainment channel DD Metro, the secondary channel that sought to add a little spice to compete with the new private TV channels, brought to us new serials and Hindi movies on weekends. I have faint memories of DD3 which used to telecast movies, but I guess it was pulled out. 

The iconic DD logo has been replaced with a new logo, intended to woo the present day youth. It's going to be a humongous task for DD. Today DD has a big network of more than 20 regional channels, but I wonder who is still watching DD these days!

At school, the 90s kids were divided into two broad categories. The lions share was of the brooding DD kids, who envied the other tribe for the most valued asset called cable channels. We all watched Junoon on Mondays, Shriman Shrimathi on Tuesdays, Kanoon on Wednesdays, Oliyum Oliyum on Fridays, Chithrahaar and Chandrakanta on Sundays, and repeat telecasts of older serials like Circus, Mahabharata and Ramayana on weekends. Byomkesh Bakshi, Tu tu mein mein, Shanthi, Superhit Muqabla, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Sea Hawks (to name a few) were some of the blockbuster hits of those days.

The title song of some of these serials (like Chandrakanta) are a musical memory. In the 90s there was another trend of translating original Hindi serials into Tamil, so I have memories of the same song in Hindi and Tamil. We got to watch old Hindi classic hit movies on weekend afternoons. Thanks to my dad, I am indebted to  Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand for aiding in developing my hindi speaking skills. We proudly claim credit to have known popular stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Madhavan, Renuka Shahane and Madira Bedi during their formative years.       

Honestly, we hated DD those days for being so dull and monotonous. Private channels were more colourful with better picture and sound quality. I remember my father had strictly said cable tv would come home only after my sister and me completed 12th STD. We learnt the simple lesson of loving what we had, rather than brooding over what we wanted.

I personally feel the lesser the choices, the more the value. Today I have a smart TV, with God-knows how many channels and umpteen other choices like USB port, Amazon Stick, Netflix etc. But the irony is that I hardly watch television by choice anymore, nor do I remember or recollect what I watch. The innumerable categories and choices make it difficult to choose. Sometimes I wish we lived in the DD era, where everyone shut their television sets before 11 pm, unless they wanted to listen to the signature tune.

Nevertheless, thanks to modern technology, all we need to do is go to Youtube and quickly search for some old DD programmes to rewind and relive those simple moments of joy.

Sharing the link to the video I referred above on DD moments worth recollecting.
https://youtu.be/JFkTRTMJyCQ

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