With 24hr availability of hundreds of TV channels and owners focus area being the high rated TRP’s, I feel my kid would miss the righteousness of doordarshan.
While we waited for the republic day parade show on doordarshan, I was overwhelmed when vande matram song was played and it showcased all the different dance forms in India and I walked down the memory lane to my childhood days when TV viewing was restricted to Doordarshan and how we used to wait for any of its telecast.
For kids, we all agree that seeing is much better learning than reading it and I would admit that, I learnt a lot from TV specifically about India and its culture. I knew the different dance forms in India; I knew the famous and real jewels of india, from pandit jasraj to ustad amjad ali khan the famous sarod player or be it famous bansuri player pandit hariprasad chaurasia, the different art forms, the ancient history and the mythological part of India all I owe to Doordarshan. Another advantage I saw was that these songs made a room for my learning these skills. I was inclined to dance and wanted to pursue it, not to win any competition but just for myself.
Those days when TV was considered to be a luxury and neighbors and their neighbors all used to gather to watch Ramayana or cricket match. I’ll like to give credit to Doordarshan that taught me that fun is with people around and not alone. Today, I mostly sit alone browsing thousands of channel and don’t feel the punch of it.
I used to watch what my parents used to watch so I got used to news and also to humlog on doordarshan and lucky me that we never had any restrictions in viewing.
But today scenario has changed completely, what I watch today
- songs
- some movies
- award functions
- a cookery show
- reality shows
So what I can expect my kid to learn from these?
- How to become famous?
- How to make fun of others and laugh on them?
- Slang… F**k you, You such an a** h**e
- Dance forms – would be just salsa, hip-hop, belly,gangnam style
- When asked about Indian culture and its representation – would they just be able to take names of salman khan and Katrina kaif?
As a parent there are loads of controls or app to get the restricted viewing for kids but how could I assure my kid is expose to the Indian culture and its diversity? I know we have even moved ahead with the way of teaching and now blackboard with a chalk has been replaced with smart classes, but it’s again school-learning, I’m not giving the advantage of play and learn here. And to let him choose what he want to pursue in life.
As a parent may be “worried” just a bit more :-)
Keep Faith
Chakoli :)
