Religion on Indian television

There is hardly anyone who is not afraid of God and prays to Him to save him out when he is in trouble. And, in order to ensure that we do not lose sights of our objectives, there are any number of programs dedicated to Gods and Goddesses. Yes, while some religions believe in one God, in the Hindu culture, there are innumerable Gods and Goddesses. One reason is, probably, the different dialects that exist in the country and the different cultures and food habits prevalent. Each group wants to be identified with a God or Goddess who is like one of the group.

Anyway, in order to cater to one and all, Indian TV channels have risen to the task remarkably well. Since television now is a 24X7 affair, most of the channels present religious programs in the early mornings – these end by 7am when regular transmissions take over.
Side by side, there are a few channels devoted entirely to religious programs that continue throughout the day and night.
And, religion is an integral part of practically each and every TV serial – since the fad is to have huge households, also known as joint families, there has to be an area earmarked for pujas to the Gods and Goddesses who are important to the family. There could be an idol of Lord Ganesh or an idol of Lord Narayana and Goddess Laxmi or idols of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and brother Lakshman.
The fact is that the family members will gather in this special area to pray – the prayers could be for the speedy recovery of a member of the family who has met with an accident and is on the death bed. Or – for the well-being of a kid that has been kidnapped. Or – to ensure that the husband is not distracted by any other woman.
The situations are innumerable and, at every step, they turn to God to help them out.
Of course, at festival times, the whole family gets together to pray – and the evil members take the opportunity to cook up some more evil plots that ultimately fail because of timely divine intervention. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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When television first came on the Indian scene, it was supposed to be an audio visual medium that was meant to inform and educate the masses. The only agency to undertake such a stupendous task was the Doordarshan and it has the onus responsibility to cater to different tastes of the viewer.
Since it was a government project, it had to follow a whole lot of dos and don’ts and spread various types of messages down to the grass roots. The newsreaders had to abide by strict codes of not only dress bit also of appearances and they were supposed to display bland faces with no sign of any emotion. They had to even suppress any hint of a smile!!

It was not that smiles were not there but, those were kept reserved for comedy serials like Wagle ki duniya or Ghar-jamai or Hum Paanch or Sarabhai versus Sarabhai or Mungeri Lal ki haseen sapne etcetera. It was mostly tongue-in-cheek humor that tickled the senses but there was no guffaw.
Most of the TV serials on Doordarshan used to be a single episode every week and the length used to be restricted to 13 episodes. As a result, the interest was maintained and there was satisfaction all around. Moreover, Doordarshan in those days was not a 24X7 channel but wound up transmission at 11pm.
Anyway, when new TV channels came on the scene, the competition for survival was intense and it became a mad rush to gather eyeballs and retain supremacy. Cable networks started up in the cities and spread to every nook and corner. And, with the growth of channels the whole scene transformed drastically.
In order to cater to the changing tastes, there emerged reality shows – beginning from antarakshis and music shows, it went on to dance shows and comedy shows. Many of the shows were adaptations of foreign similar shows.
And, the TV serials of today have become a never-ending affair – the scenes get padded up to any extent with repetition of words and phrases and the cameras zooming in on individual faces of the actors and actresses and the villains. These do make for painful viewing. But, then, the TV serials are all about the daily twists at the end of the day that keep the audience guessing and spellbound. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Indians are a God fearing lot and, no matter how liberal we may project ourselves to be, the fact remains that we are still haunted by superstition. We still have full faith in God and know that he will always stand by our side and deliver us from all evil. That is why the set on practically every TV serial will have a space devoted to God.
This in-house temple will be a place where all family members will assemble – not just to pray on regular festivals but also to pray for a death-bed member of the family to recover. He (or she) might have been involved in a serious head on collision on the road. The accident would have been engineered by a member of the family who is not on good terms with the victim or who feels he has been wronged.

The spot of red on the forehead of the victim would signify the seriousness of the injury. And, the prayer sessions in front of God would prove that God can perform miracles, doctors are not really necessary. Once in a while, the prayer venue would shift to an outside temple – or even a temple in the premises of the hospital.
So much so for praying to God on selfish motives. There are other occasions to pray and celebrate and that is during festival times and, in the Indian calendar, there is no shortage of festivals.
Regular and large scale festivals mean Dussera, Diwali, Holi, and Ganesh festival and others include kite festival, karwa chauth etcetera. And then, there are the marriage rituals right from the pre wedding song and dances to the actual marriage ceremonies. On these occasions, the stars of the glittering world of TV grab the chance to showcase latest fashion trends and the online business of the products soars.
That is what TV is all about – enjoy and let others enjoy, let business flourish, let there be smiles on people’s faces. As an ad of a popular two-wheeler goes – why should boys have all the fun? Let the fun not be restricted to only a few. (to be continued …)
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Indian TV depicts unbelievable lifestyles of the rich – millionaire families in the serials have only one servant to take care of a household of around ten highly influential individuals who always remain dressed from head to toe in all their finery? They can make things happen in the twinkling of an eye. The city they live in boasts of only one road, one hospital, and one temple.
And, in the family, the heroine is the medicine for all evil even though she continues to earn the wrath of some of the characters. She wants to help anyone in the family who has a problem but her noble intentions are not allowed to take fruit thanks to some evil characters who plot to spoil her party.

The answer is – yes, TV serials of today in India dream up even more weird situations. These are contrived by the story writers to garner TRPs and remain on top of the charts of popularity.
And, the episodes keep coming and the audience is kept glued to the TV sets waiting for the next turn of events. At times, for a change, the team is taken out of the make believe sets to some foreign location for variety. Who knows – the heroine might have suddenly insisted that if she is not taken to Australia, she will leave the serial!!
In comparison, the TV serials of yore aired on Doordarshan were treats to watch – usually, each serial was of 13 episodes and these were weekly shows. There were a couple of exceptions like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata – these were morning slots while other serials occupied evening slots.
Doordarshan was, in those good old days, the only TV channel available till other brands invaded the space and made TV a 24X7 affair with increase in the number of couch potatoes.
How one longs for serials like Udaan, Airhostess, Mungeri Lal ki haseen sapney, Hum Paanch, Buniyaad, Wagle ki duniya, Ghar jamai, Malgudi days etcetera. Each of these had plausible story lines and the viewer could relate himself with the characters.
Alas, today there is no story line and new twists are introduced on a regular basis to ensure that the serial goes on and on from 1000 episodes to 5000 episodes. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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