Do you remember those days? Those GOLDEN DAYS...those innocent, harmless days... Let's take few minutes out from our busy schedules and try to revisit our GOLDEN DAYS...Let's go nostalgic today...
Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi released and Gandhi became an International star. Later the movie would be shown on Doordarshan every Independence Day from many many years to come. Doordarshan went national in the early 80s. Salma Sultan was reading News. Sitting in front of T.V sets, people used to reply back to her Namaskars. Ustad Bismillah Khan was on the shehnai every Independence day. Along with national broadcast came: the Antennas on the T.V set and on the rooftops (Oh! Adjusting those antennas to get the right signals). Color T.V came to India in 1982 with the Asian Games held in Delhi. Then we had serials like Hum Log of 1984 and some years later we got the megadrama: Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan ran from 1987 to 1988. Soon came Mahabharat that ran from 1988 to 89 - the story of 23 day war was told the entire year and people developed an interest in history. A serial named Kille Ka Rahasya made me a claustrophobic that I am. However, that is another story. Surf and Lalitaji were names that glued themselves to consumer's brain. Yet consumer's brain had space for more names, names like Amul, Nirma, Dabur, Favicol and Dalda. Polymer science gave us Lakhani chappal or maybe it gave us Relaxo chappal. Bata was a biggest footwear name, Action, Force, Liberty came later. People drank Campa Cola or maybe Gold Spot using straws, straws that later littered the floor of Halls hosting marriage receptions. Vicks ki goli lo…People were popping in Vicks lozenges after smoking a Cavanders. If that didn’t get rid of the smoky smell, they considered brushing the teeth using Ajanta tooth ‘burush’ and white Colgate toothpaste, or may be just chew on some toothpowder sold in red headed white tin containers. Mouthwash! sellers and buyers had no need for it yet. Raju was content with Dabur Lal Dant Manjan that guaranteed pearly white motiyo jaisay daant
Deodorant! Who needed them when we had Vaseline hair oil, the smell didn't offend anyone yet. Vaseline the perfumed hair oil, may be they were competing against Bengali Cantharidine.
Deodorant! Who needed them when we had Nycil ‘powder’. However, Nycil had no perfume to talk of, it was unperfumed, but it worked magic on scratchy Indian backs. For shoulder to shoulder good smell we had Shower to Shower. Aah! Those were the days...
Khaitan gave common man something that only the White man of pre-Independence days could easily afford: Cool air without manual labor - Air Power. Hand Crafted Hand-held fans retired to some corner of the house, but were retrieved everytime electricity went dead, and that happened just as often as it happens now. Kerosene lamp was still kept in some corner of the house, a back up. When electricity was on, most houses were lit yellow by incandescent Surya light bulbs. Bulbs controlled by big black Knobs. However Tubelight with its pure white light had arrived illuminating the freshly Nerolac painted walls. Aah! Those were the days...
Kerosene stove slowly made way for the LPG stove. Food cooked in a Hawkins pressure cooker ‘looked’ good. MDH masala was used in cooking. Kayam Churan, Hajmola or Sawad ki goli was to be poped in after eating. For some of certain age, Isabgol was the laxative husk to be mixed in milk and to be drunk just before going to bed at night. Beds in cold areas warmed by hot water bottles. Tin cans like the one of Lipton tea etc. were used to store sugar, salt, garam masala, pepper, tea, nuclear waste and other useful things. In homes, a Singer sewing machine was the ruler of women's gadget world. Girl’s wanted Lacto Calamine to get that rosy tone. Boroline was the antiseptic creamy answer to skin problem under the shirt. For under the pants problems of men, we had B-Tex lotion. Lifebuoy made life a lot less messy for pure-impure-unpure conscious, right-handed middle class Indians. Rosy Pink Lux for aging beauty queens had competition from Lemony Green Liril for girls who enjoyed frolicking under waterfalls. Waterfall…Mandakini showered under a waterfall wearing just a transparent white sari. Men still watch her bathe...keep googling her ram maili image up. Some smart people liked Smita Patil, but she too had to dance in the rain. Some people were kept busy by Bo Derek. While some were kept busy by Rambo…everyone waned to workout and get those muscles. Aah! Those were the days...
The other thing that kept men busy was the newest gadget. Hamara Bajaj was the national pride and ride – model was Chetak. Besides it we had LML Vespa. Casio calculator with LED display was Pure technology. Also, Wrist watch that could do mathematical calculation was the in gadget. It was again a marvel from the house of Casio. If you had a VCP in 80s – you were rich, if you had VCR you were Super Rich. Radios in leather bound covers became a dying breed but they were still around with old men who clung to them. Vinyl Cassettes were the revolution. Remember playing Kishan Kanhaiyya's cassette in your cassette player??? Aah! Those were the days...
Gurdas Maan was a singing star with a dafli in hand. Runa Laila of Bangladesh found an audience in India and Lal Meri was the song. Nazia Hasan of Pakistan was the new fresh sound. Ghulam Ali, The Ghazal Maestro of Pakistan became a star in India. Everybody was listening to him Chupke Chupke Raat Din. Besides people bought music cassettes. Sports...India found Cricket in a new sense, but that a whole different story. In addition, we can name P.T. Usha.
Movie, another Indian passion. Sunday movies on Doordarshan were a big draw. One day the Doordarshan people decided to show 'art' movie for some weeks. It didn't last. People hated the idea.
Uski Roti! What!...just telecast Rajesh Khanna ki Roti. We would rather watch black and white screaming electron bugs fight it out on the signal down blue screen. We would rather watch the multi colored bars and listen to the single longest electronic beep. What the hell is Uski Roti! The slow churning of Doordarshan logo to the sound of some dying instrument, tuu-uuuu-tuu-uu-tu, during the first early morning telecast is more interesting than Uski Roti. Uski Roti! Kiski Roti! '
Ramsay Brothers were making Horror movies like Purana Mandir by the dozen and these films were, let’s use the Bollywood term - Super Duper Hit. Besides Horror movies we had numerous celluloid versions of soap operas and these were called family dramas. Amitabh Bachchan was the Shahenshah and so he remains to this day. Serious people and Cinema had a movie like Ardh Satya to catch. Times they seemed like changing. But that’s another story. Nothing changed. Mr. India had everything…a super watch, a super invisible power, more than a dozen kids, a girlfriend that could sing-dance and look sexy in the rain wearing a synthetic sari, and he also had a super villain, a Mogambo to be blamed for all the troubles in life. It was the culmination of every male Indian fantasy. Aah! Those were the days...
Children, little children had other things on mind. Owning a Hot Wheel Car or a Barbie was a dream for young boys and girls respectively, just as owing a Maruti 800 was for adults universally . Indrajal Comics brought with them syndicated comic books like The Phantom etc. Besides these it also had original graphic stories. Chandamama and Amar Citra Katha introduced Indian Mythologies and tales from other cultures to the growing children of the 80s. There were Indian Super-Heroes as well like Super Cammonado Dhruv, Naagraj, Parmanu and Donga to name a few. And then there were Chacha Chaudhary, Pinky, Billoo, Raman and Bankelal. I still remember renting those comics from the shop - 50ps for normal and 1 Re for "digest" comics. Aah! Those were the days...
Children had syndicated cartoon shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Also, we had one cartoon show about flying magical ponies. Children had trouble understanding what the hell Nirodh was… Grown up had trouble understanding it too, the population kept growing in spite of all the talk and wall painting by the Family welfare department… That, again, is another story. Aah! Those were the days...
And do you remember how special the ‘Sundays’ used to be when we were kids? Let’s try to remember what we all used to see on Sundays...
The day used to begin with Rangoli...a program containing only songs...Songs for everyone...old ones for Mom & Dad and the new ones for us. And we all used to get up at 7 in the morning on a Sunday!!! The show used to start at 7:15 am, right after the morning news. That used to be followed by the morning news, then Mahabharat or Ramayan or Chanakya... Or any other mythological or historical serial which whole family used to see together! Then we used to have a cartoon film... just try to remember how fervently we used to wait for it whole week! He-man, Jungle Book, Duck Tales, then ‘potliwale baba ki kahani’... Then we used to have a one hour program by National Geographic Society, a science based program! Then it used to be the time for Indian music ‘National Integration for Spirit of Unity Concert’, then again ‘Chaayageet’ before lunch time. In the afternoon there used to be a ‘Pradeshik feature film’ where we used to get movies made in other state; basically non-hindi films. Aah! Those were the days...
And see now what all we've, what all we watch? Do you really think Tulsi Virani comes even an inch closer to Lajoji? Aur any other bahu for that matter...Now we don't want to watch a show which revolves around a middle class family. We want to see a family with 500 Crore business and want to see how people come back from dead or how their plastic surgery changes their vital stats as well!!! Amazing, isn't it? Women (including that of my home as well) are more interested in watching how a bahu nullifies her saas' "shadyantras" and how she saves the whole family from ALL the possible crisis in the world! I mean we don't have "human" bahus anymore in our shows, they all are "super" bahus who knows all the answers of all the questions under the sun! No one wants to see the reality though everyone wants to see REALITY SHOWS! Even if someone tries to create such shows, either no one watches it or channels don't approve it! I really don't know how to react to this? Should I just laugh it off or should I try to do something about it? I think I don't have any option but to accept the former.
But I really, genuinely wish to God that someone, somewhere, sometime bring back those Golden Days in our lives which were innocent and extremely down-to-earth.
I know its "almost" impossible for you all today but just for one day, forget the attractive graphics of all the channels...just for one day...and sit in front of your TV set and watch DD1...I'm not promoting DD here but just wants you to enjoy TV watching...exactly the way we used to enjoy our Sundays 10 years back!!!
Those were the days...
Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi released and Gandhi became an International star. Later the movie would be shown on Doordarshan every Independence Day from many many years to come. Doordarshan went national in the early 80s. Salma Sultan was reading News. Sitting in front of T.V sets, people used to reply back to her Namaskars. Ustad Bismillah Khan was on the shehnai every Independence day. Along with national broadcast came: the Antennas on the T.V set and on the rooftops (Oh! Adjusting those antennas to get the right signals). Color T.V came to India in 1982 with the Asian Games held in Delhi. Then we had serials like Hum Log of 1984 and some years later we got the megadrama: Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan ran from 1987 to 1988. Soon came Mahabharat that ran from 1988 to 89 - the story of 23 day war was told the entire year and people developed an interest in history. A serial named Kille Ka Rahasya made me a claustrophobic that I am. However, that is another story. Surf and Lalitaji were names that glued themselves to consumer's brain. Yet consumer's brain had space for more names, names like Amul, Nirma, Dabur, Favicol and Dalda. Polymer science gave us Lakhani chappal or maybe it gave us Relaxo chappal. Bata was a biggest footwear name, Action, Force, Liberty came later. People drank Campa Cola or maybe Gold Spot using straws, straws that later littered the floor of Halls hosting marriage receptions. Vicks ki goli lo…People were popping in Vicks lozenges after smoking a Cavanders. If that didn’t get rid of the smoky smell, they considered brushing the teeth using Ajanta tooth ‘burush’ and white Colgate toothpaste, or may be just chew on some toothpowder sold in red headed white tin containers. Mouthwash! sellers and buyers had no need for it yet. Raju was content with Dabur Lal Dant Manjan that guaranteed pearly white motiyo jaisay daant
Deodorant! Who needed them when we had Vaseline hair oil, the smell didn't offend anyone yet. Vaseline the perfumed hair oil, may be they were competing against Bengali Cantharidine.
Deodorant! Who needed them when we had Nycil ‘powder’. However, Nycil had no perfume to talk of, it was unperfumed, but it worked magic on scratchy Indian backs. For shoulder to shoulder good smell we had Shower to Shower. Aah! Those were the days...
Khaitan gave common man something that only the White man of pre-Independence days could easily afford: Cool air without manual labor - Air Power. Hand Crafted Hand-held fans retired to some corner of the house, but were retrieved everytime electricity went dead, and that happened just as often as it happens now. Kerosene lamp was still kept in some corner of the house, a back up. When electricity was on, most houses were lit yellow by incandescent Surya light bulbs. Bulbs controlled by big black Knobs. However Tubelight with its pure white light had arrived illuminating the freshly Nerolac painted walls. Aah! Those were the days...
Kerosene stove slowly made way for the LPG stove. Food cooked in a Hawkins pressure cooker ‘looked’ good. MDH masala was used in cooking. Kayam Churan, Hajmola or Sawad ki goli was to be poped in after eating. For some of certain age, Isabgol was the laxative husk to be mixed in milk and to be drunk just before going to bed at night. Beds in cold areas warmed by hot water bottles. Tin cans like the one of Lipton tea etc. were used to store sugar, salt, garam masala, pepper, tea, nuclear waste and other useful things. In homes, a Singer sewing machine was the ruler of women's gadget world. Girl’s wanted Lacto Calamine to get that rosy tone. Boroline was the antiseptic creamy answer to skin problem under the shirt. For under the pants problems of men, we had B-Tex lotion. Lifebuoy made life a lot less messy for pure-impure-unpure conscious, right-handed middle class Indians. Rosy Pink Lux for aging beauty queens had competition from Lemony Green Liril for girls who enjoyed frolicking under waterfalls. Waterfall…Mandakini showered under a waterfall wearing just a transparent white sari. Men still watch her bathe...keep googling her ram maili image up. Some smart people liked Smita Patil, but she too had to dance in the rain. Some people were kept busy by Bo Derek. While some were kept busy by Rambo…everyone waned to workout and get those muscles. Aah! Those were the days...
The other thing that kept men busy was the newest gadget. Hamara Bajaj was the national pride and ride – model was Chetak. Besides it we had LML Vespa. Casio calculator with LED display was Pure technology. Also, Wrist watch that could do mathematical calculation was the in gadget. It was again a marvel from the house of Casio. If you had a VCP in 80s – you were rich, if you had VCR you were Super Rich. Radios in leather bound covers became a dying breed but they were still around with old men who clung to them. Vinyl Cassettes were the revolution. Remember playing Kishan Kanhaiyya's cassette in your cassette player??? Aah! Those were the days...
Gurdas Maan was a singing star with a dafli in hand. Runa Laila of Bangladesh found an audience in India and Lal Meri was the song. Nazia Hasan of Pakistan was the new fresh sound. Ghulam Ali, The Ghazal Maestro of Pakistan became a star in India. Everybody was listening to him Chupke Chupke Raat Din. Besides people bought music cassettes. Sports...India found Cricket in a new sense, but that a whole different story. In addition, we can name P.T. Usha.
Movie, another Indian passion. Sunday movies on Doordarshan were a big draw. One day the Doordarshan people decided to show 'art' movie for some weeks. It didn't last. People hated the idea.
Uski Roti! What!...just telecast Rajesh Khanna ki Roti. We would rather watch black and white screaming electron bugs fight it out on the signal down blue screen. We would rather watch the multi colored bars and listen to the single longest electronic beep. What the hell is Uski Roti! The slow churning of Doordarshan logo to the sound of some dying instrument, tuu-uuuu-tuu-uu-tu, during the first early morning telecast is more interesting than Uski Roti. Uski Roti! Kiski Roti! '
Ramsay Brothers were making Horror movies like Purana Mandir by the dozen and these films were, let’s use the Bollywood term - Super Duper Hit. Besides Horror movies we had numerous celluloid versions of soap operas and these were called family dramas. Amitabh Bachchan was the Shahenshah and so he remains to this day. Serious people and Cinema had a movie like Ardh Satya to catch. Times they seemed like changing. But that’s another story. Nothing changed. Mr. India had everything…a super watch, a super invisible power, more than a dozen kids, a girlfriend that could sing-dance and look sexy in the rain wearing a synthetic sari, and he also had a super villain, a Mogambo to be blamed for all the troubles in life. It was the culmination of every male Indian fantasy. Aah! Those were the days...
Children, little children had other things on mind. Owning a Hot Wheel Car or a Barbie was a dream for young boys and girls respectively, just as owing a Maruti 800 was for adults universally . Indrajal Comics brought with them syndicated comic books like The Phantom etc. Besides these it also had original graphic stories. Chandamama and Amar Citra Katha introduced Indian Mythologies and tales from other cultures to the growing children of the 80s. There were Indian Super-Heroes as well like Super Cammonado Dhruv, Naagraj, Parmanu and Donga to name a few. And then there were Chacha Chaudhary, Pinky, Billoo, Raman and Bankelal. I still remember renting those comics from the shop - 50ps for normal and 1 Re for "digest" comics. Aah! Those were the days...
Children had syndicated cartoon shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Also, we had one cartoon show about flying magical ponies. Children had trouble understanding what the hell Nirodh was… Grown up had trouble understanding it too, the population kept growing in spite of all the talk and wall painting by the Family welfare department… That, again, is another story. Aah! Those were the days...
And do you remember how special the ‘Sundays’ used to be when we were kids? Let’s try to remember what we all used to see on Sundays...
The day used to begin with Rangoli...a program containing only songs...Songs for everyone...old ones for Mom & Dad and the new ones for us. And we all used to get up at 7 in the morning on a Sunday!!! The show used to start at 7:15 am, right after the morning news. That used to be followed by the morning news, then Mahabharat or Ramayan or Chanakya... Or any other mythological or historical serial which whole family used to see together! Then we used to have a cartoon film... just try to remember how fervently we used to wait for it whole week! He-man, Jungle Book, Duck Tales, then ‘potliwale baba ki kahani’... Then we used to have a one hour program by National Geographic Society, a science based program! Then it used to be the time for Indian music ‘National Integration for Spirit of Unity Concert’, then again ‘Chaayageet’ before lunch time. In the afternoon there used to be a ‘Pradeshik feature film’ where we used to get movies made in other state; basically non-hindi films. Aah! Those were the days...
And see now what all we've, what all we watch? Do you really think Tulsi Virani comes even an inch closer to Lajoji? Aur any other bahu for that matter...Now we don't want to watch a show which revolves around a middle class family. We want to see a family with 500 Crore business and want to see how people come back from dead or how their plastic surgery changes their vital stats as well!!! Amazing, isn't it? Women (including that of my home as well) are more interested in watching how a bahu nullifies her saas' "shadyantras" and how she saves the whole family from ALL the possible crisis in the world! I mean we don't have "human" bahus anymore in our shows, they all are "super" bahus who knows all the answers of all the questions under the sun! No one wants to see the reality though everyone wants to see REALITY SHOWS! Even if someone tries to create such shows, either no one watches it or channels don't approve it! I really don't know how to react to this? Should I just laugh it off or should I try to do something about it? I think I don't have any option but to accept the former.
But I really, genuinely wish to God that someone, somewhere, sometime bring back those Golden Days in our lives which were innocent and extremely down-to-earth.
I know its "almost" impossible for you all today but just for one day, forget the attractive graphics of all the channels...just for one day...and sit in front of your TV set and watch DD1...I'm not promoting DD here but just wants you to enjoy TV watching...exactly the way we used to enjoy our Sundays 10 years back!!!
Those were the days...
