Unbeknownst to You, I am a reluctant Blogger who is just trying to celebrate the Symphony inside the Cacophony of the Chaos from the Classroom to the Cosmos...
The year was 1991. I was nine years old. "Sadak" happened. In those days I only loved action films and watched them over and over again. Romantic films were meant to be watched only once. What an action packed thriller "Sadak" was! The film was raw, gritty, gory, violent and hard-hitting. Something very new to a nine year old. And there have been villains in Bollywood and there has been 'Maharani'. Filmfare Awards had to create a new category to honour his performance.
And the songs were too good. "Rehne Ko Ghar Nahin", "Tumhe Aapna Bana Ne Ki", "Hum Tere Bin Kahin" and the rest were extremely hummable.
That year we had gone to Bombay to our uncle's place with all our cousins. I remember we used to sing these songs in the train journey and while playing antakshari. Will never forget that train journey.
Many years later I saw Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" and heard this song :
The year was 1993. I was eleven years old. "Khalnayak" happened. And what a tremendous impact that film made on Indian audiences. Everybody, and I really mean everybody, was talking about this film. There was like this mindblowing buzz around this film. And to top it all was the media frenzy regarding the arrest.
Though the controversial blouse-related song became an instant hit, my personal favourite was :
The year was 1999. I was seventeen years old. "Vaastav" happened. This time the Filmfare Best Actor Award came to the right place. As a nine year old, I had first become a fan of his good looks, flowing locks, chiseled physique and that inimitable swagger. Yes, thats right, over the years I have grown to love his swagger even more.
In our country, someone may have killed, looted and raped, yet he is roaming free. Someone may have orchestrated riots where thousands of men, women and children were killed and properties worth millions were destroyed, yet he is roaming free. Someone may have masterminded scams and done all kinds of illegal activities, yet he is roaming free. Someone may have initiated genocides and gang-rapes, yet he is roaming free. Sottyo Seleucus, Ki Bichitro Ei Desh!
An integral part of my childhood came alive recently at NDTV Profit where while surfing through channels I suddenly came across a re-telecast of 1991's "The World This Week" hosted by a young Pranoy Roy. In my childhood years I don't think I ever missed a single episode of this informative and innovative news and current affairs programme. Pranoy Roy with his black hair and a black beard looked very much intellectual yet warm and affectionate. NDTV Profit is showcasing a segment titled "NDTV at 25", also called "NDTV Classics". It is immensely pleasurable to watch these good old shows all over again and relive those childhood days. In this 1991's episode, Pranoy Roy talked about the Oscar nominations of that year. Among other films what caught my attention was the clip of the film "Awakenings". I immediately knew that I have to watch this film as soon as possible.
The next day I went to the American Library and went to the dvd section. Believe me or not, the first dvd which caught my eye was that of "Awakenings". Was it just a coincidence? Did I have a telepathic connection with it? Was I unconsciously and/or subconsciously thinking about it and hence it manifested before my eyes through some divine intervention? I am a member of the American Library for so many years, yet never saw this dvd in their collection before. I immediately issued it, came back home and watched it. A beautiful film with great performances by Robin Williams and Robert Di Nero. Three scenes impressed me the most. Firstly the scene where Robert Di Nero catches the ball for the first time and throws it back towards Robin Williams. This is the scene which was shown in "The World This Week" episode and this scene attracted me towards the film. Secondly the scene where the catatonic patients play a game of cards. The patients just hold the cards in their hands and sit there motionless. However once the nurse takes a card from one of their hands and puts it on the table, all the other patients start playing the game instantly. And the last scene of the film which ends with the words of Robin Williams "Lets Begin"...
Sundays meant, as far back as I can remember, The Telegraph Colour Magazine. I loved it the most and that magazine was the best part of my Sundays. I was born in 1982 and from the late 80's this magazine became my Sunday best friend. Throughout the week I would look forward and count seconds for the arrival of this magazine. In the 90's, if I remember correctly, The Telegraph used to have weekly supplements like KnowHow on mondays, CareerGraph on wednesdays, TeleKids on thursdays, ETC on fridays, Weekend on saturdays etc.
From my childhood days I have always loved the smell of the morning newspaper. On Sunday mornings I used to get up early and wait for The Telegraph. The man who delivered the paper used to come on a bicycle and roll the newspaper in a cylindrical shape, tie a thread around it and then throw it upwards towards our second floor balcony. As a child I was always fascinated by the accuracy of his throws. He never missed. The man was pot-bellied and was a bit bald and therefore used to wear a cap. As a child I used to wonder what that man did all day after he was finished with newspaper deliveries. Later on I found out that his name was Phoolchand Tiwary and he used to work as a peon in the State Bus Garage in our Lake Gardens area. Sadly he is no more with us in this world.
Sundays meant that I would read the entire newspaper from the very first word to the very last one. But special attention was always given to The Telegraph Colour Magazine which was tasty, delicious and luscious.
For the sake of this Blog-Post, I searched through the nook and crannies of Calcutta and left no stone or pebble unturned to get hold of these old 80's and 90's magazines. Finally I succeeded to collect around 50 such vintage issues. I just love the smell of old newspapers and magazines. The moment the magazines came in my hands after all these years, the first thing that I did was to smell them. They smelt of my childhood Sundays. Going through them made me weep silently as these magazines became like Time-Machines which helped me to relive and relish those golden Sun-days, hours, minutes and seconds.
I used to read the comic-strips first. In the 80's, they consisted of Blondie, followed by Archie, The Lockhorns, Mandrake, The Adventures of Legionnaire Beau Peep and He Man and the Masters of the Universe. Initially every comic-strip was in black and white. Then He-Man came out in colour.
Later the Blondie logo was changed and finally it came out in colour too and is still going strong.
The 1st January 1989 issue of The Telegraph Colour Magazine had the cover story titled Calcutta 300 : A tribute to the city in its tercentenary year. Apart from interesting cover stories every week, the Magazine started with Post Mortem, where letters from the readers were published regarding the previous week's issue, and moved on to Focus, Panorama, Rainbow, Heads and Tailsby Maneka Gandhi, Ruskin Bond'sColumn, Gillian Wright'sColumn, extracts from novels, biographies, autobiographies and other literary works, Pin Up, Candid Camera and many such brilliant pages. The Magazine had Rathin Mitra's page titled Heritage :
Quiz by Neil O'Brien :
Astrological predictions for the upcoming week on the page named Inner Eye, first by M.B. Raman and then by Bejan Daruwalla :
7 Days featuring show timings and venues of hindi, bengali and english films. Also the page featured special events :
Fiction selected by Khushwant Singh :
Poetry selected by Jayanta Mahapatra :
Rasoi by Jiggs Kalra :
Celebrity Interviews in First Person :
Time Table of trains and planes. Apart from Air India and Indian Airlines, there was a third one named Vayudoot :
A very interesting page titled Wonderland featuring an even more interesting segment titled Barter Bank. People would write in and express desire to exchange things with absolute strangers through the help to this page. As a child I always wondered whether some of these transactions actually took place. For many years now I haven't seen anything like this anywhere else. Here are a few examples : "I offer a new 32" carrom board for two pocket video games". "I offer 50 foreign stamps for Zaheer Abbas' autobiography". "I offer a collection of 50 large format illustrated books on art, history and mythology for an advanced 35mm SLR camera (Cannon, Nikon, Olympus or Minolta) or anything of corresponding value".
And my most favourite page was Junior Whirl by Hal Kaufman. It was like an obsession to spot the six differences in the Hocus Focus boxes :
Sundays also meant The Statesman'sMiscellany and Amrita Bazar Patrika'sSunday Magazine. In Miscellany, apart from the Cover Story, the other segments were Environment, Focus, Women, Children, Literary, Report, Sport and Pastime, Leisure etc. The Comic-Strips consisted of Star Wars, Archie and Hubert. The Sunday Magazine of Amrita Bazar Patrika consisted of pages titled Capital View, SpecialReport, Around The World, Books, Science, Debate, This Week (Zodiac predictions), Chess, Bridge, Quiz, Language Please, Fairy Tale etc. However even both of them combined was no match for The Telegraph Colour Magazine.
Sundays meant watching TV all morning. It started with Rangoli and then the action shifted to cartoons. Rangoli on Sundays and Chitrahaar on wednesdays at 8pm were our weekly musical ambrosia. Rangoli is still continuing even today. The Sunday cartoons over the years consisted of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry, Duck-Tales, Tales-Spin, The Jungle Book, Danu Danasur, Alice in Wonderland and many more such fascinating memories. Those innocent wonderful mornings when as children we didn't care about the difference between Melody and Mala-D!
Sunday mornings also meant Ramayana, Mahabharata, Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Bible Ki Kahaniya (where Kabir Bedi played the role of Abraham and this serial also featured Urmila Matondkar), The Sword of Tipu Sultan and many more epics. During the telecast of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the entire country used to come to a virtual stop. The Ramayana consisted of 78 episodes and originally ran from 25th January 1987 to 31st July 1988. As a child I absolutely loved those cosmic battle scenes with flying arrows in multi-coloured backgrounds with nerve-wrecking music.
Mahabharata was mindblowing and mindbending in all senses and this 94 episode series originally ran from 2nd October 1988 to 24th June 1990. Below is the picture of Harish Bhimani who was the voice of Samay. We all still remember those famous words - Mein Samay Hoon. I loved Mahabharata more than Ramayana. The latter was somewhat slow and boring while the former was engrossing, riveting and had that Bollywood-blockbusterish-aura.
Sunday afternoons were for the best of Indian regional cinema. When Mani Ratnam's controversial 'Roja' had released in 1992, I wanted to watch it very badly. But I had to wait for a few more years and finally a censored version was shown on Doordarshan one Sunday afternoon. Also Doordarshan in late 80's and early 90's meant the constant nagging Rukawat Ke Liye Khed Hai and Sorry for the Interruption screensavers. I hated them the most. And in those days, just like sunrise and sunset, Load-Shedding too was a daily certainty in Calcutta!
Sundays meant, as a child, memorizing tables in the afternoon. I would lie down with this book in hand. Though I never went beyond the tables of ten. I hated memorizing tables. Infact I hate memorizing anything.
Sometimes on Sunday afternoons I used to draw and paint. I still have my old drawing books and I still go through them every once in a while. In those days I used to collect those one, two, five, ten, twenty and twenty-five paise coins. Also those one, two, five and ten rupee notes. Counting this money used to make me feel rich. During that time I also used to collect stamps and stickers. There were little stickers available of Mahabharata's characters. I collected all and pasted them on my sticker-book. Here are three of them :
Sundays meant, also reading story books throughout the entire afternoon. I would go to bed with a story book but never fell asleep. Usually the afternoons were reserved for Feluda, Professor Shonku and Tarini-khuro. Then came Hardy Boys, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Nancy Drew etc. Later came the Classics.
Sunday evenings were for bengali films on DD, especially those Uttam-Suchitra gems. I loved watching these old bengali movies while drinking evening tea. I have been drinking tea twice a day from the age of seven. In the winters I used to drink coffee. And many times it would also be Chafee which is coffee mixed in tea and it is heavenly as it contains the best of both the worlds.
Once Saat Paakey Bandha was shown. I remember as a child, wondering why Uttam Kumar didn't play Soumitro Chatterji's role.
Throughout the 90's I was a huge fan of Anjan Dutta. I had all his cassettes and listened to them day in day out. During my school life it seemed that Anjan Dutta was singing exactly my thoughts. I had Suman Chattopadhyay's and Nachiketa Chakraborty's all albums too. Later with maturity I started understanding the greatness of the prophetic Suman.
Also had Shilajit Majumdar's albums and most of the Bangla Bands of that time. I was the proud owner of Nogor Philomel's cassette which was and still is very rare and hard to find. Anjan Dutta occupies a lion's share of my 90's childhood. Once on a Sunday evening Mrinal Sen'sKharij was shown and I was pleasantly surprised to see him in the lead role. This 1997 cassette was my most favourite :
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 9th May 1982 :
06:00 pm - Bengali News Headlines 06:05 pm - Jana Ajana 06:15 pm - Saptahiki 06:30 pm - Hindi Feature Film 08:00 pm - Bengali News 08:10 pm - Hindi Feature Film (contd) 09:20 pm - The News
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 21st August 1983 :
04:00 pm - World of Sport 05:15 pm - Bengali News Headlines 05:30 pm - Hindi Feature Film 07:25 pm - Saptahiki 07:35 pm - Bengali News 07:45 pm - Hindi Feature Film (contd) 08:30 pm - Samachar 08:45 pm - Focus 09:15 pm - Kerala Carnival 09:45 pm - The News 10:00 pm - Close Down
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 3rd June 1984 :
11:30 pm - Show Theme 12:00 pm - Different Strokes 02:00 pm - Regional Film 04:00 pm - SportLight 04:30 pm - World of Sport 06:00 pm - Bengali News Headlines 06:02 pm - Commercial News 06:15 pm - Hindi Feature Film 09:00 pm - Samachar 09:20 pm - Focus 09:50 pm - The News 10:10 pm - Bazm-e-Qaqalli
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 8th September 1985 :
10:30 am - Star Trek (English Serial) 11:15 pm - Bawaji Ka Bioscope (Hindi Serial) 11:40 pm - Rajni (Hindi Serial) 12:15 pm - Dekho Magar Pyaar Se (Hindi Serial) 12:40 pm - Darpan : Short Stories 01:00 pm - Paying Guest (Hindi Serial) 01:30 pm - Wah Janab (Hindi Serial) 01:55 pm - U.S. Open Tennis Championship 05:45 pm - Hindi Film (Haamari Yaad Aayegi) 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Quiz Time 09:30 pm - The News 10:00 pm - Focus 10:30 pm - Krishna Janmabhoomi 10:45 pm - Hunger Relief Benefit Concert
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 12th October 1986 :
10:00 am - Famous Five (English Serial) 10:30 am - Aarohi : Programme of Light Music 11:00 am - Aapne Aap : Do It Yourself 11:15 pm - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 12:00 pm - Khel Khel Mein (Hindi Serial) 12:30 pm - Chhoti Badi Baten (Hindi Serial) 12:50 pm - Khazana (Hindi Serial) 01:20 pm - Regional Film 03:45 pm - World of Sport 05:45 pm - Hindi Film (Andaaz) 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Quiz Time 09:30 pm - The News 10:00 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - Dussehra Celebrations 10:40 pm - Customs and Traditions of India 11:00 pm - Ram Bhajans
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 22nd November 1987 :
07:30 am - Vande Mataram Samachar NCC Day Programme Keep Fit The News 09:00 am - He Man and the Masters of the Universe 09:30 am - Ramayan 10:15 am - Aur Bhi Hai Rahen (Hindi Serial) 10:40 am - Aapne Paraye (Hindi Serial) 11:15 am - Munshi Premchand Ki Amar Kahaniyan 11:40 pm - Mathemagic Show 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 03:50 pm - World of Sport 05:10 pm - You Just Wait (English Serial) 05:20 pm - The World of Survival (English Serial) 05:45 pm - Hindi Film (Raaste Pyaar Ke) 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Great Expectations (English Serial) 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - South Asian Federation Games 10:50 pm - Japan Festival
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 4th December 1988 :
National 07:00 am - Vande Mataram Yoga for Everyone Samachar Rangoli The News Calcutta 08:00 am - Rabindrasangeet by Purabi Dutta 08:15 am - Bichitra 08:45 am - Folk Songs by Bishnupada Das National 09:00 am - He Man and the Masters of the Universe 09:30 am - Mahabharat 10:30 am - Ek Samay Ki Baat (Hindi Serial) 11:00 am - Bheem Bhawani (Hindi Serial) 11:30 am - Aapni Aapni Laadai (Telefilm) 12:10 pm - Heritage of India 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 02:40 pm - South India Motor Rally 05:00 pm - National Geographic Special 05:30 pm - Hindi Film (Sajan Bina Suhagan) 08:00 pm - Guindy National Park Calcutta 06:30 pm - Khayal and Dhrupad 07:00 pm - Shoe String (English Serial) 07:50 pm - Suswasthya 08:20 pm - Folk Songs by Dulal Chandra Kahar National 09:00 pm - Quiz Time 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - Rashtra Gourav Rajendra Prasad 10:50 pm - National Programme of Dance
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 1st January 1989 :
National 07:00 am - Vande Mataram Yoga for Everyone Samachar Rangoli The News Calcutta 08:00 am - Rabindrasangeet by Nilima Sen 08:15 am - Bichitra 08:45 am - Folk Songs by Kamal Gupta National 09:00 am - He Man and the Masters of the Universe 09:30 am - Mahabharat 10:30 am - Ek Samay Ki Baat 11:00 am - Bheem Bhawani (Serial) 11:30 am - Bharat Ek Khoj 12:30 pm - Supermen of Soccer 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 03:40 pm - World of Sport 05:00 pm - Zoo 2000 05:30 pm - The Wind in the Willow 05:45 pm - Hindi Film (Pyaar Ki Jeet) Calcutta 06:30 pm - Khayal and Dadra by M.R. Gautam 07:00 pm - Shoe String (English Serial) 07:50 pm - Suswasthya 08:20 pm - Folk Songs by Swapan Roy National 09:00 pm - SAARC audio visual programme 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Quiz Time 10:30 pm - Focus 11:00 pm - BharatNatyam by Sujata Srinivasan
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 4th February 1990 : National 07:00 am - Vande Mataram Thought of the Day Samachar Rangoli The News Calcutta 08:00 am - Rabindrasangeet by Kanika Banerjee 08:10 am - Saptahiki 08:30 am - Telescope National 09:00 am - Mahabharat 10:10 am - Lekhu (Serial) 10:30 am - Glo Friends (Serial) 11:00 am - Yeh Gulistan Hamara 11:40 am - Saving the Tiger 12:15 pm - Bhajan by Anuradha Paudwal 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 03:45 pm - World of Sport 05:20 pm - Looking Beyond with Hugh & Collen Gantzer 05:45 pm - Hindi Film (Alag Alag) Calcutta 07:30 pm - Classical Music 07:50 pm - Jane Eyre (English Serial) 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Adhunik by Manabendra Mukherjee 09:15 pm - Suswasthya 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Prakriti Paduar Abhijan (Bengali Serial) 10:20 pm - Sambad National 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Pop Time featuring Louis Banks 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - India Vs New Zealand Cricket highlights 10:50 pm - National Programme of Dance
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 3rd March 1991 :
National
07:00 am - Vande Mataram Thought of the Day Samachar Rangoli The News Calcutta 08:00 am - Rabindrasangeet by Purabi Mukherjee 08:10 am - Saptahiki 08:30 am - Women Courage (Play in English) National 09:00 am - The Sword of Tipu Sultan 10:00 am - Humse Seekho (Serial) 10:30 am - Sport Light (Serial) 11:00 am - Samachar 11:05 am - Guinness Book of World Records 11:30 am - Kunwar Sahab (Hindi Serial) 11:55 am - Punjabi Folk Song 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 04:15 pm - World of Sport Calcutta 05:30 pm - Bengali Film (Bratacharini) 08:20 pm - Adhunik by Jaganmoy Mitra National 09:00 pm - Itihas Ke Gawah (Hindi Serial) 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - National Programme of Dance 10:50 pm - 2nd Northeast Youth Festival
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 5th April 1992 :
National 07:00 am - Vande Mataram Thought of the Day Samachar Rangoli The News 07:50 am - Laurel and Hardy 08:15 am - The News 09:00 am - Chanakya 10:00 am - Cartoon Show by Children's Film Society 10:30 am - Cricket with Amarnath 11:00 am - Tom and Jerry 11:15 am - National Geographic Special 12:00 pm - Bharat Ke Shaheed 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 03:45 pm - World of Sport Calcutta 05:35 pm - Bengali Film (Aparajito) 08:00 pm - A Programme on Id-Ul-Fitr National 08:40 pm - Samachar 09:00 pm - Ras Rang 09:30 pm - The News 09:50 pm - Focus 10:20 pm - National Programme of Dance 10:50 pm - Special Programme on Id-Ul-Fitr 11:20 pm - Maritime Heritage
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 9th May 1993 :
National 07:00 am - Vande Mataram Thought of the Day Samachar Rangoli 07:50 am - Tom and Jerry 08:15 am - The News Calcutta 08:30 am - Sara Prithibir Roopkatha National 09:00 am - Bible Ki Kahaniyan 10:00 am - Jungle Book 11:15 am - Music and Dance Programme 11:30 am - Sport Light 12:00 pm - Ekas Ke Hum Barik 12:30 pm - Shankar Shad Mushaira 01:15 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:30 pm - Regional Film 03:50 pm - World of Sport 04:45 pm - Programme on Indo-Japanese expedition Calcutta 05:15 pm - Bengali Film (Megh O Roudra) 07:45 pm - Saptahiki National 08:45 pm - Bharat Ek Khoj 09:45 pm - The News 10:00 pm - Focus 10:30 pm - Chitrangada
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 19th June 1994 : National 05:00 am - World Cup Football (Colombia Vs Romania) 07:00 am - Samachar 07:10 am - Rangoli 08:10 am - The News 08:20 am - The World News 09:00 am - Chandrakanta 10:00 am - Alice In Wonderland 10:30 am - Disney Adventures 11:30 am - Sports Special 01:00 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:15 pm - Regional Film 04:00 pm - World of Sport 04:30 pm - Sports Special Calcutta 05:00 pm - Bengali Film (Sagarika) 07:30 pm - Sambad 08:15 pm - Clean and Pure Ganga National 09:00 pm - Alif Laila 09:30 pm - Hot Spot : Pop Music 10:00 pm - The News 10:30 pm - World Cup Football (Belgium Vs Morocco) DD METRO 07:00 am - Metro Diary 07:15 am - Secrets of the Sea 07:45 am - The Whys and the Wherefores 08:00 am - The Breakfast Show 08:30 am - Light Music 09:15 am - Telesoccer 09:30 am - Palace on Wheels 10:00 am - Zameen Aasmaan 10:30 am - Rajni 11:00 am - Aadharshila 11:30 am - Guinness Book of World Records 12:00 pm - Harekarakamba 12:30 pm - Korak 01:00 pm - Western Music 01:30 pm - Kathay Kathay 02:00 pm - Samachar 02:20 pm - Hindi Film (Daulat Ki Jung) 05:00 pm - Expedition to the Animal Kingdom 05:30 pm - Gillette World of Sports 06:00 pm - Tarang 06:30 pm - Youth Fire 06:55 pm - Light Music (Ghulam Ali) 07:30 pm - Jungle Book 08:00 pm - Cibaca Geet Mala 08:30 pm - Shri Krishna (Dubbed in Bengali) 09:00 pm - Superhit Muqabla 10:00 pm - Ramdhanu 10:30 pm - Sambad 10:40 pm - Question Forum 11:10 pm - English Film (Anna Karenina)
Here is the Sunday Doordarshan schedule of 23rd July 1995 :
DD 1 05:55 am - Vande Mataram Thought of the Day 06:00 am - For the Universities 07:00 am - Samachar 07:10 am - Rangoli 08:10 am - The News 09:00 am - Chandrakanta 10:00 am - Potli Baba Ki 10:30 am - Women of India 11:00 am - Documentary 11:30 am - Spirit of Unity Concerts 12:30 pm - Sheila (Serial) 01:00 pm - News Magazine for the Hearing Impaired 01:15 pm - News in Sanskrit 01:25 pm - Regional Film 04:00 pm - Bengali Film (Dewa Neya) 06:25 pm - Chikitsa Sankat 07:00 pm - Sambad 07:50 pm - Current Affairs 08:30 pm - Living On The Edge 09:00 pm - India Quiz by Siddhartha Basu 09:30 pm - Surabhi 10:00 pm - Reporter (Serial) 10:30 pm - Imtihaan (Serial) 11:00 pm - The World This Week DD 2 06:55 am - Bhajans 07:25 am - Secrets of the Sea 07:55 am - Keep Fit 08:10 am - Dart 08:20 am - Career Watch 08:30 am - Animals of the Farthing Wood 09:00 am - Phulwari Bachchon Ki 09:30 am - Light Music 10:00 am - Disney Club 10:30 am - Dennis the Menace 11:00 am - Mahabharat (Re-run) 12:00 pm - Kabir (Bengali Drama) 01:00 pm - Chitra (Serial) 01:30 pm - Money Monitor 02:00 pm - Hindi Film (Dhund) 05:00 pm - Sports Special 05:30 pm - MTV 07:00 pm - Mirch Masala 07:25 pm - Nazaare 07:30 pm - Show Theme 08:00 pm - Chouke Pe Chhakka 08:30 pm - Shri Krishna (Dubbed in Bengali) 09:00 pm - Superhit Muqabla 10:00 pm - Sambad 10:10 pm - Eyewitness 10:35 pm - Barbara Walter's Interview of a Lifetime 11:00 pm - Motor Sports 11:35 pm - Brazil Vs Uruguay 12:00 am - MTV Midnight Hour
I hope most of you will remember most of the above mentioned shows. Cable TV was fascinating but our good old Doordarshan was still holding its own. In the 80's we had a black and white TV with a machher kata type antenna on our rooftop. In the 90's we got a Videocon colour TV which didn't even have a remote!
In those days we didn't have cable TV at our home. So when some of the MTV shows were telecast on Doordarshan on Sunday evenings on DD2, it was really something refreshing and energizing. To watch cable TV I used to go to our cousin's place. In those days, trust me I swear on God, MTV and Channel V used to show music videos and used to focus totally on music related content, however strange and unbelievable it may sound today!
Sometimes my cousins would come over and then Sunday evenings meant playing cricket on our terrace with a tennis ball. We still have that cricket bat which we had bought from a Sports shop at Bhowanipore.
Sunday nights meant Superhit Muqabla on DD Metro. This musical Countdown Show was one of the most commercially successful shows in the history of Television and had instantly become a cultural phenomenon. Especially youngsters were glued to their TV sets from 9pm to 10pm on Sundays.
This was the brainchild of Harish Thawani of the Nimbus Group. In those days there were no sms-es and therefore the number one song every week was selected through, hold your breath, Postcard-polls. Even I once sent a postcard. In those days Baba Sehgal, as a VJ in this musical countdown show, had become the most popular entertainer in India. He rocked us with the song Dil Dhadke and its music video featuring Pooja Bedi had become a rage. Baba Sehgal with his fast-talks, raps and his sense of humour became a phenomenal success in the early 90's. Even Shah Rukh Khan as a VJ with all his tomfoolery was no match for Baba Sehgal!
Then there was Apache Indian too.
Also some obscure guy named Style-Bhai had become a one hit wonder. Daler Mehndi gave us the earthy rustic feel of rural Punjab. The music director Biddu was back with newer music videos of old songs. Remakes and remixes were the order of the day. And then Alisha Chinoy created history with Made in India.
I also loved Colonial-Cousins very much. From the 80's, Doordarshan showcased the talents of names like Sharon Prabhakar, Gurdaas Mann, Penaz Masani etc. With the 90's, names like Ila Arun, Anaida, Suchitra Krishnamurthi, Suneeta Rao, Shaan and Sagarika, Rageshwari, Shweta Shetty, Bally Sagoo and many more came up. Palash Sen made us euphoric with his band. And finally there was the one and only Amitabh Bachchan with Aby Baby. Remember Ek Rahen Eer?
During the early part of the 90's, Michael Jackson was supposed to come to India and perform at Bombay. India was witnessing Michael-maniain anticipation of his arrival. Kruttika Desai as a VJ of Superhit Muqabla was damn smoking hot. In one funny scripted episode, most probably shot in Singapore, she was trying very hard to get an interview of Michael Jackson. She even 'pataoed' MJ's bodyguard. However she failed to gain access for the interview. She came back to her hotel room, got sad, depressed and kept on sulking. Suddenly she saw Michael Jackson standing at her door. She fainted!
However this India tour was later cancelled by MJ due to health reasons and subsequently many Indian hearts were broken, including mine. Found this picture in the internet :
Here are some of my favourite non-filmisongs which I used to relish on Superhit Muqabla :
And here is an interesting trivia. Superhit Muqabla used to play only Bollywood and Indipop songs. But only once the show had included the title track of a Doordarshan serial named Kismat in its countdown. But it could not have been a coincidence that the serial was produced by the same company that made the countdown show. Here is that soulful song sung by Sanu :
Here are some of my most favourite ads of that bygone era :
And, my all-time favourite statement, and my present mobile ring-tone, Kya Swaad Hai Zindagi Mein... :
And here are just some of Doordarshan's Foreign Goods :
Around 2004/2005, Sunday evenings meant Formula One Races. I never missed a single race. In those days I knew each and every detail regarding those races. I used to enjoy them a lot and never changed the TV channel during these F1 showdowns. I was passionate and obsessed with Formula One races during that period.
Sundays meant, around 2007/2008, Friends FM Radio. I used to religiously listen to the programme on Rabindranath Tagore by Soumitro Chatterjee from 10am to 12 noon. Then I used to listen to Srikanto Acharya's programme from 12 noon to 2pm. After dusk, I used to listen to Anjan Dutta from 8pm to 10pm and then Rupam On The Rocks from 10pm to 12 midnight. Once in 2007 during the height of the Nandigram movement, Rupam Islam did a show at C.U. Institute Hall in favour of Sonachura Hospital. Later that night however his radio programme on Friends FM was mysteriously stopped around 11:30pm and old hindi songs started playing in its place. This kind of a thing had never ever happened before or since that day.
Sundays, for the last few years, mean buying each and every english and bengali newspaper available. AnandaBazar Patrika'sRobibashoriyo and Ekdin's Nabapatrika are good. But nowadays I hate The Telegraph'sGraphiti and especially Suhel Seth's column Survival Strategies. I really miss the old Telegraph Magazine very very very much. However today my favourite Sunday magazine is Sangbad Pratidin's Robbar.
During my school years, Sundays were the best part of my existence. I hated going to school. I wanted every day of my life to be like a Sunday. During my college years, Sundays were again the best part of my existence. I loved college, but hated attending classes. I studied Political Science at St. Xavier's College. During those Xaverian years, saturday nights usually meant Some-Place-Else, Tantra, and sometimes Venom. Entire saturday nights were spent at and around Park Street. Sunday dawns usually meant tea at road side tea stalls. Then I would come back home and go straight to sleep. Wake up around 2pm or 3pm. Take a bath, have lunch and go to Park Street Barista on evenings which did not have F1 races. In those days Barista used to be on the opposite side of the road from where it is today, closer to the Airtel Customer Care office. Cafe-Coffee-Day used to be next to Peter Cat. Sunday evenings at Park Street were really special. Also Sunday evenings were spent at College Street Coffee House. This iconic place on Sundays opens in the morning, closes in the afternoon and again opens in the evening around 5pm. Sundays meant, and it still means, Peace, Happiness and Nirvana...
PS : Thanks to The Telegraph Colour Magazine for making my Sundays so Special. PPS : Thanks to Doordarshan for making my Sundays extraordinarily Special. PPPS : I will keep on updating this Blog-Post with newer materials every now and then... ---
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