Memories of childhood are always long cherished. All the years of life on one side and the school days, which added colours to the life are on one side! A heart with the storage of childhood memories is like a treasure box. In this techno-era, where we click hundreds of photographs with a mobile camera, an album with black and white photos still manages to exhilarate us. Especially 80s and 90s kids know how vivid their childhood was! Those were the days without cell phones or the internet. Life was as simple as playing with friends after the completion of homework. Nobody needed social media as people had time to come face to face and write letters. There was no YouTube or live TV apps, so people waited to watch television shows on their beloved Doordarshan.
Doordarshan is an inextricable part of our childhood.
People and things eventually change with time. But these parts of memories can never be forgotten…
Written by Medini Kajarekar
Walking through the pages to find home in words.
The name DD itself sounds so nostalgic, isn’t it?
There were no set-top boxes and cable networks. It was just a TV antenna which was the lifeline. A channel that is watched only on Independence day and republic day in most of the urban areas now actually played a role in gathering a number of people together back then! It was actually the ‘golden era’ of television shows. Let us take you through the memory lane of some of the shows which were way better than today’s nonsensical Saas-Bahu dramas…1. MALGUDI DAYS
A charming series based on the collection of short stories by RK Narayan directed by Kannada actor and director Shankar Nag.
Stories taking place in the village Malgudi were so melodious and very much relatable to daily life.
The background score by Carnatic musician L. Vaidyanathan and RK Lakshman’s cartoons made left a striking impression on the watchers.
Stories taking place in the village Malgudi were so melodious and very much relatable to daily life.
The background score by Carnatic musician L. Vaidyanathan and RK Lakshman’s cartoons made left a striking impression on the watchers.
2. HUM LOG
Hum Log was the story of a typical Indian middle-class family with the famous characters Badki, Majli and Chhutki. It was a family of 1980s with their daily struggles and aspirations. Filmmaker P. Kumar Vasudev directed the series written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and the music was composed by Anil Biswas.
At the end of every episode veteran actor, Ashok Kumar used to discuss the ongoing story using Hindi couplets. And the interesting thing was he received over 4,00,000 letters from young audiences, asking him to convince their parents in marriage of their choice, during its17-month run!
What makes the series more special is, this was the first Indian soap opera and still better than today's shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZqxMB2OIs
At the end of every episode veteran actor, Ashok Kumar used to discuss the ongoing story using Hindi couplets. And the interesting thing was he received over 4,00,000 letters from young audiences, asking him to convince their parents in marriage of their choice, during its17-month run!
What makes the series more special is, this was the first Indian soap opera and still better than today's shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZqxMB2OIs
3. SHAKTIMAAN
He is undoubtedly the first Indian superhero! Kids actually were fascinated by the funny geek guy named Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, who worked as a photographer in a daily newspaper office to maintain his secret identity as Shaktimaan.
Sunday noon was always dedicated to this guy who used to fly and fight the evil. The show was produced by Mukesh Khanna who also played the role of Shaktimaan and directed by Dinkar Jani. The evil Kilmish saying ‘Andhera Kayam Rahe’ was the one every kid desired to fight with! Well, as Mukesh Khanna has now announced the comeback of the show we are eagerly waiting to see our childhood back with this superhero!
Sunday noon was always dedicated to this guy who used to fly and fight the evil. The show was produced by Mukesh Khanna who also played the role of Shaktimaan and directed by Dinkar Jani. The evil Kilmish saying ‘Andhera Kayam Rahe’ was the one every kid desired to fight with! Well, as Mukesh Khanna has now announced the comeback of the show we are eagerly waiting to see our childhood back with this superhero!
4. RAMAYANA & MAHABHARAT
Ramayan was an epic television series, which aired during 1987-1988, created, written, and directed by Ramanand Sagar. It was a television adaptation of the ancient Indian Hindu religious epic of the same name and is primarily based on Valmiki's Ramayanaand Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas.
Mahabharat was another grand epic series produced by BR Chopra and directed by his son Ravi Chopra. It was a multi-starrer which gave popularity to many actors. People used to gather to watch these shows. In rural areas, there used to be special broadcasting. People used to forget their chores and only watch the shows to the extent where both the shows broke all the TRP records. Roads would be empty when they were aired!
Moreover, the actors Arun Govil and Deepika Chikalia who played Ram & Seeta in Ramayana and Nitish Bharadwaj who played the role of Krishna in Mahabharat were actually worshiped as gods by millions of Indians! Now that was beyond the popularity.
5. BYOMAKESH BAKSHI
Byomkesh Bakshi is the first Hindi Television series based on the Byomkesh Bakshi character created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.
The series stars Rajit Kapur and K.K. Raina as Byomkesh Bakshi and Ajit Bandyopadhyay respectively. Bakshi is certainly the Indian Sherlock Holmes who reached every household.
It became critically acclaimed and most celebrated adaptation of the character keeping it fresh even after decades. This series was actually a ‘Baap’ of all the thriller crime shows which are aired today!
The series stars Rajit Kapur and K.K. Raina as Byomkesh Bakshi and Ajit Bandyopadhyay respectively. Bakshi is certainly the Indian Sherlock Holmes who reached every household.
It became critically acclaimed and most celebrated adaptation of the character keeping it fresh even after decades. This series was actually a ‘Baap’ of all the thriller crime shows which are aired today!
6. RANGOLI & CHITRAHAAR
No music lover really lazed around even on a Sunday morning. Rangoli used to make mornings melodious on Sundays.
None liked to miss even 5 minutes of the show as there was no gaana.com or Saavn.com. It played a variety of songs in an hour. One of the most beloved shows by every age group!
While Chitrahaar used to every Friday for half an hour.
These were the shows that featured a few new and old songs of Bollywood films.
None liked to miss even 5 minutes of the show as there was no gaana.com or Saavn.com. It played a variety of songs in an hour. One of the most beloved shows by every age group!
While Chitrahaar used to every Friday for half an hour.
These were the shows that featured a few new and old songs of Bollywood films.
7. JUNGLE BOOK
This show can be called as the most enchanting television show in the history of Doordarshan!
Jungle Book was an adaptation of the stories of Rudyard Kipling.
We adored all the characters from Mowgli to Sherkhan. And the immensely popular part of the series was ‘Jungle jungle pata chala hai…’, which was written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj that we still love to hum!
Jungle Book was an adaptation of the stories of Rudyard Kipling.
We adored all the characters from Mowgli to Sherkhan. And the immensely popular part of the series was ‘Jungle jungle pata chala hai…’, which was written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj that we still love to hum!
8. DEKH BHAI DEKH
Inspite of being a comedy show, Dekh Bhai Dekh taught about how, even during the ups and downs of life, family always stays together.
It was a Hindi sitcom which premiered on Doordarshan's metro channel, DD2. The show was created, developed, edited, directed by Aanand Mahendroo and produced by Jaya Bachchan.
It starred Shekhar Suman, Navin Nischol, Farida Jalal, Bhavana Balsavar, Deven Bhojani, Sushma Seth, Vishal Singh and Natasha Singh in lead roles.
It was a Hindi sitcom which premiered on Doordarshan's metro channel, DD2. The show was created, developed, edited, directed by Aanand Mahendroo and produced by Jaya Bachchan.
It starred Shekhar Suman, Navin Nischol, Farida Jalal, Bhavana Balsavar, Deven Bhojani, Sushma Seth, Vishal Singh and Natasha Singh in lead roles.
9. SURABHI
It was a popular Indian cultural magazine show hosted by Renuka Shahane and Siddharth Kak having Indian culture as a central theme.
It had a weekly quiz open for viewer’s participation and they used to post their responses using the 15 paise postcard of India post.
According to the Limca Book of Records, the show once received the highest ever documented response in the history of Indian television with over 1.4 million letters in a single week!
Only Doordarshan shows have that potential because of a wider reach.
It had a weekly quiz open for viewer’s participation and they used to post their responses using the 15 paise postcard of India post.
According to the Limca Book of Records, the show once received the highest ever documented response in the history of Indian television with over 1.4 million letters in a single week!
Only Doordarshan shows have that potential because of a wider reach.
These shows are the identity of our childhood days. But the most remarkable part was signature tune of DD which cannot be replaced! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-7JmGB9BRA
People and things eventually change with time. But these parts of memories can never be forgotten…
Written by Medini Kajarekar
Walking through the pages to find home in words.