Television serials or daily soaps was an important part of my life since childhood. On those days cable connection was costly and most of the houses had only doordarshan. My brother and I used to see many of the cartoon films like "The Jungle Book" or any fairy tales and it was a must during our breakfast. We didnt mind sitting in front of the TV with our breakfast plate.
So much was our addiction that even on a cousin's wedding where everyone was busy with some or other work we little ones went to their neighbor's house to watch "Chandrakanta".
As and when I grew up tv serials was an integral part of everyday's life. The serials like "Kutumb" or "Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi Bahu thi" was being watched by everyone in the house. I used to be anxious of what will happen the next day and that was a topic of discussion in school. Like every teenager our minds used to recreate those romantic scenes with some of our crushes. :) Nevertheless the actors were our hearthrobs.
Later on as I moved to a college hostel with no TV , I lost interest in watching serials anymore. Nowadays mostly the serials consists of dramas of jealousy,treachery etc. So much is their impact that one day my father scolded me by saying you are acting like one of the negative characters of a serial. I couldnt help smiling. And not only that the serials are a great topic of discussion among the olders.
Coming to the topic of one particular serial that I liked most was "Hum Panchi Ek Daal ke" aired on Doordarshan in the early 90's. Actually there are more than one. How can I forget " I dream of Jeanie" aired on Sony and "Sarabhai vs Sarabhai" on Star Plus.
"Hum Panchi Ek Daal ke" was a story of different families living in a chawl who sometimes fight with each other but are always by each other's side in time of need. I dont remember too much of that serial as I was merely a kid by then. But it gave a great pleasure watching that serial.
"I dream of Jeanie" was our must watch. I was at 4th or 5th standard when this serial was aired. It was soooo funny story about a NASA astronaut and his jeanie who always ends up doing stupid things leaving his Manjor Nelson in trouble. It was a treat to our eyes and soul on those days.
"Sarabhai vs Sarabhai" was and even is one of my favourite serial not only because of its content but also because of its dialogues and acting. The dialogues were funny and witty enough to make you laugh and forget your tensions/problems and not to mention the superb acting of both Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak.
Unlike the ghar ghar ki kahani type daily soaps which contains too many negative characters and which try to portray that the lead roles can do anything and can solve any problem. You name them they solve them. I am not ready to understand that anyone in the real world does posses this great ability hence I quickly move to another channel.
