AMy earliest memory of broadcast media is waking up to a painfully slow music on Akashvani (radio), which was followed by the Sunday morning English news: “This is All India Radio and the news is read by….” I must have been four-years-old then, and absolutely disliked that music as it signalled an end to my sleep, especially during the cold winter of Jammu and Kashmir where I grew up. But, life was good. It was simple. We had plenty of time to spend with our friends in the playground playing kanche (marbles), on trees picking shahtoot (mulberries), on a jungle trail to spot a ghost, in an impromptu picnic to a nearby water tank, or organise our all time favourite gudiya-ki-shaadi (marriage of dolls) My father used to make tarazus (equal-arm beam scales) out of old Cherry Blossom shoe polish boxes, which my sister and I used to flaunt proudly. There was no television or telephone in our lives. The daily newspaper used to arrive only at 5 in the evening and had to be collected from the market. Each newspaper was marked with a house number and there were no extra copies. No free home delivery as well. Life was all about getting out of homes, connecting with different people and forging bonds.
Entry of TV
I don’t remember the exact year when television (TV) entered our home and our lives, but it must have been while I was still in primary school. My earliest memory of TV is my father watching India-Pakistan cricket match in a super-energetic environment at home. Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Vengsarkar moving around in the cricket field in their white uniforms! Ours was a Texla brand TV, dark brown in colour whose screen could be closed with a foldable sideways shutter. It was mounted on four legs and channels could be changed by rotating a knob, which made a tik-tik sound. To be honest, there weren’t too many channels to be changed. It was either Doordarshan or PTV (Pakistan Television Corporation). Latter was any day better as it used to telecast some very good serials (Bakra Qistoin Pe, Samundar, etc.) and I grew up watching them. Slowly but surely, TV made inroads into our lives through twice a week Chitrahaar, Sunday morning Duck Tales cartoon followed by Sunday evening movie bonanza, and much more.
By the time I finished schooling and joined a college in Delhi University, TV had become an integral part of my life. I don’t remember what I used to watch on TV, but I definitely used to sit in front of the ‘idiot box’ every day. Things started to change when I picked up a job with New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in January 1999. There was a lot of interesting work to be done, including late nights at office, leaving me with not enough free time to watch TV. Also, what was telecast during those years, including the much celebrated Indian soap opera Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, bored me to death. My TV watching reduced greatly though I could never kick it out of my life.
The exit of the ‘idiot box’
The dissociation with TV happened many years later, towards the end of 2012, when I was already a mother of two small children aged five years and 10 months. Leading a TV-free life was never a planned or a conscious decision. It was more of a temporary arrangement. In 2012, I was trying to do too many things. I had just had a second baby. I had to give additional time to my older kid, all of five, so that she did not feel neglected post arrival of her brother. To top it all, I was trying to establish myself in the new role of a freelance journalist after quitting my full-time job of 12 years. It was a crazy year.
The same year, the Indian government came out with a law and made it mandatory for TV viewers to access their signals through a set-top box in an effort to convert cable networks throughout the country from analogue to digital. Even free-to-air channels such as DD1 and DD2 – the Doordarshan channels of Prasar Bharti – had to be accessed through the set-top box. The deadline for switching over to the set-top box was midnight of October 31, 2012.
Since I had lost interest in TV, I had never bothered to install a set-top box and had only a basic cable TV connection from our local cable operator in Andheri (West), Mumbai. I did read about the new government regulation of set-top box, but never got enough time (and interest) to read up offers being made by various set-top box companies, such as Tata Sky and Airtel. Incidentally, in October 2012, we had planned a family trip to Rajasthan and Delhi. We left for Jodhpur in mid-October, without settling the set-top box issue, and missed the October 31 deadline. When we returned home, we found our TV screen had gone blank. It was a weird feeling, but I let it pass thinking I will soon figure out and buy a set-top box.
The initial few days without the ‘noise’ of TV at home were uncomfortable. Suddenly, there was too much silence at home. Suddenly, we found ourselves with too much ‘free’ time. Suddenly, we realised that we needed to speak with each other rather than just gaze at the TV and go off to sleep. My 10-months-old son was too young to miss TV, but my five-year-old daughter started asking me why our TV was not working. Realising she was too small to understand set-top box, I just told her that there was a problem and TV uncle was fixing it. Every day she asked me the same question and every day I gave her the same answer. After two or three weeks, she stopped asking or bothering about TV. A battle had been won.
Benefits of a TV-less home
It would, however, be incorrect to say that I never missed TV. I did miss it initially, but at the same time, I also started to enjoy a TV-free life. A month without TV and I was sure that I didn’t want it back in my house. Why? Let me list a few benefits, which I am experiencing for the last three years.
Firstly, no TV at home ensures both my children, now eight and three, play for longer time in the evenings with their friends. They run, chase friends, play hopscotch and hide and seek, and return home only past 8 pm. Their paediatrician is very happy, as childhood obesity is a growing concern in India and doctors now recommend physical activity of at least two hours a day for urban children.
Secondly, my daughter has picked up interesting hobby classes. She loves sports, so she has joined roller skating and gymnastics. She also cycles and swims. Rather than spending her evenings watching violent cartoon shows or cheap Bollywood dance numbers, she keeps herself busy with sport activities and has won a few medals.
Thirdly, rather than depending on gadgets and TV to keep themselves busy, both my children play with each other and devise their own games. I am a mother for more than eight years, but I have never heard my kids say, “Mamma, I am getting bored”. They don’t get bored. If they have free time, which they have plenty, they take a scissor and paper, and start making some art work – a lantern, a hanging bird, nameplate for our main door, etc. My daughter loves making greeting cards and some of the best cards I have received in life have come from her. I undertake long train journeys with my children, but unlike most urban children these days, my kids do not use smart phones or iPads to pass their time. No, I never let them play games on my phone (And, I don’t play them either).
Fourthly, a TV-free life, I feel, has ensured that my children are not violent. They do not watch violent cartoons. I do not take them for movies, unless it is an animation movie meant only for small children. Often, my daughter is invited for birthday parties where the children are taken for movies like Barfi, P.K, Gunday, etc. I refuse to send her, and she joins her friends only later (post movie) for cake-cutting. My daughter has protested a few times, as I feel her friends make fun of her; but, then I have sat down to explain to her why she should be watching shows/serials and movies meant only for children. And, believe it or not, she does understand. This also means that as soon as Shaun The Sheep movie comes to a theatre, I have to set aside all my work and take both my kids for the movie. And, I do. It is a happy arrangement.
I often come across friends who feel that by not exposing my children to TV, video games and gadgets, such as iPads (I don’t own an iPad and my children don’t get to play with any), I am depriving them of ‘knowledge’ and making them ‘duds’. But, I beg to disagree. My son is too young, but my daughter, who studies in grade three, is an all-rounder. She participates in debate competitions and has won certificates for neat handwriting. She also participates in athletic events organised by Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA). Her grades in school are A+ and her teachers have always praised her during the Open House sessions. TV, iPad, Tablets and smart phones can definitely wait.