Few days back Doordarshan completed its 50 years. Doordarshan is a Hindi word made up of two words “door” (means “far” in English) and “darshan” (means “vision” in English). Doordarshan literally means “tele vision”. Doordarshan, has completed 50 years of public service broadcasting on 15 September, and telecasted the programme “The Golden Trail”, DD@50, encapsulating the milestones in the history of Doordarshan from its inception till date. Doordarshan was first established in the country on 15 September 1959 with an hour-long daily telecast but began regular telecasts only in the seventies.
Television came to India on September 15, 1959, when the UNESCO gave the government of India $20,000 (9.7 lacs at the current exchange rate) and 180 Philips TV sets. The national broadcaster's head office was a makeshift studio then, and the staff worked with just one small transmitter.
History:
Television came to India on September 15, 1959, when the UNESCO gave the government of India $20,000 (9.7 lacs at the current exchange rate) and 180 Philips TV sets. The national broadcaster's head office was a makeshift studio then, and the staff worked with just one small transmitter.
History:
180 the number of television sets in India in 1959- the year television came to India.
22,000 the number of family owned television sets in India in 1970.
115 million the number of television homes in India today.
25 lakh the number of homes that got linked to cable television in the year of its introduction in 1991-92.
Over 70 million the number of homes with cable television in India today.
388 the number of channels in India today.
400 million the number of television in India today, second only to USA and China.
Colour televison came to India with Asiad in 1982
Soon it became popular among the Indian viewers. People who have lived in 1980's and mid 90's, can remember that doordarshan was at peak. Generations born after mid 90's can only imagine the craze of doordarshan. It was not a 24X7 channel like every channel we have today. There were very limited number of programs, matches, music, news, advetisement etc that used to be shown on doordarshan. Since there were no repeat telecasts of popular shows, it increased the dedicated viewership of some programs and people were so crazy abt serials like Ramayana, Hum Log, Mahabharat etc that entire city used to get glued to their television sets. One could have easily noticed the empty streets and roads when these serials were telecasted.
Even so many short advertisement programs (ads) became very popular. Now we have remote control to easily skip channels during commercial breaks. There were so many popular ads of products like Humara Bajaj, Rasna (I love u Rasna), ETC and Laxman Sylvania bulbs n tubes( Asrani saying purey ghar ke badal dalunga), Rajdhoot Motocycle( Ek Jaandaar sawaari, ek shaandaar sawaari), Luna moped( chal meri luna), Atlas cycle, Parleji Biscuits, Hamdard ka tonic Cinkara(Javed Jaffery), Kayamchuran(Rakesh Bedi with three monsters), Hajmola (Hajmola sir), Complan (with Shahid kapoor and Ayesha Takia as kids), Sundrop (that kid jumping around huge pooris), Liril, Dabur Laal Dant Manjan , Gold Spot (cold drink), Surf (Lalita ji) , Vicks ( Vicks ki goli lo, khich khich door karo) , Vicco turmeric, Fevicol, Digjam, Bajaj almond drops, Bajaj bulbs (jab mai chotta bacha tha), Limca, MRF, Garden Sarees, Nirma Washing Powder, Dhara Cooking Oil, Paan parag, Hippolin, Hawkins Pressure Cooker, Amul Butter, Glucon D, Close Up etc..the list is so long :)
Many celebs owe their success and stardum to Doordarshan. Sharukh Khan began his career from serials on doordarshan like Fauji, Circus and Doosra Keval. These serials made him very popular and a household name.
Many television actors of 80's -90's are still remembered by the name of the character they played on doordarshan. Like Pankaj Kapoor (Karamchand) and Sushmita Mukherjee as Kitty; Alok Nath (Master Haveliram); Kanwaljit Singh (Satbir); Vinod Nagpal (Basesar Ram); Rajesh Puri (Lallu); Loveleen Mishra (Chutki); Divya Seth (Majhli); Rajit Kapoor (Byomkesh Bakshi); Dilip Dhawan (Guru); Sameer Khakhar (Khopdi); Rama Vij (Teacherji); Ajay Wadhavkar (Ganpat Hawaldar) and many more :)
**Some of the best T.V shows (Dharawahik) were aired on ‘DD1′ and ‘DD metro’ in the 80s till mid 90s. Here is a look at some of them….Hum Log, Rajni, Byomkesh Bakshi, Nukkad, Mahabharat, Buniyaad, Ye Jo Hai Zindagi(And Shafi Inamdar and Swaroop Sampat became your next-door neighbors, whatever your neighborhood.), Udaan, Neev, Tamas, Wagle Ki Duniya, Karamchand, Malgudi Days, Fauji, Zaban Sambhal Ke, Vikram Aur Betaal, Ulta Pulta, World Of Sports, World This Week, Rangoli, Surabhi, Turning Point, Ank Ajube, Baigan Raja, Bharat Ek Khoj, Bhootnath, Bible ki kahaniyan, Bodyline, Captain Vyom, Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Charitraheen, Chekhov ki Dunia, Chunauti, Cricket with Mohinder Amarnath, Daane Anaar Ke, Darpan, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Dil Dariya, Duck Tales, Different Strokes, Ek DO Teen Char, Ek Se Badhkar Ek, Faster Fane, Fhatichar, Flop Show, Gayab Aaya, Ghutan, Giant Robot, Guldasta, Gul Gulshan Gulfaam, Hakke Bakke, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Krishi Darshan, Honee Anhonee, How’s That!, Hum Hindustani, Hum Pancchi Ek Daal Ke, Humrahi, Jungle Book, Kahan Gaye Woh Log, Kakaji Kahin, Katha Sagar, Karamchand, Khandaan, Kile Ka Rahasya, Kissa Shanti Ka, Krishi Darshan, Kya Banoge Munna, Kunti, Kanoon, Lekhu, Living On The Edge, Mashaal, Mitti Ke Rang, Mirza Galib, Morning Transmission (Deepak Vohra, the puppet ‘Jee Saheb’), Mr Yogi, Mulla Naseeruddin, Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne, Neem Ka Ped, Oshin, Pachpan Khambe Lal Deewarein, Panchhi, Parakh, Param Vir Chakra, Paying Guest, PC 1008, PC Aur Mausi, Phir Wahi Talaash, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, Potli Baba Ki, Quiz Time, Raju Aur Udaantashtari, Raja aur Rancho, Rimba's Island, Saanjha Chulha, Sab ka maalik ek hai, Samundar, Sangharsh, Sansaar, Saptahiki, School Days, Sea Hawks, Shanti, Shaktimaan, Show Time, Shrikant, Shriman Shrimati, Shri Krishna, Sigma, Singhaaan Battisi, Spiderman, Star Trek, Street Hawk, Stone Boy, Sukanya, Super Human Samurai, Super Six, Surabhi, Swabhimaan, Swaraj, Tenali Rama, The Sword of Tipu Sultan, Trishna, Upanyaas, Upasana, Viraasat, Vishwa Darshan, Yugantar....and many more :)
DD used to telecast 'Pradeshik feature films' on thursday evenings and Hindi Movies on Sundays.
**There were some Public interest animation advertisement like :
- Ek Anek (Ek Chidiya Anek Chidiya)
- Simmi Machhli Ki Kahani
- Pingu (clay animation by NFDC)
- Mile Sur Mera Tumhara
- Baje Sargam
- India Sports(Mashal)
The most annoying thing about Doordarshan was the "Rukawat Ke Liye Khed Hai" banner. Whenever there was some technical fault, doordarshan used to display this banner and we had to wait for a miracle to happen to get the transmission back.
22,000 the number of family owned television sets in India in 1970.
115 million the number of television homes in India today.
25 lakh the number of homes that got linked to cable television in the year of its introduction in 1991-92.
Over 70 million the number of homes with cable television in India today.
388 the number of channels in India today.
400 million the number of television in India today, second only to USA and China.
Colour televison came to India with Asiad in 1982
Soon it became popular among the Indian viewers. People who have lived in 1980's and mid 90's, can remember that doordarshan was at peak. Generations born after mid 90's can only imagine the craze of doordarshan. It was not a 24X7 channel like every channel we have today. There were very limited number of programs, matches, music, news, advetisement etc that used to be shown on doordarshan. Since there were no repeat telecasts of popular shows, it increased the dedicated viewership of some programs and people were so crazy abt serials like Ramayana, Hum Log, Mahabharat etc that entire city used to get glued to their television sets. One could have easily noticed the empty streets and roads when these serials were telecasted.
Even so many short advertisement programs (ads) became very popular. Now we have remote control to easily skip channels during commercial breaks. There were so many popular ads of products like Humara Bajaj, Rasna (I love u Rasna), ETC and Laxman Sylvania bulbs n tubes( Asrani saying purey ghar ke badal dalunga), Rajdhoot Motocycle( Ek Jaandaar sawaari, ek shaandaar sawaari), Luna moped( chal meri luna), Atlas cycle, Parleji Biscuits, Hamdard ka tonic Cinkara(Javed Jaffery), Kayamchuran(Rakesh Bedi with three monsters), Hajmola (Hajmola sir), Complan (with Shahid kapoor and Ayesha Takia as kids), Sundrop (that kid jumping around huge pooris), Liril, Dabur Laal Dant Manjan , Gold Spot (cold drink), Surf (Lalita ji) , Vicks ( Vicks ki goli lo, khich khich door karo) , Vicco turmeric, Fevicol, Digjam, Bajaj almond drops, Bajaj bulbs (jab mai chotta bacha tha), Limca, MRF, Garden Sarees, Nirma Washing Powder, Dhara Cooking Oil, Paan parag, Hippolin, Hawkins Pressure Cooker, Amul Butter, Glucon D, Close Up etc..the list is so long :)
Many celebs owe their success and stardum to Doordarshan. Sharukh Khan began his career from serials on doordarshan like Fauji, Circus and Doosra Keval. These serials made him very popular and a household name.
Many television actors of 80's -90's are still remembered by the name of the character they played on doordarshan. Like Pankaj Kapoor (Karamchand) and Sushmita Mukherjee as Kitty; Alok Nath (Master Haveliram); Kanwaljit Singh (Satbir); Vinod Nagpal (Basesar Ram); Rajesh Puri (Lallu); Loveleen Mishra (Chutki); Divya Seth (Majhli); Rajit Kapoor (Byomkesh Bakshi); Dilip Dhawan (Guru); Sameer Khakhar (Khopdi); Rama Vij (Teacherji); Ajay Wadhavkar (Ganpat Hawaldar) and many more :)
**Some of the best T.V shows (Dharawahik) were aired on ‘DD1′ and ‘DD metro’ in the 80s till mid 90s. Here is a look at some of them….Hum Log, Rajni, Byomkesh Bakshi, Nukkad, Mahabharat, Buniyaad, Ye Jo Hai Zindagi(And Shafi Inamdar and Swaroop Sampat became your next-door neighbors, whatever your neighborhood.), Udaan, Neev, Tamas, Wagle Ki Duniya, Karamchand, Malgudi Days, Fauji, Zaban Sambhal Ke, Vikram Aur Betaal, Ulta Pulta, World Of Sports, World This Week, Rangoli, Surabhi, Turning Point, Ank Ajube, Baigan Raja, Bharat Ek Khoj, Bhootnath, Bible ki kahaniyan, Bodyline, Captain Vyom, Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Charitraheen, Chekhov ki Dunia, Chunauti, Cricket with Mohinder Amarnath, Daane Anaar Ke, Darpan, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Dil Dariya, Duck Tales, Different Strokes, Ek DO Teen Char, Ek Se Badhkar Ek, Faster Fane, Fhatichar, Flop Show, Gayab Aaya, Ghutan, Giant Robot, Guldasta, Gul Gulshan Gulfaam, Hakke Bakke, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Krishi Darshan, Honee Anhonee, How’s That!, Hum Hindustani, Hum Pancchi Ek Daal Ke, Humrahi, Jungle Book, Kahan Gaye Woh Log, Kakaji Kahin, Katha Sagar, Karamchand, Khandaan, Kile Ka Rahasya, Kissa Shanti Ka, Krishi Darshan, Kya Banoge Munna, Kunti, Kanoon, Lekhu, Living On The Edge, Mashaal, Mitti Ke Rang, Mirza Galib, Morning Transmission (Deepak Vohra, the puppet ‘Jee Saheb’), Mr Yogi, Mulla Naseeruddin, Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne, Neem Ka Ped, Oshin, Pachpan Khambe Lal Deewarein, Panchhi, Parakh, Param Vir Chakra, Paying Guest, PC 1008, PC Aur Mausi, Phir Wahi Talaash, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, Potli Baba Ki, Quiz Time, Raju Aur Udaantashtari, Raja aur Rancho, Rimba's Island, Saanjha Chulha, Sab ka maalik ek hai, Samundar, Sangharsh, Sansaar, Saptahiki, School Days, Sea Hawks, Shanti, Shaktimaan, Show Time, Shrikant, Shriman Shrimati, Shri Krishna, Sigma, Singhaaan Battisi, Spiderman, Star Trek, Street Hawk, Stone Boy, Sukanya, Super Human Samurai, Super Six, Surabhi, Swabhimaan, Swaraj, Tenali Rama, The Sword of Tipu Sultan, Trishna, Upanyaas, Upasana, Viraasat, Vishwa Darshan, Yugantar....and many more :)
DD used to telecast 'Pradeshik feature films' on thursday evenings and Hindi Movies on Sundays.
**There were some Public interest animation advertisement like :
- Ek Anek (Ek Chidiya Anek Chidiya)
- Simmi Machhli Ki Kahani
- Pingu (clay animation by NFDC)
- Mile Sur Mera Tumhara
- Baje Sargam
- India Sports(Mashal)
The most annoying thing about Doordarshan was the "Rukawat Ke Liye Khed Hai" banner. Whenever there was some technical fault, doordarshan used to display this banner and we had to wait for a miracle to happen to get the transmission back.
Doordarshan Signature Montage
Pramita Puri was the first announcer who started the programme with "shehnai recital" of Ustaad Bismillah Khan. The programme was transmitted in a radius of 25 kilometers with a small transmitter.
On how Salma Sultan ( news reader ) started wearing a rose:
“The rose story is a very interesting one. I used to love flowers and roses a lot and had very beautiful flowers in my garden. One day, I was wearing a pink saree and when I looked around there was a very beautiful pink rose. So, I just put it on and read the news. There were a number of phone calls appreciating it. I felt very nice. The next day also, I put on a rose. But later on I did not care about it and there were many phone calls and letters asking why I did not wear a rose. So I began wearing the rose and it just became a habit, a part of me.”
That was the golden period for us as kids. Amidst our differences, we Indians remained tied with ' Doordarshan ' probably because it was the only Nationwide broadcaster. We had so many common interests and topics at that time. Those were the days when we waited to watch our favourite serials even if we had to skip our lunch or sleep.
I have enjoyed remembering those golden moments and writing this post. Hope those who lived in that magical era have enjoyed these memories with me. Please do comment about the content and your favourite programs in the 80's and 90's on Doordarshan. Thank you for reading this post.
~ROHAN RAWAT
Please make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
On how Salma Sultan ( news reader ) started wearing a rose:
“The rose story is a very interesting one. I used to love flowers and roses a lot and had very beautiful flowers in my garden. One day, I was wearing a pink saree and when I looked around there was a very beautiful pink rose. So, I just put it on and read the news. There were a number of phone calls appreciating it. I felt very nice. The next day also, I put on a rose. But later on I did not care about it and there were many phone calls and letters asking why I did not wear a rose. So I began wearing the rose and it just became a habit, a part of me.”
That was the golden period for us as kids. Amidst our differences, we Indians remained tied with ' Doordarshan ' probably because it was the only Nationwide broadcaster. We had so many common interests and topics at that time. Those were the days when we waited to watch our favourite serials even if we had to skip our lunch or sleep.
I have enjoyed remembering those golden moments and writing this post. Hope those who lived in that magical era have enjoyed these memories with me. Please do comment about the content and your favourite programs in the 80's and 90's on Doordarshan. Thank you for reading this post.
~ROHAN RAWAT
Please make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
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10 comments:
Nice Post Sir. Indeed those were the best days of my life too. Thanks for taking me to this sweet memoriable journey.
Nice post Rohan. Nice collection of facts.
One of the ads you forgot was Dhara's ad (Jalebi..?) starring Parazan Dastur. Even that was a sweet ad. Also, not many people know that the person in Fevicol ad (where body-builders played tug-of-war with an elephant) who says "Fevicol ka jod hai.." is Rajkumar Hirani.
Yeah Kedar you Guessed it right :)He is the man behind the making of Movie Munna Bhai MBBS. I am still updating this post and soon will add that Jalebi ad too... Thanks bro...
awww great post
reminds me of good old days
i used to shaktiman n nandu apna on DD way back and shakalaka boom boom
n i remember this add of dont know which brand of salt where a little kid goes on n on about sab kaaam mujhe hi karna padta hai safai bhi shopping bhi....
Thanks Zooni for your comments. You reminded me of one more very nice ad..can't recall the brand..but she goes on saying that sudh ka matlab nahin jante,,I guess it was Tata salt :)
Thanks so much for such lovely comments..
nice blog dude..keep rocking
Good memory.U ve almost listed all the good and bad things abt DD. Once the Emperor of Indian Television, DD, gave us memoriable moments we will never forget.Thanks for putting such a commendable effort.
Absolutely great post, pure nostalgia..I think we all belonged to Gen-DD , those good old days....
Really nice... As a kid I loved Tarang(by NCERT, CIET), Shaktiman,Shakalaka Boom Boom, The evening Cartoons, He man, The Mummies Alive, Goof Troops , Duck Tales... a very long list...Such was the passion for dd in those days that i bruised my legs a few times while running back to home after jumping from the school bus to watch my favourite shows on time. Thanks for bringing back those happy old days back to my memory
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