Scene 1 : Time 2.00 p.m. on a Monday
A 25 year old man pressing the calling bell of a house in K.K. Nagar, Chennai – 78. The house-wife (these days they must be called home-makers), Err.. the homemaker opens the door. The guy enquires about an address in the envelope he is carrying with him and since the home-maker doesn’t know about it, OK, he asks her for a glass of water. When she turns back towards her dining table, the man pulls her hardly towards him from the back and tugs a sharp knife on her neckline … while the homemaker tries very hard to yell, her mother-in-law incidentally coming out of the kitchen shouts & shouts & shouts & shouts for help….. no one rescuing but the crook runs away due to fear !
Scene 2 : Time 8.30 p.m. on a Tuesday
A family of four with crispy potato chips packets and some snacks in hand extremely involved in watching their favorite TV Serial while their 5 year old boy screams at the uppermost pitch of his voice. All the neighbors hear the small boy’s earsplitting shattering but for the house-wife Err.. the homemaker who is one among the four !
Scene 3 : 10.00 p.m. on a Wednesday
The most hungry husband back from work by 9.00 p.m. keeps pleading pleading pleading ….. his wife to serve him his dinner. He had been pleading her since 9 o’ clock but in vain.
Scene 4 : 7.00 p.m. on a Thursday
A homemaker on the phone “daddy, can you please call me after about an hour… just now I got free and has started watching my favorite serial…”.. slams the receiver down!!
Scene 5 : 8.30 p.m. on a Friday
The elderly lady Mrs. Mary visits her 'ex'-neighbor Mrs. Suja who used to be very close.
Mrs. Suja : (After just a glancing at Mrs. Mary) Hai Aunty… (glancing back at her TV Serial), then…….. how are you ?
……
Mrs. Suja : “Haahh…” (not glancing back from the TV……) “Aunty what did you say?”
…..
Mrs. Suja : (Still watching TV), “nothing special here and everything is as usual & life is so boring ….” Continues to blabber (still glancing the TV)…
Mrs. Mary waits, waits for a cup of Tea (she has come after travelling for nearly 45 minutes) and bids a good-bye and leaves… do you think Mrs. Mary would ever come back?
Scene 1 : Its not that the neighbors are sleeping, they are deeply occupied with their favorite afternoon TV Serial. This unfortunate incident happened in the ground floor of my Flat (we are in the first floor)
Scene 2 : Happened at my neighbor’s Flat… I am that regrettable neighbor forced to hear the earsplitting screaming of the boy almost on a daily basis
Scenes 3 to 5 : Common in most of the houses
Whose Flaws ?
In all the aforesaid scenes, there is one common thing that has addicted everyone – the “TV Serial”. Are these Flaws with we people or the TV Serials ? How many of us are realizing how much we miss due to our addiction to TV Serials ?
What have we lost ?
Having been addicted to TV Serials, we don’t even have the basic humanitarian courtesy to:
• Help our struggling neighbor (Scene 1)
• Console our own blood – after all, just a 5 year old son (Scene 2)
• Care for our tired & hungry husbands back from most stressful jobs (Scene 3)
• Say “Daddy, can I call you back please??” (Scene 4)
• Extend hospitality to a long-term friend (Scene 5)
Our Flaws
We are more engrossed with TV Serials that we are not only unaware of the world news, but we are also closing our eyes to our own neighbor’s pathetic conditions. We try to seek an excuse for our mistakes due to our addiction to these round-the-clock TV Serials. But, don’t we have our own responsibility ? If you are a successful and very responsible homemaker and has never ever committed the aforementioned mistakes … “Please… I am not talking about you here !” OK ?
Flaws in Television Serials
I watch TV Serials too but I am certainly not addicted to them. Frankly speaking, I would candidly accept that I am more addicted to Mouthshut than these absolutely worthless TV Serials !
With millions of spectators, is first of all, our television media responsible enough ?
Being a regular watcher of a few selective serials for nearly 4 years, in my opinion, what do these serials basically have :
• Tragedy …. Tragedy ……. Tragedy …. This is what our serials are completely made of. Right from the most popular & so called successful Tamil serials Chithi, Avargal, Metti Oli, Annamalai, Kolangal………everything is the same in this basic constituent
• Preachings about how to impress upon the opposite sex, how to control your daughter-in-law, how to dominate your mother-in-law, ways to insult your husband, how to choose your dress so as to attract college boys, easy steps to plan to run-away with your boy-friend… etc. etc. etc. etc…… hey… has your head started spinning already?
• The most important constituent is the greatly projected three-dimensional illegal affairs. The wife in love with husband’s brother, husband having an illegal affair with wife’s sister, wife’s sister having an illegitimate affair with another rich man etc. etc. etc. ……
Wait ….. lot more are yet to come…..
• The increasingly projected sexual intimacy in most of the Serials which are being watched by right from the grand parents to the school going children…
Wait ….. lot more are yet to come….. OK OK .. considering your request, I stop here! So, am I clear about what the basic flaws of the TV Serials are ?
My humble request to TV Serial makers :
• I beg you to produce your serials keeping in mind the millions of spectators of various age-groups
• Try to convey some good useful message through your serials, if not, at least don’t misguide the audience
• Sex education is a must for all, but not for a 5 to 12 year child !! You certainly can't order children not to watch TV Serials with their parents… can you ?
• What are u trying to convey through illegal / extra-marital affairs? You want the housewives to run away with their neighbor ?
• Pls. don’t convey messages to wives like, “If you are not sexily dressed, then your husband for sure would run away with her office steno or the sexy neighbor!!”
• Last but not the least……. “Please for heaven sake, try to focus on solutions and not the problems !!”
A small & humble request to the TV Serial Watchers :
“Please realize your responsibility !!!”
Love,
Jaya
P.S.: This review is very special for me…… ‘cause actually this is my 100th review as MS has deleted one of my reviews…
