It’s been a week since we
celebrated India’s 66th Birthday. Yeay!!! Congrats to all of us!
This year I was not occupied with other things and thus decided to dedicate the entire day to television programs which were to be telecasted on the occasion of THEE National Holiday. [Which means this post
is been written by an unemployed young boy, who is free-thinking and has a “concerned”
attitude towards his nation. And who just confessed that he spent the 15th of August lying on his bed with a remote in his hand, doing nothing. And
believe me, this same person is one among the future of this nation… after all he is one of the
‘young brigade’.]
At midnight I listened to the speech by
our first Prime Minister – don’t know why but I do get goosebumps whenever I hear it.
Early morning next day, I woke up to see the official ceremony at Red Fort on t.v.. After
that, I was in a dilemma as I searched for something ‘soulful’ to do or watch.
Some (actually many) channels had become ‘normal’ after a while and had started focusing on the ‘political tamasha’.
Yes. I just did that. I called it a tamasha…
literally a drama or a play, political from head to toe and I am
talking about all the political parties, carefully leaving NO signs whatsoever of supporting
any one of them because alongside doing ‘nothing’ and watching TV, I realized that somewhere
India was still divided! Thus, I didn't want to be victim of someone’s fury by offending the politician that he/she would ‘follow’. I had two options at that very moment
– either I could participate in this political tamasha believing that the ‘future’
of this country depends on it or I could look at the ‘past’ - history.
Well, I chose the latter.
And as I did, I found three ‘soul-touching’
features. Each of them is one of the best creations I have ever seen or heard, riveting
and strong enough to leave a invoke anyone's patriotism.
Woh 7 din – While all news anchors, dressed in desi attire (which
is probably exclusively made for this day) were busy reciting the same “Breaking
News” over and over again, NDTV India showed something different. This program
revealed what and how things were happening just a week before the historic
day. How all the provinces were made to unite before
the big day. This is something which was not known to me and came as a
surprise. Indeed, independence wasn't easy. Watch the program series, link below –
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| Clip from 'Woh 7 Din', Source:NDTV |
Tamas – The most awaited TV series and best-rated by my parents
already, I had to watch it. The episode started off with this phrase –
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| Clip from Tamas Source:YouTube |
And I was bowled over. Some info about
the serial for those who belong to my generation and the younger ones – the serial
is based on the novel Tamas written by Bhishm Sahani, brother of Balraj Sahani
(of the “O meri Johra-zabi..” fame)
and also, the one who plays the character of Sardar Harnam Singh. This was
first launched in 1986. A Youtube video of the serial showcases the author in
the starting of the series. The author himself states that the reason behind
the creation of the series is, “reminding people of their past, so that we do
not repeat our mistakes”. Now that’s Twenty years back and it was the time just
after the emergency. Now, twenty years since, reading the phrase for the first
time and looking at the present scenario, I still find it unquestionably apt. Its a pity we haven’t changed. People still fight with each other over matters of caste, religion, and the most weird and latest trend – political parties slinging mud at each other!
(Sigh!) The series is made remarkably well and is more riveting and convincing than any of today’s soap operas. How could I even be comparing? This one has reality in every frame and allowed you to connect yourself with it somehow.
Moreover, the casting was the finest of the lot – Om Puri, Deepa
Mehta and even Amrish Puri! Bravo! Hats off to its creators – Bhishm Sahani
& Govind Nahlani. I hope people understand what the series is telling them! After
all this is something which is not Googled, this is made by someone who has
seen it himself! For those who have not seen – Its on air, daily at 9PM on
History!
Husna – This one struck me hard last year as well. One of the songs
featured in Coke Studio @Mtv Season 2. Composed by Hitesh Sonik, written and
sung by my favorite Piyush Mishra. In the introduction, Hitesh said that the
song was actually a poem written by Piyush ji around sixteen years back. The
plot is set up in the post-partition era where the protagonist is putting up
some questions in front of another character – a lady named Husna who now lives
in Pakistan after partition – asking about her experiences and the atmosphere of
the newly formed Pakistan. The mood, character, music and intense nature of the
song give a different kind of high. The description of festivals and the
mention of similarities in the cultures portrays the pain of partition very
well. Again, this could only have been done by someone who has sported or
witnessed the pain very closely. Hats off to Piyush ji for his awesome
creation. Listen to the song here (link below) -
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| Clip of Husna. Source: CokeStudio India @Mtv |
[The author thinks he has done his duty by sharing all of this with you,
sitting on his bed, laptop in his lap, unlimited internet, proper electricity
and freedom to post anything, anytime with as many people as possible reading. Hoping
that people who crave for their rights will someday also think about the duties
they are supposed to perform. Moreover, he is glad to be born in late 80’s,
which kept him away from all the struggle and made him so oblivious and unmoved
by the happenings of the ‘real’ world that he finds his freedom in just ‘liking’,
‘posting’, ‘sharing’ or ‘commenting’ on the matters which are too serious to be
dealt on Facebook. He is glad to be the part of the generation which is the ‘so-called’
future of the nation, who looks into Google to know their past despite the
presence of the real story-tellers.]
Although, it’s been checked twice, still if you find the author
supporting any political party or person apart from artistes… please ignore and
forgive him as this is his first ever attempt of writing on a not-so-very-political-matter.
The sole purpose of this post is to appreciate those who ‘thought’ for us! If
you support this cause, mail us at panwadi.tales@gmail.com
