Doordarshan

I was watching the Golden Jubilee celebrations of good ol' Doordarshan on TV tonight. The program was characterized by the normal DD standards.. poor production values, very normal costumes and amateurish presenters. But, what I cannot fault DD will be the content bit.. it had excellent dances from the different states - Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali etc. The performances were interspersed with the legendary "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" beat and were done by professional dancers from dance academies. The group dances were excellent in co-ordination and the dance.. brilliant!

This got me thinking.. We have these umpteen festival shows across all these entertainment channels(mostly Hindi) for the different festivals. In these shows, we have overworked TV actors struggling to dance to the latest numbers. The steps are forgotten, dresses are loud.. and mostly end up being a headache. I wonder why the broadcasters think we want to see Tulsi, Parvathy etc. dance for festivals :-/. On the contrary, it would be a good idea to call in dancers.. students, young children etc. and give them the opportunity to perform some Indian classical music and dances. It serves two purposes, helps the young ones to appreciate classical Indian music and educates the society about the existence of such classical forms encouraging parents to enroll their wards into them. And yeah, it will be a damn sight better for viewers like us! :)

Recently, I attended a wedding.. and during the reception, we had dancing on Tamil "dappanguthu" music. I felt it was not appropriate.. atleast not for a solemn occasion like a wedding. Its not my business to comment if it was right or wrong, but I believe it had to do with these times where young children have grown up listening to these so called "happening" music. We rarely have a Tamil film without a mass song and some stupid dancing.. It leads kids to think that is the only way to dance :( and thats an unfortunate thing to happen.

I think people must start realizing that there are other traditional forms of dance(besides Bhangda!)and music which we can learn and perform. Unfortunately, DD seems to be the only channel interested in showing this idea! I've regretted many a time for not pursuing Carnatic vocal music beyond a point owing to studies. All the more so, when I landed at BITS and met the number of bright students singing/dancing and playing instruments so well! Its time for another generation to think and act so!


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